<nettime> M2M Webcast from Court on Schiphol Fire, Amsterdam August 10-14

["Jo van der Spek M2M" <jo@xs4all.nl>]

Announcement from M2M, Migrant to Migrant and All Included  Amsterdam, 
Holland:

Campaign FREE AHMED ISA:

Survivors of the Schiphol Fire demand freedom for Ahmed Issa

The trial of the Schiphol Fire is a test case for human rights in The 
Netherlands

M2M Radio will be reporting live from the Court in Amsterdam (Prinsengracht 
426)

Join the live stream from Monday 10th of August 9.30 a.m. till 5 p.m. every 
day until Friday 14th
Go to: http://m2m.streamtime.org

Together with survivors and relatives of the Schiphol People, M2M and All 
Included initiated a campaign to claim freedom for Ahmed Isa and justice for 
all survivors of the fire.
Eleven migrants died during a fire in Block K of the detention complex 
Schiphol East (on the Airport of Amsterdam) in the night of 26-27 October 
2005. The inmates of Block K and J were transferred to other Dutch prisons, 
most of the 300 detainees were deported after the fire. One of the victims 
of the fire, Ahmed Issa, was sentenced to three years in prison by the Court 
of Haarlem in 2007. From August 10 until 14 the High Court of Amsterdam 
deals with his appeal.

The survivors of the fire will will express their solidarity with Ahmed Issa 
("Everybody in Block K smoked, so we are all guilty") with  a collective 
statement to the judges by Mrs. Gladys Toekaja, mother of the deceased 
Robert Arah on Wednesday 12th at 9.30 a.m.
The Dutch authorities are putting all the blame of Ahmed Issa claiming that 
his cigarette started the fire.  The Dutch government is responsible for 
building this prison and is also responsible for the well being and safety 
of the inmates. They try to evade their shame by using Ahmed Issa as their 
scape goat. The disaster was not caused by a cigarette, but by a sustained 
policy of criminalising irregular migrants, neglecting and violating safety 
regulations.

The Security Board, an independent investigative body  established the fact 
the there would have been ¨no or less¨ casualties, if the authorities had 
complied with  their own safety regulations. The deportation and detention 
complex  Schiphol-East was built as expeditiously and cheaply as possible to 
satisfy the political clamour to create a large number of low-cost cells at 
the earliest possible notice. The complex was made of containers and meant 
to keep drug swallowers in custody for only a few days. But up to this day, 
irregular migrants are being held here, sometimes for more than a year. 
Safety was not an issue: efficiency was key. The fire at Schiphol thus shows 
the true face of Dutch immigration policies in all its horror.

The M2M Foundation promotes free communication of migrants and seeks to 
demonstrate that there are better ways of approaching the realities of 
global migration issues: Look with us, not at us. All included. No borders 
between us!
If you want to support this campaign financially, please donate to:
ING Bank 4864527 All Included, Amsterdam, ref. Free Ahmed Issa

If you want to support M2M, Migrant to Migrant and empower the victims of 
the Schiphol fire, please donate to:

39.02.71.918 Stichting M2M, Amsterdam
Triodos Bank, Postbus 55, 3700 AB Zeist
IBAN: NL03 TRIO 0390 2719 18
BIC: TRIONL2U 


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