The Freedom Shop Aotearoa

Come and join a discussion about the new Bill The new Immigration (Mass Arrivals) Amendment Bill is before Parliament right now. It includes new detention powers against asylum seekers and also adopts the Australian 'no entry by boat' policy by discriminating against asylum seekers who arrive by sea. Western countries, like New Zealand, use refugees to make them look good but it's the western countries that are the primary drivers of the problems causing people to flee and then the same countries do their best to prevent people from arriving there.  Join us for a discussion about this bill and the bigger picture, the reality of western states policies to refugees and the constant erosion to the right of asylum. Thursday 20 April 6.30pm at Freedom Shop, 160 Riddiford St, Newtown

The Freedom Shop has nothing to do with this event but it sounds interesting... Film screening: Laura Waddington's 'Border', 2004 Wednesday, 14 July 21, 6pm Adam Art Gallery, Kelburn Parade "In the days, if you wandered along the motorways and the wastelands, you could see the refugees everywhere: waiting on the roadside or headed to the port and the freight trains. They travelled in twos or threes or sometimes in groups of twenty or thirty. At night, I’d walk along the roads with them. It took two or three hours to reach the spots on the channel tunnel fence, where they’d start to cut the wire. Then came the arrests and the police bus back to the camp. A few hours later, they’d re-emerge and the perverse game of cat and mouse would start again." - Laura Waddington In 2002, filmmaker Laura Waddington spent several months in the fields around Sangatte Red Cross camp in northern France with Afghan and Iraqi refugees, who were trying to cross the channel tunnel to En

Film screening and discussion   In 2015, a boat with refugees from Sri Lanka tried to reach New Zealand, but was intercepted in international waters by the Australian Border Force. They forced the refugees onto another boat and paid the skipper to take them to Indonesia. The boat was shipwrecked on an Indonesian island.  Why did the Australian Navy intercept a boat that was heading for NZ? Is the Australian Navy doing the bidding for the NZ government? Why is NZ still refusing to accept these refugees? Watch the film "Stop the Boats - the lie about saving lives at sea" and join the discussion about the rights of asylum seekers.  Tuesday, 22 June, 7pm at the Newtown Hall, 71 Daniell St, Newtown (near Constable St). Free entry. Organised by the Freedom Shop and Right2AsylumNZ

By Peppertree There is plenty of writing out there that stresses how the COVID19 pandemic is different from other disasters because “it affects everyone”. Even on the left, people are writing about how the compliance with lockdown is an example of what we can achieve if we all pull together and put human life before profit. They then build a picture of how this crisis can lead to a revolution of sorts that results in a different economic system that doesn’t leave people in poverty and the planet in ruins. That is a nice thought but unfortunately it’s based on a lie, just like any other time when the privileged claim that “we’re all in this together”. Because we’re not. For some, mainly middle class white people like myself, the virus threat and the lockdown has been an inconvenience. I still have my job, I have a home that I can work from, I have access to communications technology that allows me to stay in touch with friends and family. I am reasonably healthy and am not reliant on he

By Peppertree There is plenty of writing out there that stresses how the COVID19 pandemic is different from other disasters because “it affects everyone”. Even on the left, people are writing about how the compliance with lockdown is an example of what we can achieve if we all pull together and put human life before profit. They then build a picture of how this crisis can lead to a revolution of sorts that results in a different economic system that doesn’t leave people in poverty and the planet in ruins. That is a nice thought but unfortunately it’s based on a lie, just like any other time when the privileged claim that “we’re all in this together”. Because we’re not. For some, mainly middle class white people like myself, the virus threat and the lockdown has been an inconvenience. I still have my job, I have a home that I can work from, I have access to communications technology that allows me to stay in touch with friends and family. I am reasonably healthy and am not reliant on he

February 17th marks four years since Reza Barati was murdered in detention. Reza was a 23-year-old Iranian refugee seeking asylum but Australian border policy meant he was detained on Manus Island in an Australian run detention centre. On February 17, 2014, he was murdered. For several weeks in early 2014, asylum seekers detained in the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre had been protesting against their treatment. They said that physical and verbal abuse by security guards (from Australian company G4S) was common place. Tensions rose when on 14 February, the refugees were told of Australia’s new policy to not allow anyone who had arrived by boat to settle in Australia. On 17 February the camp was attacked and Reza Barati was murdered. An inquiry found he was hit with a piece of timber with a nail sticking out, before he was bashed with a large rock on his head. G4S security guards (who were there to guard the camp) participated in the attack. On Manus and Nauru, another Australia

