Join the Civil Rights caravan
Starting mid-September 2000, the Civil Rights Caravan will begin travelling throughout England for one month in solidarity with asylum-seekers, migrants and victims of racist attacks and murders.
The 'Caravan movement' started in Germany in 1998 as a form of resistance organised by refugees, migrants and their supporters to raise awareness and fight anti-asylum measures.
The idea of the organising a Civil Rights Caravan in England came from discussions at a meeting following the National Civil Rights Movement (NCRM) and the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (CARF) 'Behind Closed Doors' conference The Caravan, a form of grassroots resistance, is demanding:
Full rights for asylum-seekers, undocumented workers, migrants, and victims of racist attacks
The right to asylum and an end to detention, deportation, vouchers and dispersal
An end to racism and racist violence
The Caravan will bring together black families, asylum-seekers and those working to defend their rights.
Link up
The Caravan will link up with a series of events being planned across the country, such as protests at Campsfield Detention Centre in Oxford on 17 September, the demonstration for asylum rights in Newcastle on September 30 and the national demonstration against racism in London on 14 October.
But the Caravan will also travel to areas which have been more difficult for anti-racists, where the far right have attempted to capitalise on the racist backlash whipped up by the media such as Margate and Dover.
Civil Rights Caravan Route
15-16 September: Coventry, Birmingham, Leicester
17 September: Oxford
22-24 September: Dover, Margate, Brighton
Sept 29-01 October: Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Liverpool
06-07 October: Exeter, Plymouth
08 October: Bristol
14 October: London
While the project already has wide support, further sponsorships are welcome and in particular donations (cheques payable to 'CARF' and post to BM BOX 8784, London WC1N 3XX )