FLIGHT FINGERED

Last year, over 63,000 people were forcibly spirited away from this country - and the government�s mass deportation of migrants policy would not work without the compliance of major airline companies. Companies like British Midland (BMI), who are happy to take refugees who are denied asylum status to persecution and repression - often handcuffed and abused by security personnel - right back in the countries they�ve worked so hard to escape from.

This was much the story for No Borders South Wales activist and gay radical artist/writer Babi Badalov, who was an unwilling BMI passenger on September 20th (see SchNEWS 648). He was deported to not-so-liberal Azerbaijan � where his political art had angered the local equivalent of the KGB and his own family had attacked and threatened to kill him for his sexuality.

Despite hundreds of phone calls, emails and faxes of protest, BMI claimed that it �was beyond their control� and they had no choice but to do the government�s dirty work.

This was not the case for XL airlines (Ok, now bust but not because of lost revenues from Stasi work). A concerted campaign to disrupt, name and shame them eventually led them to withdraw from deportations in 2007.

No Borders South Wales now have plans to give BMI similar treatment and intend to let them know what happens to the people they deport and how their image and business will be affected if they continue this practice.

They�re now asking all comers to contact BMI and register disapproval at their role in deportations. October 20th (and each 20th month thereafter) has been named �Shut Down BMI Day�, so why not join in and overwhelm the company with negativity.

BMI Switchboard: 01332 854000 for more contact details check out: noborderswales.org.uk/tag/bmi