Dear friends,
We at the All African Women Group support the demonstration you are having tomorrow outside the Immigration Removal Centre in Greece.
We are immigrants women from around the world, from countries that are not part of the European Union. Some of us are asylum seekers and migrants, some of us have won our right to stay in the UK. Many of the women in the All African Women Group are mothers who had to flee their countries leaving their children behind. We help these women reunite with children once they have been granted a full refugee status. We have lively meetings of up to sixty women every other week. We report our victories – when one of us wins or when a new woman joins having fought to get out of detention.
Some of us have been locked up in immigration detention centres like the women you are going to see tomorrow. About 70% of the women in detention centres are rape survivors. We use a fabulous book put together by Legal Action for Women – its a self-help guide for asylum seekers – it tells everyone in simple English what our rights are and how we can defend ourselves from being sent back to countries we fled. We are supported by and campaign with Black Women Rape Action Project and Women Against Rape
Like you we fight against a government which imprisons children and vulnerable people. Here in the UK the coalition government said it had ended the detention of children – this is a lie. Instead the government used Barnardos a children’s charity which shocking have collaborated with the multinational security company G4S to detain and deport kids and their families. G4S guards were recently on trial in Britain for killing Jimmy Mubenga during a violent deportation to Angola. He was a father of five children who had lived in the UK for many years. From the moment Mr Mubenga was killed the intention was to protect G4S and cover up what happened. It took four year of pressure from the family and supporters for the guards to be brought to trial. Members of the All African Women Group attended the court every single day, and in solidarity we protested outside the UK Home Office after the racist verdict which acquitted the G4S guards. We are sending a statement on this which is being circulated by Women of Colour in the Global Women’s Strike – we have more information on the web – just Google us!
A few years ago one of our members visited a group of African women asylum seekers in Athens and we want to renew our friendship with them and build our contact with you and with everyone fighting for justice . We are really impressed by the Syriza movement and the self help community support which has built the movement, and in which women are no doubt prominent. It has resulted in an electoral victory in your government promising to close detention centres – This is the kind of anti-racist stand we need in every country. Immigrants and asylum seeker are not responsible for poverty and unemployment, the austerity policies which have the rich more richer are. We are fighting cuts in UK too and most of us are destitute. Your struggle is our struggle– together and internationally we can all win
In solidarity always,
The All African Women Group.