Notes from the 9th collective session

This presentation took place in a discussion group where reflexions and narratives of certain actions and mobilizations in other contexts were exchanged.
The forms of action of which we spoke are varied : ground action, mediatization and relay of information, documentary work, public sensibilization.
The exchanges were in french with a german translation.
Working group Sunday, May 27 1630-1800 HAU 1 foyer 1st tier

- Self-organization, self-education in the collective and the spaces of exchange
The 9th Collective of sans-papiers is a self-organized collective created in 1998. It leads actions and maintains a weekly assembly as well as a legal antenna.
The members of the 9th collective are exchanging forms of solidarity which range from the everyday life to the legal support and all forms of struggle which relate to the access to rights, work, health, housing.
The collective regularly works with other collectives, such as Act-up, Intermittents and other organizations against precarity, collectives for women's rights, and contributes to the mailing-list Pajol, which allows a relay of information of the collectives and support organizations in France and an information about european and international ponctual actions.
The collective also welcomes ponctually the participation of students, and film-makers or mediactivists. Those exchanges allow the collective a regular reevaluation of what is understood of its claims and its work, while allowing the people getting involved, to become aware of forms of research and realization able to support their struggle.

- Action against raids
The 9th collective of sans-papiers was mobilized against the raids which are taking place currently everywhere in France under the pressure of Sarkozy statistics policy.
We carried out a public campaign in the direction of the organizations concerned, social networks, trade unions, and any citizens, through actions, demonstrations, and of a communication campaign.
This work included the creation of a network of information by sms of which the goal was both to alert the sans-papiers of the places they would be arrested, and to gather supports around those places in order to testify, stop them, and set a support for the persons arrested.

Film projection : "N'entre pas sans violence dans la nuit" realized by Sylvain Georges - video, b&w, 38', 2005
This film was realized during a massive raid in 2005 in the area of Chateau rouge in Paris.
This day, a spontaneous protest of the inhabitants of this area took place.

- Action against exploitation
Following a continuous presence of the collective at the national trade unions house in Paris during two months during the presidential campaign in France, the collective is mobilized to create a network against the exploitation of the sans-papiers :
To gather testimonys and to operate a watch of the situations of work lived by the sans-papiers
To gather competences in the sectors of work of the sans-papiers, in particular at the legal level.

Links :
The 9th collective, presentation, circumstances of its creation, principles, organization, forms and modalities of action... http://9emecollectif.net/faq
Campaign against raids, poster, 2005 http://9emecollectif.net/sites/9emecollectif.net/files/DANGER%20RAFLES%2...
Press conference against raids at the national trade unions house in Paris, 2007 http://9emecollectif.net/conf-boursedutravail
RALE sans-papiers http://9emecollectif.net/RALE-SANS-PAPIERS