Régine Béziat, President of Human Rights of the Basque Country, gives the start of the solidarity walk for immigrants organized by Vida! On July 13, he denounced the purpose of the Geriza-Immigration Law in front of the House of Envy of René Cassin, who was the vice writer of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948: “In order to strengthen the effectiveness of the measures of distancing, the latest French draft law further increases the measures of control and deprivation of liberty (systematization of the granting of compulsory residence, a high increase in the duration of the detention), to which must be added the inclusion of people in the Dublin procedure.” Then, at 3:00 p.m., he was the first to carry the witness stick that will be changed by hand 10 times in the 10 stages to the Immigration Detention Center in Bayonne and Hendaye.

Continuing to the seashore, taking paths that are full of mucus this weekend of July 14, the walkers have crossed thousands of people and gathered multiple supporters and solidarity applause. On Friday afternoon the hike stops in Arbona to enjoy an evening of plenty, with the Boujalal team cheering.Then it starts again, on Saturday morning, with a pause at the port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz for picnicking.A total of 33 people have made the trek, 45 km in two days, and another 186 people have made part of the march, which is to say that 219 walkers have been supportive. The last stage of the Hendaye Walk has been carried out from above by 150 people.

You could see among them: Marcus, a cartoonist who was imprisoned in Greece in 2016 by Mikelon Zuluaga for supporting migrants, the singers Beñat Achiarry and Maialen Errotabehere, the militants Alec Cadi, Juliette Bergouignan and Florence Warembourg, the musician Beñat Elizondo, the writer Gerar Karrere of SOS Racism and Cole Marie Snay. All of them have been witnesses on a regular basis. However, in that witness, there was a message written especially by Cédric Herrou during that march (*). Cédric Herrou is a farmer from the La Roya Valley who has become a symbol of solidarity with immigrants. When the march reaches the Hendaye Detention Center, the writer Marie Cosnay reads this message. However, Marie Cosnay is particularly involved in the support of isolated immature foreigners.

Malika Peyraut of Viva!, when she came up with the march, denounced the terrible deaths and suffering that the current immigration policies of Europe and France bring. He recalled that “in the last 4 weeks, more than 600 people have drowned in the Mediterranean, including children and young children, according to the numbers of the Médecins Sans Frontière. Alta, would Macron and Collomb, through their Asile-Immigration law, want to impose more hardship, repression and cruelty in such a situation?”

In the name of Siempre Viva!, Haizea Mouesca spoke and called on people to “make such rallies, marches, actions and Calls more than ever, against the administrative centers of Retention. In fact, these centres are sincere prisons for the punishment of the innocent, condoning symbols of this ruthless policy of repression, detention and expulsion against migrants. Well, we fight against this policy; and we know that history will judge this policy harshly. (...) Contrary to these shameful and inhumane policies, we call for the reception of migrants and their concrete solidarity to be strengthened at all times. From shelter to material and financial support, from teaching, administration or, simply, support in the fields of multitude in the past, we can all do something, we can each bring our own level of support.”

This same 14th of July, in response to the call of Vida!, 3 more trips to the Administrative Detention Centers have passed in Vincennes, Sète and Perpignan.

This news has been published by Movimiento de Vida and we have published it thanks to the Creative Commons license.