Our signatory organisation ‘diakon’ writes: Today marks one year since 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a lorry in Essex.
Join us in a show of remembrance and solidarity: post a photo with the words ‘#RemembertheEssex39‘ and tag @remember.resist (Instagram) / @remember_resist (Twitter)
📖 Read the “Remember the Dead: Justice for the Living” zine featuring writings that attempt to recentre a structural analysis to understand the broader conditions that led to the deaths of the Essex 39 https://issuu.com/daikonzine/docs/essex_39_zine
🎧 Listen to recordings from our day event in February where we discussed East and Southeast Asian histories of migration in the UK; the impact of immigration policy, law enforcement, and exploitative working conditions on migrant workers and worker-led strategies for resistance; and the histories of carceral systems and strategies for resistance https://open.spotify.com/show/0qimdkzJmED5MHRvuGinCU…
If you live in or around Hackney, Hackney Chinese Community Services is holding a shrine to commemorate the deaths of the Essex 39 on Friday (23 October), which you can visit anytime from 10am to 5pm at 28-32 Ellingfort Road, London E8 3PA.
Please follow ‘Remember & Resist’ on Twitter and Instagram for updates!
Unis Resist Border Controls
Today Unis Resist Border Controls joins daikon in remembering the 39 Vietnamese lives that were killed by UK’s xeno-racist border regime:
Pham Thi Tra My, aged 26
Nguyen Dinh Lurong, aged 20
Nguyen Huy Phong, aged 35
Vo Nhan Du, aged 19
Tran Manh Hung, aged 37
Tran Khanh Tho, aged 18
Vo Van Linh, aged 25
Nguyen Van Nhan, aged 33
Bui Phan Thang, aged 37
Nguyen Huy Hung, aged 15
Tran Thi Tho, aged 21
Bui Thi Nhung, aged 19
Vo Ngoc Nam, aged 28
Nguyen Dinh Tu, aged 26
Le Van Ha, aged 30
Tran Thi Ngoc, aged 19
Nguyen Van Hung, aged 33
Hoang Van Tiep, aged 18
Cao Tien Dung, aged 37
Cao Huy Thanh, aged 33
Tran Thi Mai Nhung, aged 18
Nguyen Minh Quang, aged 20
Le Trong Thanh, aged 44
Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, aged 28
Hoang Van Hoi, aged 24
Nguyen Tho Tuan, aged 25
Dang Huu Tuyen, aged 22
Nguyen Trong Thai, aged 26
Nguyen Van Hiep, aged 24
Nguyen Thi Van, aged 35
Tran Hai Loc, aged 35
Duong Minh Tuan, aged 27
Nguyen Ngoc Ha, aged 32
Nguyen Tien Dung, aged 33
Phan Thi Thanh, aged 41
Nguyen Ba Vu Hung, aged 34
Dinh Dinh Thai Quyen, aged 18
Tran Ngoc Hieu, aged 17
Dinh Dinh Binh, aged 15
In 2019 daikon wrote concerning the Essex 39:
“We want to centre the role of racist borders and global capitalism in the deaths of the 39. We resist hollow, neoliberal ‘celebrations’ of migrants that render their humanity contingent on their ‘hard work’ or ‘contribution’ to Britain. We believe solidarity with migrants means resisting the violent border regime that causes untold amounts of death, destitution and suffering amongst migrants and asylum seekers. We believe the scapegoating of smugglers by the criminal justice system conveniently shifts blame from the state to individuals, who are figured as suffering from individualised flaws of ‘corruption’ or ‘greed’, further obscuring the structural conditions that create the demand for smuggling work. We call for an end to the hostile environment, xeno-racist immigration policy and the violent bureaucracy of the Home Office.
We will not forget the Essex 39, nor the ongoing violence of the Windrush scandal, immigration raids, detention, deportations and the hostile environment. After the election, we are facing an emboldened far-right, with sections of the left capitulating to racist nativist politics to ‘win back’ the mythical white working class. Building a movement against borders is as crucial as ever.”
Read this piece by daikon* members on Essex 39 here:
“Don’t Call the Essex 39 a Tragedy”: [https://newint.org/features/…/25/dont-call-essex-39-tragedy…]
Photos from the National Day of Action // Remember the Essex 39, that took place on International Migrant’s Day, 18 December 2019, in Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Sheffield. [https://www.facebook.com/events/423367941875319/]
This action was organised jointly by Unis Resist Border Controls, daikon, Newham Anti-Raids, Unity Centre, & Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants.
New Internationalist: DON’T CALL THE ESSEX 39 A ‘TRAGEDY’
25 October 2019: Jun Pang on why the deaths of 39 undocumented migrants were entirely avoidable, and why borders are to blame.