The campaign against the incarceration of women asylum seekers in the former notorious Medomsley/Hassockfield Detention Centre (now renamed Derwentside IRC) has gathered pace over the past few months and is set to continue. The centre, which was originally due to open in September, was formally opened on November 23rd with an announcement by the Home Secretary Priti Patel in Parliament. At the same time Tom Pursglove MP, Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, was given a tour of the centre, the management of which has been outsourced to private company Mitie.
The opening of the centre was swiftly followed by a national demonstration in Consett town centre with a solidarity demonstration in London's Hyde Park.
At some point between Christmas and New Year a small number of women were transferred from Yarl's Wood to the Derwentside IRC. Dozens of campaigners responded by mounting an emergency noisy demonstration on Sunday January 2nd in order to show support for the women locked up inside, tying orange hearts to the fence, singing songs and chanting #SetHerFree
Northern Echo article : Detainees arrive at Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre.
Campaigner Alison Stancliffe says:
"Our work goes on to push for closure of the facility but right now we must continue turning out at Hassockfield so that the women incarcerated there feel reassured they’ve not been abandoned by the outside world. We’re confident that word of our support will reach the women and they’ll know the outside world has not forgotten them. But that means being there and not giving up. Every one of us turning out will be offering hope and comfort to someone’s mother, daughter or sister."
Agnes Tanoh from Women for Refugee Women who has worked tirelessly to get the centre closed down, says:
"This is personal for me. I claimed asylum here because I was being persecuted in my country and I thought I would be killed. But I was locked up at Yarl’s Wood for three months in 2012. I know how detention destroys a woman. Women become depressed and suicidal in detention. Detention tears families apart and achieves nothing other than extreme harm. Women seeking asylum need protection and freedom, they should never be locked up like this. It’s time to shut down all detention centres.”
Research by Women for Refugee Women shows that over 85% of the women who had been detained in Yarl’s Wood had experienced rape, domestic violence, forced marriage, forced prostitution or female genital mutilation.
Former MEP and Durham resident Julie Ward says:
"The UK is out of step with international human rights norms regarding its treatment of asylum seekers. We are the only country in the 47-member state Council of Europe that practises indefinite detention whereby people seeking sanctuary are held for months if not years not knowing when their nightmare will end, if they will eventually be given leave to remain or whether they will taken in the middle of the night to be deported.
Former GP, Dr Helen Groom, secretary of the No To Hassockfield Campaign says:
"Women asylum seekers are amongst the most vulnerable people in our society and they deserve our attention and compassion. The moving of women seeking sanctuary to this prison gives us added impetus to increase the campaign to get this dreadful place closed down once and for all."
Regular demonstrations at the site organised by a broad coalition of organisations will continue on the third Saturday of every month from 12-2pm with prayer vigils happening every first Sunday at 3pm organised by the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese Justice and Peace Forum. Meanwhile there are a number of practical initiatives being established to show support to the women locked up in the detention centre.
You can find out more from the following campaigns.
Durham People’s Assembly
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Facebook - @durhampeoplesassembly
Abolish Detention
Facebook - Abolish Detention - Hassockfield
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No to Hassockfield
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Facebook - @No2Hassockfield
Women for Refugee Women
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Facebook @4refugeewomen