Another ridiculous migration project is to be found in Nuadibu, in North Mauretania. Here the Spanish army built a reception center for migrants that were sent back by Spain from the Canary Islands. Amnesty International now calls it Little Guantanamo. QA group of 35 Spanish soldiers arived in 2006 and in three days they renovated a school in the ouskirts of the town. Running water, three generators for electricity, three huge tents with 350 toilets, a kitchen, showers, etc. They got a decoration for the job.
They refused to make the walls hire and put barbed wire on them, as the Mauretanian authorities demanded. “This is not a prison, said the captain.” A guy of the Office for International Cooperation commented: “The risk is not that the migrants escape, but that Mauretanians enter.” All around the place are shacks with no water or electricity. The inhabitants had to walk several kilometers to fetch water.
They entered the center the moment the Spaniards left. They took away everything, except for a generator that had never worked anyway. Also they made the walls higher and put barbed wire on them. Most of the hard ware ended up in the hands of the Mauretanian military. “How can our soldiers be out in the rough weather, while these criminals sleep in beds?”
Now the guards open the gates of Little Guantanamo where tens of immigrants are staying, and let in the children of the neighbourhood to fetch water. And Amnesty demands an explanation from the Spanish government for building this prison.

Virtual museum tip.

In Madrid we have a network for the rights of migrants. (Spanish)
And a radio programme on wednesday evening, from 21.30 till 22.30 Sin Fronteras (No borders). Alcira interviewed me
And the Association Panteras Negras (Black Panthers): auto-integration of the Afro-Spanish tribe. Music, Video and Party!

And I found this poem:

Je suis étranger, je pleure
I’m a stranger, I cry

listen!
the more you move the more you learn
no matter who you are
the more you live the more you earn
no matter where you are
I know my aim,
I’m still the same;
I’m not ashamed to cry

by Ousmane El hadji NDIONE
Lavapiés, enero de 2008

I had a very interesting convesation with Ousmane, which will be published later. Meanwhile check his site called hotdrop78 on myspace and a regular site.

(photo: Ron Swart)

The report of Amnesty International should be made available to the inmates in the detention centers in Holland. With that message we went to the prison boat in Zaanstad and to Schiphol-Oost.
The prison system showed its authentic autistic face by not communicating at all on a human civilized level. Report (Dutch)
Only when we started friendly conversation with the detainees in the “recreational” cage at Schiphol Oost, did we get a reaction. We got away with it, so you can hear our report now.
And Pooja made this video!

We were filming the monument, when the inmates started waving and shouting at us. So we decided to make a dash to get closer to them. before they were forced to interrupt their short moment of fresh air, for communicating with normal people. Whatever that may be…

more (in Dutch) at http://www.vertrokkengezichten.net and indymedia.nl

Sunday 29th of June, live jazz in cafe de Engelbewaarder. Chief Sean Bergin turns 60 and jams with old and new friends.
Daughter Juna sings Wishing on a star.
And you can watch Victors tap dance! (Nokia or Quicktime)

Line up:
Sean Bergin (sax and flute),Rogerio Bicudo (guitar), Juna (voice), Victor de Boo (drum), Han Bennink (drums), Jacco Schoonderwoerd (bass), Leo Bouwmeester (keyboard), Boy Raaymakers (trompet), Roberto Haliffi (drums), Olaf Zwetsloot (sax), Chris Byrd (keyboard) and more

Song 1
Sean , Jacco, Victor, Leo
Song 2
with Juna singing
Song 7 Ik zou je het liefste in een doosje willen doen.
Juna sings it all. Leo on keyboard.
Song 11
Chris, Jacco, Roberto, Boy, Olaf
Song 12
Song 13
Rogerio, Sean (flute)

Pooja product.

Sean Bergin 60!

Our guests: Arben (Macedonia), Mauricio Corbalan and Pio Torroja (Argentina) and Alan (Irak).
We speak with Albano Cordeiro in Paris about the fire in the detention center (see below) (French). Albano is active member of the League for Human Rights.

Manifestation devant le centre de retention de Vincennes 24 Juin (Video le Monde)

Sakho, Arben and Alan tell you how they look at migration (Dutch)

We’ll be back, August 15

We wish you a lot of sun this summer. with Sean Bergin and Rogerio Bicudo. And look back at the season of Radio M2M with Irene of the Blue House. And we look forward to the next season.

Sean Bergin (saxophone) celebrates his 60th birthday! Sunday afternoon 29th of June in Cafe de Engelbewaarder. On Monday 30th he plays with Rogerio Bicudo (choro-guitar) in the BIMhuis.

Amnesty international publishes report on detention centers: too long migrants are kept in prison, treated worse than criminals, complaints are not dealt with in a proper way. Amnesty states that detention can only be the last remedy, when migrants are to be deported.
Full report (PDF)

Summary.

On Sunday 22nd of June a fire raged in a detention centre for sans papiers, undocumented migrants, in Vincennes in Paris. Eighteen people are in hospital after they were inhaling smoke. It seems the fire broke out after inmates protested against the medical treatment in this prison. A Tunesian man of 41 had died the day before. According to the police he suffered a heart attack. There are 140 places in this prison, but in reality there are 260-270 people locked up. The two buildings have been destroyed completely. Most of the inmates were transferred to a nearby police academy. We have no news about escapees…
Watch a video (French)
Article et commentaires en francais.

The network for education on borders, RESF, says that the fire was to be expected.The ruling party UMP has accused RESF of provoking the fire. Some 30 people held a demonstration of solidairity in front of the prison. The UMP says RESF should be charged with inciting the fire.

CIMADE, the comittee for aid to refugees, has warned several times that the prisons are too crowded and too violent. CIMADE people regularly visit these prisons. They demand that all detained migrants should be released.(Liberation)

We celebrate International Refugee Day with Alen from Iraq, Jeffrey from Nubia and Patrick from Suriname. The European Union has decided that undocumented migrants can be detained for 18 months. We agree that we prefer to be free.

And we jam.

Radio Ruisriet, de Uitklap radio in het Blauwe Huis. Jo van der Spek vertelt het aan Barbara. IJburg als migrantenkolonie.
And how does Papa Sakho feel at home?

Alens verhaal begint in 1991. Wat betekent sociaal? What is social? Vraagt Alen

A bit of political analysis:Patrick Cockburn, expert journalist talks about what goes wrong in Iraq. Actual market leader in production of migrants…

And some more burning djembees for Frida.

FRONTEX. A meeting with Amadou M’Bow, human rights activist from Mauretania.
In Warsaw is the head quarters of Frontex, the European Agency that defends the borders of Europe and penetrates Africa. In Warsaw an international action took place on the 6th of June, see indymedia (Dutch and English)
Amadou spoke to the press. How the EU is constructing a wall in the heart of Africa as a reaction to Africans drowning in the ocean, on their way to the Canary Islands. About Frontex Amadou told us how European countries send experts and materials to stop Africans from crossing borders. With Papa Sakho he speaks (French) about an Africa without borders. “Le desir de se deplacer”.

Kennismaking met IJburgs Marktmeester Stef Spigt, architect van de sociale cohesie. Een inclusieve spin in het netwerk.

There’s nothing wrong in detention centers for undocumented migrants, according to Mrs. Albayrak, secretary of state. She reacts on accusations made by Jean-Marie and Mohamed and a guard in a recent TV report. Expert comment from our source

Holland is European champion in detaining undocumented migrants. Some religious people bring regular vists to these prisons. But they have to sign a contract that they will never make public what they see and hear. One of the visitors has broken her contract. After one-and-a-half-year she published some of the stories she heard and saw inside. All in Dutch.
See vrijheidvanbeweging.nl