Demonstration 8th February in Grenoble against borders, imperialist states and their racist policies
A demonstration will take place in Grenoble on 8 February 2020, Place de la gare, against borders, imperialist states and their racist policies.
This demonstration is part of the Day of Remembrance of the Dead at the Borders (6 February) which follows an event described below in 2014.
WHY THIS DAY?
On February 6, 2014, at least 15 people are killed by Spanish law enforcement agencies as they attempt to enter Europe by sea at Sebta (Ceuta), a Spanish colony in Morocco.
On that day, the Guardia Civil fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at the blind. Hit by these shots, asphyxiated by the gas, 15 people drowned. Dozens of others were wounded, arrested and illegally returned to Morocco. For 6 years, on 6 February, associations have been calling to commemorate the victims of this crime and to denounce the militarization of the borders.
RELEASE
> 2pm: Meeting at Grenoble train station, departure for an event.
Bring your placards and slogans against European migration policies that militarize borders, hunt down and expel exiles while continuing to plunder their countries of origin, in Africa and the Middle East.
This demonstration will be punctuated by several speeches in front of symbolic places related to the theme of the demonstration, led by various collectives in struggle.
> 6pm: Staged presentation: “Border war, a colonial battle”, by the group Confrontière.
> 8:00 p.m.: Pizza! On wood fire and at free price
Room 150, 90 galerie de l’Arlequin in Villeneuve (Grenoble)
Tram A, stop La Bruyère or Arlequin:
https://fr-fr.facebook.com/events/187194162475965/
MURDER BORDERS: IMPERIALIST STATES KILL
6 February: Day of Remembrance of the Dead at the Borders
On February 6, 2014, at least 15 people were killed by Spanish law enforcement officials while attempting to enter Europe by sea at Sebta (Ceuta), a Spanish colony in Morocco.
On that day, the Guardia Civil fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at the blind. Hit by these shots, asphyxiated by the gas, 15 people drowned. Dozens of others were wounded, arrested and illegally returned to Morocco.
For 6 years, on 6 February, associations have been calling to commemorate the victims of this crime and to denounce the militarization of the borders.
This is not a blunder, it is a massacre in an organized gang …
These police crimes, whether they are committed in a direct way as in Sebta or indirectly through murderous chases, are not “blunders”.
They are only one of the logical consequences of the militarization of borders which pushes people in exile to take more and more risks to escape the multiple controls on their routes.
Police violence is inseparable from the racist (anti-)migration policies of the EU: deterring migrants from reaching European soil, stalking them, harassing them, and deporting them. By all necessary means!
Europe is multiplying and externalizing its borders.
Europe’s borders are not limited to the outline of Europe. Following its imperialist policy, Europe imposes its borders on other continents, particularly in Africa. For example, the southern border of the EU is officially in the middle of the Mediterranean, but the control and repression of people on their way to Europe takes place much further south.
Indeed, Europe asks other countries to ensure its own immigration control policy (border outsourcing). In order to put pressure on these countries, the EU uses different tools: payment of monetary aid for border control (disguised as “development aid”), economic blackmail, blackmail for future integration into the European Union, etc.
As a result, checks on people multiply well before their arrival in Europe (in Niger, Morocco, and more generally in all former colonies). Journeys become more difficult and dangerous. The EU delegates its “dirty work” while at the same time boasting of being a land of freedom and human rights.
At least 30,000 people have lost their lives trying to reach Europe since 2000.
These figures are certainly underestimated because of the difficulty of getting accurate information. Europe’s internal borders also kill. Near Grenoble, in Briançonnais, at least 5 people have been found dead in the last 2 years.
Europe’s reaction to these deaths is to increase border controls, tighten repression and blame the smugglers. And the media are relaying sensational images of dangerous crossings.
Yet it is neither the cold, nor the mountains, nor the sea, nor the desert, nor the rotten ships that kill.
The culprits are the cops, the imperialist states and their racist governments!
DAY ORGANIZED BY:
Coordination contre les frontières 38 · Le Patio Solidaire ·
La Bruyère Solidaire · Collectif des Soudanais de Grenoble ·
Collectif des jeunes majeurs · FUIQP 38 (Front Uni des Immigrations et des Quartiers Populaires) · Survie Isère
