British LGBTQ solidarity with Calais refugees

This video from Britain says about itself:

Calais Solidarity Trip (11) – Solidarity

28 September 2015

On the ferry back to Dover, Rachael talks about a powerful part of the trip for her – talking to the people in the Calais camp about the refugees welcome solidarity marches which happened all across the UK and the world that same weekend.

By Joana Ramiro in Britain:

LGBT activists take on May to show solidarity with Calais refugees

Monday 23rd November 2015

LGBT activists took on Theresa May this weekend in a show of solidarity with migrants outside the Home Office as tougher checks and border closures come into place after the Paris shootings.

The Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM) protest came less than 24 hours after a British Muslim was prevented from entering France on an aid convoy to Calais.

A drag impersonator of the Home Secretary and masked versions of Prime Minister David Cameron, Ukip leader Nigel Farage and London Mayor Boris Johnson also attended the event.

“Everybody knows diversity is disruptive to a cohesive society,” Ms May’s impersonator told the booing crowds.

LGSM spokesman Morten Thaysen said: “In the wake of the Paris attacks we’ve seen xenophobic and racist violence rise across the UK and Europe.

“We’re here to show that we must stand in solidarity with migrants and refugees, not close our minds and our borders. Blaming terrorism on refugees is like blaming the floods on gay weddings.

“The attacks in Paris are created by the same violence that many people are fleeing and our response should be to open our borders to the people freezing in Calais rather than demonising migrants.”

The rally came after a member of refugee aid group London2Calais was barred from entering France on Friday evening after being flagged as a “threat to national security.”

The activist, who asked to remain anonymous given the allegations, was the only non-white and Muslim member of the convoy and the only person to be stopped at border control.

It was not the first time that members of London2Calais have been harassed by border authorities, who held up the convoy for several hours in August and subjected activists to aggressive interrogation as they tried to return to Britain.

However it was the first time the British passport holder, who has worked in the Jungle refugee camp for the last six months, has been refused entry.

In a statement, the group said: “This is apartheid Europe in action. The constant harassment and intimidation of London2Calais by British and French authorities will not deter us from bringing solidarity.”

A second trip was completed successfully on Saturday, delivering vital materials to build bread ovens in the camp.

The Jungle was ravaged by a fire on the same night as the Paris attacks, leaving over 200 people without shelter.

Its cause was not thought to be suspicious.

Visiting the Calais camps made us ashamed to be British. The levels of support from British people were heartening, but why can’t the government do more? Here.

USA: REP. ALAN GRAYSON: WHEN AMERICA TURNED AWAY MY GRANDMA “There is a reason why my Mom was born in Canada. Her parents, my grandparents, were refugees from Eastern Europe. And America wouldn’t let them in. So they took a right turn, and ended up in Canada.” [HuffPost]

‘2015 IS NOT 1938’ “The faces of the refugees are different. The languages they speak are different. The places and killers from which and from whom they are fleeing are different as well. But the refugees’ anguish and despair, their fear and sense of abandonment, are very much the same. ” [HuffPost]

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