open 94 across space the borders of the gendering of in the migrants1 detention Lesvos: Aegean Gabriella Alberti It is late summer and the first large demonstration organized by the No Border camp against Pagani, the detention centre for undocumented migrants, takes place in Mytilene. Mytilene is the main city of Lesvos, which is the largest of the islands scattered in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. Pagani is supposed to be a 'reception centre1 for undocumented migrants arriving on Lesvos from outside the European Union (EU). It is, in fact, a prison where migrants are detained for days or months in order to be identified by the local authorities before they are set 'free' to move on to the mainland. I joined the protest organized by the No Border networkagainst the detention and deportation of migrants in Europe and internationally. The politics of the No Border groups are rooted in a commitment to unrestricted freedom of movement as a basic right for all people, and the need to mobilize against inhumane and degrading border controls (Kopp and Schneider, 2003, http://www.makeworlds.org/node/29). Lesvos is a particular location in which to observe and contrast the operation of the EU border policing as a major 'transit point' for migrants on the edge of the continent. The march proceeds towards Pagani. It is hot, and the police block the street before we can see the entrance of the prison,yet, the voices of the migrantsbehind the bars quickly permeate the police cordon with their longing for freedom. We want to get closer to the prison to show our gesture of solidarity to the migrants locked inside. Afterfew minutes of negotiation we inch forwarda few metres. We are able to see each other now. We can see the kids and the women screaming fromthe gates and we can join them. It is a straight, simple, yet powerful claim: lazadi' It means freedom in Farsi. A group of lawyers, doctors, local and international activists and journalists obtain access to the detention centre. After few hours the delegation will achieve some results: the immediate release of three sick people, and the partial release of women feminist review 94 2010 (138-147) © 2010 FeministReview.0141-7789/10 www.feminist-review.com This content downloaded from 163.1.255.60 on Fri, 10 Apr 2015 17:57:53 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions