On Saturday, Peckham saw its first ever Pride march, organised by LGSMigrants and Movement for Justice.

The organisers promoted the event as “for everyone with and without citizenship, papers or no papers. We REFUSE to accept stigma or discrimination over the colour of our passports, the colour of our skin, our gender, our sexuality or our ability. We want to put the politics of resistance back into Pride.”

Peckham has been a target for anti-immigration raids, racist go-home vans, and street harassment. Many are under threat of immigration detention (racist prisons where people are held on immigration officer’s say-so). The Nigerian and Ghanaian community is viewed by the Home Office as a convenient target due to their use of charter flights for mass deportations to those countries as enabled by the governments within them – a quick way to get British deportation stats up. Peckham has come out in force on to the streets in order to drive immigration enforcement off Rye Lane.

The march started off outside the Peckham Library, then went up Rye Lane, stopping at a few points for speeches by local residents and shop keepers who shared their stories of resistance to immigration raids. We then walked back to Bussey Building where the event continued with talks, poetry and music. Someone had brought along a piñata of ‘immigration enforcement’ van which many took joy in hitting.

You can see more photos from the day here.

See also:

Philip Robinson photos

Philip Robinson video

Paolo Zeriali video of the march

Guy Smallman photos

London Live report from the march

Via People’s Republic of Southwark.

http://rabble.org.uk/peckham-pride-march-celebrates-local-resistance-to-immigration-raids/