Benefit for the family of Moussa Balde

By: börek - January 10th, 2025  Filed under: Volkseten/Voku

Monday January 13, 2025, Benefit for the family of Moussa Balde. Food served from 7pm, no reservation.

Todays voku will be to raise funds to allow Moussa Balde’s sister, brother and mother to take part in the first hearing of the trial of two responsible for his death. Moussa, originally from Guinea, was held as a non-European and irregular person on the territory, and for this reason he died in the isolation of a cell. Moussa’s death was neither “fatal” nor the fruit of a chain of inadvertence, but the consequence of structural racism. This hearing will be held in Turin on February 12.
The family members are represented by lawyers Gianluca Vitale and Laura Martinelli.
The funds are needed to pay for travel costs and the expensive visas for Italy, as well as the expenses while their stay.
During their visit to Italy of about a month, the family members would like to take part actively in various contestation events against CPR throughout Pemonte (Torino) and Liguria (Genova, Imperia, Ventigmiglia).

WHO WAS MOUSSA BALDE?

He was a friend and comerade, who died in the night between 22 and 23 May 2021 after 10 days spent in a cell in the isolation area, called Ospedaletto, inside the Turin CPR corso Brunelleschi. On May 9 he was beaten up in Ventimiglia by three Italians. After a short stay at the hospital he was held in the detention center, ignoring his serious physical and psychological condition.

To read more about the processes and his history, you can visit this blog (in Italian) under the category “Moussa Balde” https://parolesulconfine.com/ > Moussa Balde

NOW

On 12 February in Turin, the preliminary hearing of the proceeding for manslaughter will be held against the former director of the CPR and the medical director of the structure at the time of Moussa Balde’s death.
In February 2023, this very same CPR on corso Brunelleschi went on fire and remained closed until now. Yet it’s about to reopen.

Between June 2019 and December 2022, ten people lost their lives while being held in administrative detention. At the beginning of February 2024, the young Ousmane Sylla, who turns out to be a neighbor and friend of the Balde family, committed suicide in the CPR in Rome.

The presence of the family is crucial, not only for this legal procedure against this particular structure, it is also essential to strengthen a wide movement against the opening of more of these prisons in Liguria (as in Diano Marina) and in every Italian region.

AGAINST THE REOPENING OF TURIN’S CPR, WHERE MOUSSA BALDE DIED
AGAINST ALL CPR
FOR FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
JUSTICE FOR MOUSSA […Lees verder]

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No Borders No CPR!

By: börek - May 3rd, 2023  Filed under: Benefiet, Infoavond, Volkseten/Voku

Thursday 4 May 2023, Benefit voku – No Borders No CPR! Support activists fighting CPRs and supporting refugees in southern Italy. They are facing charges and being criminalized for showing solidarity, and benefits will help support their legal costs. We will have a video call with the activists. Food served from 7pm, no reservation.


THE CPR
CPR, TEMPORARY RECEPTION CENTRE
They were born with the aim of locking up non-EU people waiting to be deported from Italian territory because of the expulsion act ordered by authorities or also because they haven’t a valid residence permit (for example even if they’ve never had it, if they haven’t renovated in time etc….).

THE CPRS ARE AT THE TOP OF THE BLACKMAIL AND REPRESSIVE SYSTEM AGAINST WHO IS JURIDICALLY A NON-EU CITIZEN, AND ARE DESIGNED TO SCARE, THREATEN, IMPRISON AND EXPEL.
The conditions of reclusion are terrible, the buildings are often in decay; it’s hot in the summer, it’s very cold in the winter. The sections are made up of shacks separated by containment fences and inadequate sanitary facilities. Furthermore, “prisoners” complain about expired or badly preserved food and that it is served by external food services.

THE ABUSES AND VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY “JAILORS” ARE CONSTANT AND THEY GO AS FAR AS FORCING LARGE DOSES OF SEDATIVES TO ANNIHILATE THE PRISONERS.
During the years, there were a lot of episodes of rebellion, of evasions/breakouts and riots carried out by the men themselves inside (most of these ‘centers’ host only men), no longer willing to tolerate these awful life conditions. In some cases, the revolts have brought the shutting down of several of these lager.

IN BASILICATA THERE IS A CPR IN PALAZZO SAN GERVASIO (PZ). IT’S A NON-PLACE FAR FROM INDISCREET EYES, WHERE VIOLENCE AND ABUSES TAKE PLACE CONTINUOUSLY; A DETENTION FACILITY THAT WAS CLOSED MANY TIMES, BUT IT’S NOW OPEN, AND THAT WAS CALLED THE “ITALIAN GUANTANAMO”.
After some demonstrations that took place out of those oppressive walls, in solidarity with the guys inside, today some people are facing criminal charges with the accusation of “incitement”. It’s a false and prosecutorial charge, racist and shameful. This is a narration that tend to criminalize the people who show solidarity with the “detainees”, who try to break the wall of silence and want to tell about these conditions.
This narration infantilize the people inside and it doesn’t even consider them able to understand the shit that is coming their way. It also wants to say that the push to rebel is not born from their daily life conditions, from the violence, abuses of power and abuses in general; nor from the knowledge that it happens also in other centers everywhere, but because someone from the outside explain them “how life works”.

THE CPRS MUST NOT EXIST AND THEY ALL MUST BE CLOSED RIGHT NOW!

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchens existing since the very beginning of Joe’s Garage, June 2005. Your donations are welcome. Food is vegan, no reservation. All benefits go to social & political struggles. Joe’s Garage is a space run by volunteers. Without a collective effort, without your active participation, we’re remaining closed. Get in touch in you feel like giving a hand. We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. If you want to know which days are still available, mail us.

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