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More evidence of soft-touch Britain

Des

By Des
in The Swanny

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Des

Des

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This is truly truly disgusting

 

Afua Hirsch, Matthew Taylor

 

guardian.co.uk News Fri 12 Feb 2010 18:54 GMT

 

'We are not criminals; we are ordinary people who are being locked up and threatened', says hunger striker at Yarl's Wood

 

Pressure is mounting for an inquiry after female hunger strikers at Yarl's Wood described squalid conditions and made an allegation of racism at the immigration detention centre.

 

As the Home Office admitted improvements were needed at the Bedfordshire centre, it emerged that four "ringleaders" had been transferred to prison.

 

About 70 women were detained in an airless corridor without water or toilet facilities on Monday, three days after the start of the hunger strike.

 

"It is essential for the integrity of the asylum system that there is proper verification of exactly what happened last Monday at Yarl's Wood," said the Tory MP for North East Bedfordshire, Alistair Burt. "There should be an independent inquiry or at least independent report, possibly through the chief inspector of prisons."

 

Detainees at Yarl's Wood say that 50 women have been on hunger strike since last Friday, and will continue to refuse food until calls for their release from indefinite detention at the centre are answered.

 

"The government is locking up mothers with British children and claiming they have no family ties in this country," said Moji Daniels, who has three grown-up children in the UK and is on hunger strike in Yarl's Wood. "There are eight women here for more than two years, 16 women who have been here for over one year and around 50 for over six months.

 

"We are not criminals; we are ordinary people who are being locked up and threatened — the outside world has no idea how we are being treated."

 

Detainee reports about last Monday are increasing pressure on the authorities.

 

"Some of the ladies started getting sick and collapsing on the floor. There was one asthma lady, one sickle cell lady and two others who were choking on the floor. We were all hyperventilating and sweating," said Daniels. "[Women had to] wee on the ground. The officers were all watching and still refused to open the door. Some women needed to change their sanitary towel … but they had to throw bloodied towels next to where we were standing."

 

Women trying to escape through windows were met with officers carrying police shields, she said. "They crushed the ladies who were trying to get out with the guard shield and pushed them to the ground. Some women were crushed to the ground. Two ladies were physically injured and were bleeding."

 

Denise McNeil, 35, who escaped through the windows and is now being held in isolation, said she had been punched and racially abused by staff.

 

News of the transfer of four detainees to prison and the use of isolation was criticised yesterday. "These women are being punished for protesting against the detention," said Cristal Amiss from Black Women's Rape Action Project. "They are already having to put their lives on the line to get justice, and now they have been transferred to prison. It's an outrage.

 

"This is the criminalisation of poverty. Every single one of these women has a compelling reason to be free. Many are rape survivors, and mothers separated from their children. Both women and their children are being left traumatised. It's horrendous."

 

Jon Evershed, 21, is one of six students at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London on hunger strike in support of the women at Yarl's Wood. He said: "What goes on in Yarl's Wood is abhorrent — locking vulnerable people and families up for the purpose of immigration control is awful."

 

The protest came as the parliamentary ombudsman, Ann Abraham, released damning findings last week on the work of the UK Border Authority in swiftly resolving asylum claims. The report criticised UKBA for a persistent backlog of cases, stating that delay was penalising individuals, draining public funds and jeopardising confidence in the asylum.

 

Figures from 2008 show that eight people were detained for more than a year, with 121 detained for between 120 and 364 days. A total of 1,271 children were also held in detention, with 232 detained for more than a month.

 

"I am constantly astonished at the inability of Home Office officials to simply answer letters and tell people what the status of their case is," said Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North. "When the Home Office detains large numbers of people, and denies people awaiting a decision the opportunity to contribute to society, then there is something badly wrong with way that system operates."

 

"Detention should be the last resort," said Patrick Hall, Labour MP for Bedford. "Should we not be looking for means of dealing with people who are going through legal processes. Only detain when truly concluded?"

 

A Home Office minister, Meg Hillier, said it was fair to detain people in facilities including Yarl's Wood. "People are in this detention centre because they have refused to leave on a voluntary basis, often with generous packages of support," she said. "They are not moved to Yarl's Wood except to facilitate deportation."

 

Hillier added: "Delays and backlog have been an enormous problem. We did inherit a very big backlog. The vast majority will be cleared by 2011."

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