Page last updated on Friday, 11th June 2010
The human face of immigration detention
Heartbreaking Northern Ireland stories of immigration detention emerge, as campaigners call for reform of systemRefugees and visitors to Northern Ireland are being locked up unnecessarily in immigration detention; say campaigners who are calling for major changes to the system here.
Immigration detention is often a bewildering and terrifying experience for those on the receiving end. That’s the common strand in eight heartbreaking stories of individuals who have come to Northern Ireland and been detained by the UK Borders Agency.
They are told in a report from the Refugee Action Group, a coalition of NGOs concerned with refugee issues, launched at Stormont today to mark the start of Refugee Week.
The individuals concerned have been detained in, or en route to or from, Northern Ireland, before being taken to an immigration removal centre in Great Britain, usually after being held in PSNI police cells.
Jamiu was a Nigerian citizen studying in London, who visited Belfast for the christening of a friend’s baby girl. He said: “Instead of spending eight lovely days in Belfast I spent 10 days detained in an airport, a police cell, and a detention centre for illegal immigrants.” At Belfast International Airport, Jamiu was stopped by an immigration officer. He noted that the only other person taken out of the queue was a black woman. “I was very uncomfortable about this fact as other people were looking at us.”
Reflecting on the experience which saw him being held in a detention centre in Scotland prior to his release, Jamiu said: “I have never been in any trouble of any kind in my life… No matter how long I live, this ordeal will be with me for the rest of my life.”
The report’s author, Robin Wilson, also spoke to Lodorice, a refugee from Cameroon, who estimated that 15 police and immigration officers took part in a 7am raid, which removed her and her baby daughter to a detention centre in Scotland, where they were kept for almost two weeks before being moved to detention in England.
Held for nearly two months in a single room before being returned to Belfast and given three years leave to remain here, Lodorice said: “It’s not easy when you don’t have your freedom. You have no idea how long you will be there. You have no idea.”
The Refugee Action Group is now calling for an alternative to the current practice of transferring Northern Ireland individuals to detention in Great Britain.
Instead, a small open reception unit should be established by OFMDFM in Northern Ireland to assess the complex needs of asylum-seekers, particularly in terms of legal representation, health and support, accommodating them while this assessment is made.
Liz Griffith from the Refugee Action Group said: “Refugees, immigrants and tourists to Northern Ireland are being locked up unnecessarily. The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly should lobby the Home Office to put in place practical alternatives to detention.”
