Why we want the destruction of retention centers

Here is a leaflet from the anarchist aperiodical publication “Non Fides”, translated from the french. It was distributed in french cities and in front of the Vincennes retention center which was burnt down after the revolt of its prisoners.

A retention center (Centre de Rétention Administrative or CRA in french) is a prison for illegal immigrants, people imprisoned for up to 80 days before their expulsion from the country. There have been many revolts over the past years both inside and outside these prisons. But there has also been a lot of repression for some anarchist comrades who are still in prison, some of them accused of terrorism. More information about these cases in english here: www.non-fides.fr

Why we want the destruction of retention centers?

• Because we are not struggling for the improvement of detention conditions.

• Because even if air-conditioned, made of gold, velvet or silk, a prison cell remains a prison cell.

• Because the imprisonment follows an arbitrary raid and leads to a equally arbitrary deportation.

• Because arresting a lot of undocumented migrants and expelling a certain number of them is all about terrorizing everyone.

• Because neither scum nor “honest” migrants deserve imprisonment.

• Because we stand for the abolition of all borders and all prisons.

• Because seeing that for economic reasons the State can decide to deport 25,000 people per year, in the same way a boss can decide to fire 9,000 people because they aren’t profitable anymore.

• Because we do not recognize laws, even though they recognize us.

• Because the criminalization of the immigrants leads to the criminalization of anyone who wants to roam around.

• Because ID checks contribute towards Kontrol over all of us.

• Because when the freedom of one person is violated, everyone’s liberty is in doubt.

• Because the measures and actions used to arrest people without a legal status are part of the police occupation of our neighbourhoods.

• Because the fear of confinement allows the re-launch of exploitation.

• Because in the acme of this cynical world, it is sometimes the illegal immigrant workers who actually build the prisons which are intended to confine them.

• Because apart from the retention centers, it is the State which we want to smash.

• Because the closure of the retention centers is asked for and we don’t want to ask for anything from the State.

• Because the humanitarian approach could never solve the real problem and only brings a cosmetic treatment to the visible surface of the iceberg.

• Because we, who have IDs, dream about the possibility of burning our documents with great happiness.

• Because!