Photo Series: RAR's National Day of Action Against Racism

On the 16 June 2005 the UNHCR's 3rd Annual World Refugee Day was celebrated at the Dublin City Council office on Wood Quay and awards were given in five categories to fourteen people living in Ireland who are actively involved with asylum seekers and refugees. Presentation of the awards was by Dublin Lord Mayor Michael Conaghan and South African Ambassador to Ireland, Melanie Verwoerd. Rosanna Flynn, of Residents Against Racism, was one of the winners of the award.

Rosanna Flynn: '...things have moved on, or rather, I'm afraid things have moved back. We are now integrating people for deportation [....] The time for tip-toeing around the Irish Government is over. I'm afraid we have a 'Bogus Minister of Justice' - he talks about 'Bogus Asylum Seekers' all the time - we must confront him and Bertie Ahern, who after all keeps him in the job. And it verges, in Michael McDowell's case, on incitement to racial hatred. He talks of 'Cock and Bull Stories,' he says if not for the United Nation's Human Rights rules he'd be out at the airport to send them back immediately. [....] We are entering a new phase of Anti-Racism activism in Ireland - it's got to be confrontational. If you play things by the book and keep your head down you are almost certain to be deported. You have got to make noise about it....''

UPDATE: (June 25th) 'Translated into English this means this multi-national corporation is seeking the imprisonment of these five men for defending their homes, families, livelihoods, land and very lives from an unprecedented high pressure upstream untreated gas pipeline....' Read More... (June 26) Corrib Gas Pipeline Development - in a nut shell

The scenario is this is a very narrow road, not passable by both village traffic and the 60 to 70 trucks the developers want to bring on it everyday. So there isn’t so much a blockade as there is parking. This has gone on since Tuesday at 3pm…over 72 hours and counting of continual vigil.

As a result of the actions of local residents and their supporters most transport to the Shell compound at Rossport has ceased.

At mid-day today (June 24th) some Shell and associates top brass started poking around, and seeing that the numbers of residents and their supporters had thinned they attempted to make their move. By 2pm today, Friday, a flurry of Shell henchmen was at the scene waving the High Court Injunction order they had got in Dublin that morning. This named Willie Corduff, Vincent McGrath, Philip McGrath and enjoined them, and anyone acting in concert with them, from “interfering” with traffic. However the only obstruction to traffic is from the contractors hired by Shell, normal traffic can transit the road with little difficulty. At the moment any obstruction is from the now very stationary lorry which was bringing pipes to the Shell compound.

At around 3.30pm Garda were called and served the injunction, reading it out to the assembled crowd of around 30 people, who were unimpressed at the law not being applied to the developers, while local residents are tried in absentia in Dublin.

The police were told straight out they would have to cart people off the road in wagons, that they would have to arrest everyone in sight. The legal situation with lorry, which is unlicensed to carry materials, was pointed out to them, but they said that it could be driven off and that the new driver had ten days to produce the necessary documentation. Mostly the Garda just pleaded that they had orders from the High Court, the highest court in the land and so on…

Negotiations began, the three-way debate ended inconclusively as Coffey, on behalf of Shell and co., didn’t have the power to organise a full scale public meeting open to all the people who use the road, rather his brief was, he claimed, only to organise a meeting of 3 Shell reps and 3 local residents, moreover he aimed to restrict participation to the owners of the land where the pipeline is planned to go.

Frustrated the Garda left, and, according to what is by now legend, worked out their stress issues by pulling over some Eastern European migrants for having no tax and insurance.

Shell-Statoil-Roadbridge-Sicim then attempted an abortive move of the lorry, unsuccessful in this, they then tried parking it further off the road, in order that the road be passable for their other lorries. Not the smartest of moves as this then got the truck bogged down. So the main-contractor successfully sabotaged the sub-contractors machinery, one would say – only in Ireland, but as there are Italians, Germans, Englishmen, Norwegians, Americans etc… with a slice of the development cake here perhaps such happens everywhere, but it is sure a new one on me.

The mood here is very positive and has been the last few days, there was a bit of a party last night with the bonfire for St.John’s Eve, with the Wolfe Tones making a change from some radio station that only seems to play country.

Volunteers are needed and welcome to travel up and join the struggle, see the Shell To Sea contacts page here:

Thousands of homes in Tyrrelstown, a new development in the Blanchardstown area, have been affected by a biological contamination to their water supply. The water supply is under the control of a private company established by the property developers. Fingal County Council have had to bail out the private management company responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the water system. A report in the Northside People claimed children's skin had suffered a reaction when they washed. Residents claimed when they contacted Fingal County Council they were passed onto the management company. Private water management companies are not regulated in Ireland. So there you have it, water being privatised through the back door, without legislation or regulation.