February 17th marks four years since Reza Barati was murdered in detention. Reza was a 23-year-old Iranian refugee seeking asylum but Australian border policy meant he was detained on Manus Island in an Australian run detention centre. On February 17, 2014, he was murdered. For several weeks in early 2014, asylum seekers detained in the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre had been protesting against their treatment. They said that physical and verbal abuse by security guards (from Australian company G4S) was common place. Tensions rose when on 14 February, the refugees were told of Australia’s new policy to not allow anyone who had arrived by boat to settle in Australia. On 17 February the camp was attacked and Reza Barati was murdered. An inquiry found he was hit with a piece of timber with a nail sticking out, before he was bashed with a large rock on his head. G4S security guards (who were there to guard the camp) participated in the attack. On Manus and Nauru, another Australia

The situation of the refugees who have been abandoned by Australia on Manus Island is getting worse by the day. They have been without food, water or medical supplies for 19 days now and many of them are acutely ill. On Saturday, the supposedly safe new camp in Lorengau was invaded by locals, armed with knives and machetes, who turned the electricity generator off. We need to get them here now! The Freedom Shop has put together two resources that can help spread information and raise awareness.   A twelve-page A5 pamphlet titled “The Manus Refugee Crisis – the story so far” provides a bit of background on the Australian detention policy and the history of the Manus camp, before giving a day-by-day chronology of the events since the closure of the camps on 31 October. Download the un-imposed (good for reading on a screen) version here and the imposed (good for printing) here . The fold-up poster “Welcome Refugees” is a quick-read info sheet and call to action, on the back of a poster.

The situation of the refugees who have been abandoned by Australia on Manus Island is getting worse by the day. They have been without food, water or medical supplies for 19 days now and many of them are acutely ill. On Saturday, the supposedly safe new camp in Lorengau was invaded by locals, armed with knives and machetes, who turned the electricity generator off. We need to get them here now! The Freedom Shop has put together two resources that can help spread information and raise awareness.   A twelve-page A5 pamphlet titled “The Manus Refugee Crisis – the story so far” provides a bit of background on the Australian detention policy and the history of the Manus camp, before giving a day-by-day chronology of the events since the closure of the camps on 31 October. Download the un-imposed (good for reading on a screen) version here and the imposed (good for printing) here . The fold-up poster “Welcome Refugees” is a quick-read info sheet and call to action, on the back of a poster

Thursday,  21 September,  6pm  @ 19 Tory St The Freedom Shop is screening two anti-war films: Hell UnLtd (19min)  Remote (33min) Hell UnLtd is a 1936 film made as a protest against profits in armaments during a period when fascism was growing throughout Europe. The film is political in nature but, unlike many political films of the period, also heavily experimental, mixing puppets, diagrams, animation, and archival footage at an extremely rapid tempo. It's a classic anti-war /anti-arms trade film calling on people to do something rather than sit dumbly and say 'I can't change anything'.  Remote is extremely recent. It's a June 2017 film about drone warfare, war,  surveillance, big business and people. The title 'Remote' deliberately plays on the the ideas of remote violence and the  remote society that allows this violence to happen.  Both films leave us thinking about how we allow the military & surveillance industrial complex to continue.  So come al

Thursday,  21 September,  6pm  @ 19 Tory St The Freedom Shop is screening two anti-war films: Hell UnLtd (19min)  Remote (33min) Hell UnLtd is a 1936 film made as a protest against profits in armaments during a period when fascism was growing throughout Europe. The film is political in nature but, unlike many political films of the period, also heavily experimental, mixing puppets, diagrams, animation, and archival footage at an extremely rapid tempo. It's a classic anti-war /anti-arms trade film calling on people to do something rather than sit dumbly and say 'I can't change anything'.  Remote is extremely recent. It's a June 2017 film about drone warfare, war,  surveillance, big business and people. The title 'Remote' deliberately plays on the the ideas of remote violence and the  remote society that allows this violence to happen.  Both films leave us thinking about how we allow the military & surveillance industrial complex to continue.  So come al

As a follow-up to our film screening last week, here are links to the films we showed: The Valley Rebels Migrants: Unaccompanied minors stranded in Paris Cisarua refugee school (Indonesia) Also worth watching is this clip titled The real State of Emergency about refugees sleeping rough in Paris. A good read about a radical critique of borders and a grassoots response to the refugee crisis is Harsha Walia's book Undoing Border Imperialism, available at the Freedom Shop. We also have a small pamphlet on the increasing militarisation of borders, which can be downloaded here .

As a follow-up to our film screening last week, here are links to the films we showed: The Valley Rebels Migrants: Unaccompanied minors stranded in Paris Cisarua refugee school (Indonesia) Also worth watching is this clip titled The real State of Emergency about refugees sleeping rough in Paris. A good read about a radical critique of borders and a grassoots response to the refugee crisis is Harsha Walia's book Undoing Border Imperialism, available at the Freedom Shop. We also have a small pamphlet on the increasing militarisation of borders, which can be downloaded here .

