On Sunday 21st May, at 3pm, over 20 groups will unite for a mass protest in Falmouth against the Bibby Stockholm. The Bibby is currently in Falmouth harbour being refitted before it leaves for its final destination in Portland, Dorset. Once there, it will detain up to 500 refugees and asylum seekers in rooms smaller than a car parking space as part of the government’s hostile environment policy.
The protest – Resist Border Violence – No Floating Prisons – United Against the Bibby Stockholm – is supported by local groups including Cornwall Resists, Divest Borders Falex, Falmouth and Penryn Welcomes Refugees, Radical Pride, Reclaim the Sea, All Under One Banner, the Bakers’ Union, and Falmouth and Penryn Acorn.
A spokesperson for Cornwall Resists stated:
“We are so proud of all the groups coming together to oppose the Bibby Stockholm being refitted in our town, and to say loudly and clearly that Cornwall welcomes refugees. This is what community action looks like and shows we will not be passive while our harbour is being used to facilitate the abuse of those seeking sanctuary on our shores.
“The ship is a floating human rights violation, and we are collectively coming together to refuse to accept the British government’s racist border violence.”
A spokesperson for Reclaim the Sea stated:
“Many asylum-seekers and people on the move have experienced sea-related trauma on one or multiple occasions. To house them in a floating prison barge risks re-traumatising people who are already vulnerable and deserve our solidarity and support, not hate and hostility.”
A spokesperson for Divest Borders Falex stated:
“As students united against Exeter university’s complicity in border violence, we know all too well how institutionalised and normalised the suffering of
racialised people is on our land and at our borders.
“We want Falmouth Town Council, Cherilyn Mackrory MP and A&P to hear the disgust of Falmouth and the wider Cornwall community of their involvement.
We urge A&P workers to lay down their tools in solidarity.”
A spokesperson from the Cornwall Branch of the Bakers’ Union stated:
“While the primary responsibility of a Trade Union is to organise and defend their members from exploitation in the workplace, we also have a duty to stand up against injustice in all its forms. This ship is a microcosm of the government’s wider agenda: to stir up xenophobic hate and keep us divided in an attempt to distract us from issues they would rather we not think about.
“We call on every Trade Union that represents members in Cornwall, and on every Cornish Trade Unionist, to stand with us on Sunday.”
1. The protest will take place on 21st May 2023, 3pm, Pendennis Rise, Falmouth
2. The protest is taking place alongside a demonstration in London at the Home Office. There is also an open letter to Suella Braverman available to sign – produced by Reclaim the Sea and signed by over 50 organisations and nearly 400 individuals which
can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fncMSbaX5avtAxLOP_my-Arq8w6PyoyAB4ZjCAeC7fQ/mobilebasic
3. For more information about the protest and for interviews, please contact.
Cornwall Resists : [email protected]
Reclaim the Sea : [email protected]
Divest Borders Falex:Â [email protected]
Instagram – divestborders.falex
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