Follow Feature Continued Link Below For Council Notices On This Issue

The arrival of the first two of an expected six foreign warships to Cork was marked by pickets mounted by Cork Anti-War Campaign (CAWC) and also by Republican Sinn Féin (RSF). The presence of the warships to 'celebrate' Cork 2005 reflects poorly on the organisers of the Capital of Culture. The protests were there to remind them and the visiting warships that not everyone here in this city is taken in by this hogwash.

Protests took place today in Cork at the presence of two floating killing machines in the city, on a so-called 'courtesy visit' to the city to 'celebrate' the Cork 2005 Capital of Culture scam. The warships in question were from Britain and Australia, the HMS Grafton and HMAS Anzac respectively. Pickets were mounted alongside both ships in a good-natured and non-confrontational manner. Protestors from the Cork Anti-War Campaign (joined by the redoubtable Tim Hourigan) picketed the Anzac, while protestors from Republican Sinn Fein picketed the Grafton, which had docked at the Custom House, presumably to frustrate any protestor who wished to get any closer.

Background Links & Info You can read full details of this story on the following websites: June 10th, 2005: GlobalMobileVision.com: Employee 'detained' and staff 'underpaid' at IT company June 10th, 2005: Reprinted Village Magazine article about GlobalMobileVision.com: Employee 'detained' and staff 'underpaid' at IT company June 11th, 2005: Global Mobile Vision: UPDATE Media Coverage & Contact Details for GMV June 11th, 2005: Global Mobile Vision: Update After Ex- Employee Meeting June 12th, 2005: Global Mobile Vision: An 'Official' Response from Alex Fitzgerald June 12th, 2005: Global Mobile Vision: Open letter to Mr. Alex Fitzgerald/GMV management June 14th, 2005: GlobalMobileVision.com: BBC World Confirms Business Connection with GMV June 15th, 2005: Global Mobile Vision: Being Investigated by Irish Government June 16th, 2005: Employees setup blogs to show they’re happy campers More Investigating Blogging at: RunningWithBulls.com

A Dublin "technology" company with links to Christian religious groups in America has been accused of intimidating staff, of failing to pay salaries, and sexual harrassment. Its work practices are bizarre. Fire escapes are locked. Management deny the allegations.

A number of staff members were fired for various reasons. Some staff went without pay for up to 10 weeks. If the ex-staff members did receive P45s a number were duplicated, with different information. Some of these people suspect they were fired for asking two many questions.

Global Mobile Vision was incorporated in the UK in August 2004 and has had offices in Nangor road business park in Clondalkin since November 2004. The company is run by David Crownborn, his wife, Esther Crownborn, his brother, Matthew Crownborn and the latter’s wife Deborah King.

The company’s main contacts are with American Evangelist groups, staff said. It has recently being involved in contacts in the US with evangelist media organisations about collaborating in business ventures.

Up to last Wednesday, Global Mobile Vision employed between approx. 60 staff at its offices in Clondalkin, north Dublin. GMV supposedly develops software for audio and video streaming technologies for 3G phones. Yet, a search of Vodafone, O2, Hutchinson, and other 2G and 3G mobile operators turn up a big zero for any partnerships. A search for "Global Mobile Vision" and other related search terms shows up nothing. Zero. Nil. No inbound, or outbound links anywhere. Very strange for a "high technology company with valuable intellectual property". Its so "high technology" that no one know what they "do". One would be forgiven for classifying this as "snakeoil". Current and former staff said that they did almost no work at the company, they received few orders, no conrete work (other than "go search the Internet for a while"). One ex-staff member said "after one week, I eventually got a computer but it had no software. I had to use my own software - I told them I would use until I got me some official legal software but it never arrived."

This was commonplace.

John Bates, an employee who is currently suspended from work, was detained last Wednesday 8th June as he tried to leave the office. He was accused by management of stealing IP ('Intellectual Property') from the company. No evidence was given. He was surrounded by a large number of people (including staff from Crimeforce Ireland, a security guard company), and until the Gardaí were called, he was held against his will in the GMV offices. After the Gardaí advised GMV to either a) make an allegation, or b) let Mr. Bates go, Mr. Bates left the offices accompanied by Finian McGrath, TD (Independent) for North Dublin, the Gardaí, and a number of journalists. You can read the full details of Mr. Bates account here and here.

Mr. Bates believes the reason he was singled out was becuase he was organizing staff in getting their due pay, and finding out the problems in GMV.