The Valley Rebels What happens to young refugees?   If on your drive home from work you encountered a group of lost teenage kids, would you stop and help them? That’s what the people from a valley in the French Alps do, and they are being prosecuted for it. Because the kids are “unaccompanied minor” refugees and the authorities don’t know what to do with them. Amongst the daily news about the “refugee crisis” in Europe, the situation of children is often overlooked. And closer to home, there are about 45 children held in the Australian detention centre on Nauru. Come and watch the film The Valley Rebels and join a discussion about young refugees and what happens to them. When: Thursday, 15 June 2017, 6 pm Where: 17 Tory St, Te Aro Hosted by the Freedom Shop

The Valley Rebels What happens to young refugees?   If on your drive home from work you encountered a group of lost teenage kids, would you stop and help them? That’s what the people from a valley in the French Alps do, and they are being prosecuted for it. Because the kids are “unaccompanied minor” refugees and the authorities don’t know what to do with them. Amongst the daily news about the “refugee crisis” in Europe, the situation of children is often overlooked. And closer to home, there are about 45 children held in the Australian detention centre on Nauru. Come and watch the film The Valley Rebels and join a discussion about young refugees and what happens to them. When: Thursday, 15 June 2017, 6 pm Where: 17 Tory St, Te Aro Hosted by the Freedom Shop

The Freedom shop invites you to: An evening of short films  and discussion on borders, refugees and militarisation. ( Download our 12-page Border Militarisation zine  here .) Donald Trump is talking about it, NATO is sending its frigates and the Dutch want to copy Australia's 'turn back the boats' policy - border enforcement is back with a vengeance and anyone who challenges the legitimacy of barbed wire and armed border guards is getting criminalised.  Come and join us on  Thursday, 26 May 2016, 7pm  at 17 Tory St, Te Aro  Join a discussion on who makes money from the refugee crisis, see what happens when you take food supplies to refugees in France and find out what it looks like when 15,000 refugees are stuck between two borders. 

The Freedom shop invites you to: An evening of short films  and discussion on borders, refugees and militarisation. ( Download our 12-page Border Militarisation zine  here .) Donald Trump is talking about it, NATO is sending its frigates and the Dutch want to copy Australia's 'turn back the boats' policy - border enforcement is back with a vengeance and anyone who challenges the legitimacy of barbed wire and armed border guards is getting criminalised.  Come and join us on  Thursday, 26 May 2016, 7pm  at 17 Tory St, Te Aro  Join a discussion on who makes money from the refugee crisis, see what happens when you take food supplies to refugees in France and find out what it looks like when 15,000 refugees are stuck between two borders. 

Film Screening and Discussion on the Bogey of the 'Boat People' People around the world mourned the tragedy of Lampedusa when several hundred people drowned after their boat capsized only a few hundred metres off the coast of the Italian Island. But deaths at sea of people seeking asylum should not be news. Hundreds of people seeking asylum have already drowned in the Mediterranean and hundreds have drowned in the waters between Indonesia and Australia. Just the week before Lampedusa nearly 80 people drowned making the journey to Australia. However, instead of welcoming and assisting refugees, the focus both in Europe and this part of the world is to prevent the arrival of asylum seekers – irrespective of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Australia has a particularly bad record and now has the dubious honour of practising both mandatory detention and mandatory exclusion for all asylum seekers; if the NZ National Government has its way here, we will be following suit and in th

Film Screening and Discussion on the Bogey of the 'Boat People' People around the world mourned the tragedy of Lampedusa when several hundred people drowned after their boat capsized only a few hundred metres off the coast of the Italian Island. But deaths at sea of people seeking asylum should not be news. Hundreds of people seeking asylum have already drowned in the Mediterranean and hundreds have drowned in the waters between Indonesia and Australia. Just the week before Lampedusa nearly 80 people drowned making the journey to Australia. However, instead of welcoming and assisting refugees, the focus both in Europe and this part of the world is to prevent the arrival of asylum seekers – irrespective of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Australia has a particularly bad record and now has the dubious honour of practising both mandatory detention and mandatory exclusion for all asylum seekers; if the NZ National Government has its way here, we will be following suit and in th

We are hosting a film screening and discussion evening on Friday, 21 June at the People’s Cinema. On June 13, parliament passed the Immigration Amendment Bill into law - just in time for World Refugee Day on June 20. The new law allows the mass detention of groups of asylum seekers, should they ever manage to arrive in here. The changes bring New Zealand in line with Australia’s much condemned mandatory offshore detention regime. On top of that, earlier this year John Key signed an agreement with Julia Gillard to take 150 asylum seekers off Australia, further reducing New Zealand’s already small annual quota of 750 UN refugees and making New Zealand complicit in Australia’s human rights violations. In order to show what mass detention looks like, we will screen the documentary “No Advantage: Inside Australia’s Offshore Processing Centres”, which exposes the conditions inside the detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island. When: Friday, June 21, 2013, 6:30pm Where: People’s Cinema, 57