TODAY is World Refugee Day. It’s been five years since the peak of the so-called European refugee crisis yet instead of improving our response to those fleeing poverty and war, Europe has only intensified its hostility.

Thousands of refugees are locked in Greek camps under Covid-19 rules, a record number of asylum-seekers are crossing the English channel in flimsy dinghies while rescue charity boats are confiscated by unscrupulous governments.

This week’s Virtual Resistance includes how you can take part in World Refugee Day from home, as well as celebrate Barac’s 10th birthday and (digitally) join campaigners in the US, Spain and Gaza.  

Saturday June 20

While many European countries have prided themselves for keeping coronavirus at bay, their representatives in the EU have largely turned a blind eye to the thousands of refugees imprisoned in prime conditions for the virus to spread.

This World Refugee Day, take part in Europe Must Act’s day of action to demand that the EU empty the camps.

Paint chalk figures on streets, post videos and pin up posters in your windows in solidarity with camp residents and to let them know we won’t stand for Europe’s border atrocities: mstar.link/OpenTheCamps.

Sunday June 21

This year marks 10 years since campaign group Barac (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts) came into being to fight crippling Tory austerity and its disproportionate impact on black workers.

To mark the occasion, Barac’s founders Zita Holbourne and Lee Jasper are holding a special webinar before launching their much-anticipated film Is Britain Racist, which charts a two-year period of the Windrush scandal: mstar.link/Barac10.

Monday June 22

At 7pm, the Marx Memorial Library is exploring the role of the Soviet Union in the fight against fascism and how this history has come under attack 75 years later in its webinar Historical memory and the fight against fascism: mstar.link/MMLMemory.

Tuesday June 23

At 6pm find out how Palestinian women are leading the fight against Israel’s brutal occupation with Hanan Abu Goush of the Health Work Committees in Palestine, Dana Yair, Coalition of Women for Peace and Barac’s Zita Holbourne: mstar.link/WROP.

That’s followed by more intercontinental discussion at 6.30pm, this time from across the pond, with Mapping a Just Transformation: American Climate Rebels.

This interesting webinar will look at how movements led by working-class communities of colour in the US are fighting in their towns and cities against pollution, racism and corruption.

It will, of course, include campaigners in the middle of the Black Lives Matter decolonisation struggle before coming back home to hear from communities fighting air pollution in East London: mstar.link/ClimateRebels.

Wednesday June 24

The TUC is teaming up with Spanish trade unionists and politicians at 4pm to learn how they are working together to recover from the Covid-19 crisis.

What Can we Learn From Spain will hear from Frances O’Grady, Spanish Labour and Social Economy Minister Yolanda Diaz Perer of the Communist Party of Spain and Labour’s Ed Miliband: mstar.link/SpainVsCovid.

Veteran trade unionist Martin Ralph will be delving into the Great Docks Strikes of 1889 and post-war ’40s and ’50s in United Voices of the World’s next Union Talks webinar.

Ralph spoke extensively with dockworkers about their struggles and found that they frequently looked back to their comrades in the previous century: mstar.link/UVWTalks.

Finish the evening with a one-off chance to see Shadow World, the celebrated feature-length investigation into the multi-billion dollar international arms trade with a special Q&A with Lowkey (Rapper & Activist), Andrew Feinstein (Shadow World Author) and Lindsey German (Stop the War Coalition Convenor) at 8.30pm: mstar.link/ShadowWorld.

Thursday June 25

Join Gazan doctors battling disease, a crippling mental health crisis and coronavirus at 5pm in Amos’s webinar How Can we Be Healthy  (mstar.link/BeHealthy) followed at 7pm by the Frontline Club’s discussion on the unanswered questions around the new NHS tracking app.

Where will the data be stored and could it be used against us in times to come? Can a balance be struck between individual privacy and public health needs? Tune in to find out: mstar.link/FrontlineNHS.

Discussing the role of police in society and forces’ relationship with capitalism join the North East Anarchist’s reading group at 7.30pm: mstar.link/NEACops.

Friday June 26

Glastonbury festival turns 50 this year and although it won’t be marked by hundreds of thousands of revellers dancing up to their knees in mud, we can still enjoy a special celebration from our homes.

To coincide with the anniversary show airing on the BBC, new group Glashomeberry (see what they did there?) are asking people to donate to organisations supporting people struggling through the crisis, including Refuge, Mind and the Trussell Trust.

Check out Glasthomeberry’s Facebook page for more details: mstar.link/Glashomeberry.