Vol. 79/No. 33      September 21, 2015

“This crisis is not new,” Sandhya Sharma from Safety 4 Sisters told the rally. Pointing to similar protests around Europe she added, “Something is changing. People are being stirred into action.”

In addition to Safety 4 Sisters, sponsors included the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, the Communist League, the Kurdish Cultural Centre and others.

The United Kingdom “is not full up,” said Denise McDowell, director of the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit. “We want people to come to be safe and have a better life.”

In recent days, the government has shifted its policy to admit a limited number of asylum-seekers from refugee camps in the Middle East.

“Now the government is trying to impose another division — between so called ‘legitimate political refugees’ and ‘illegitimate economic immigrants,’” said Jonathan Silberman, Communist League candidate for mayor of London. “We should reject their attempts to divide us. This is a life-or-death question for the working class. Our unions should fight to open the borders of the U.K.”

“Until the criminal regime in Syria is gone, more refugees must be allowed to come. Treat these people as humans,” said Yasmine Nahlawi from Rethink, Rebuild Society (Syrian Community in Manchester).

The protest started with a spirited performance by the Women Asylum Seekers Together choir. “The U.K. has only accepted 216 refugees from Syria so far. Let’s work together to change that,” choir member Dianne Ngoza told participants.
 
 
Related articles:
Europe: Refugees break out of camps, win solidarity
Thousands face cops, say: ‘We are human!’
Open the borders to refugees now!
 
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home