Bristol calls for an end to ‘shameful and inhumane’ detention of refugees and asylum seekers

Bristol has taken a stand against the “cruel and indefensible” detention of asylum seekers and refugees in Britain.

The “inhumane” practice that sees thousands of people each year locked up for an indefinite period, despite having done nothing wrong, was branded a shame on the country by councillors at City Hall on Tuesday.

A majority voted to back the These Walls Must Fall campaign, which calls for an end to the detention of asylum seekers and refugees, and put pressure on the Government to change the current system.

Between 2,500 and 3,500 people are detained at any one time and 27,300 ended up in UK detention centres in 2017 at a cost of more than £125m a year.

Britain remains the only country in Europe to not have a time limit on how long people can be detained.

Fi Hance says detention centres are prisons in all but name

“Refugees and asylum seekers in this country suffer abuse from a number of sources,” said Fi Hance, a Green councillor for Redland, proposing the motion at the full council meeting.

“One of the most pernicious abuses meted out to refugees is by our own governments in the form of indefinite detention. This practice has meant that thousand upon thousand of innocent people have been picked up from their homes – often with no notice – and taken to detention centres, which essentially are prisons in all but name.”

She spoke of the “staggering number of mistakes” made by the Home Office that sees innocent people wrongly incarcerated for months and sometimes years, adding that the whole immigration system is stacked against those seeking refuge.

“If enough of us speak with one voice to say that this cruel and indefensible practice should stop – that these walls must fall – then there is hope that the Government will listen and take action,” concluded Hance.

The stark reality of the situation was brought home by the presence of Ken Macharia, a Bristol rugby player who was detained just last month, sparking a nationwide campaign to stop his deportation.

Speaking on behalf of the These Walls Must Fall campaign, David Ion called on Bristol to follow cities such as Manchester, Brighton and Cambridge, saying: “we can ensure that extensive problems with detention system can no longer be ignored.”

Seconding the motion, Labour councillor for Easton Ruth Pickersgill quoted Tony Benn, saying:

“The way a government treats refugees is very instructive, because it shows you how they would treat the rest of us if they thought they could get away with it.”

She told the harrowing story of a former student of hers in Easton who was forced to process his asylum application separately from the rest of his family. He was detained without warning one day in Patchway, had his phone taken away so he could not contact his family, and then held for eight weeks – all because of a paperwork error.

“He still doesn’t have asylum,” said Pickersgill. “He still can’t go to university. And he is broken. Detention breaks people – it’s criminal, it’s prison and it’s not right for people who have done nothing wrong.”

Conservative group leader Mark Weston tried to pass an amendment to the motion, arguing that detention should remain as a last resort for some people.

“The system is far from perfect and I’m not going to defend the entire system because it needs reform,” he told the council chamber. “However, I do believe that detention is necessary in some circumstances.

“This is a very blanket approach.”

He said that foreign national offenders should still be detained and face deportation after finishing their prison sentences and also argued that having no timeframe for detention is “problematic”.

“We should improve the immigration system, but I do not believe ruling out detention en masse is the right way to go,” concluded Weston.

Branded a “wreaking amendment and one worthy of Scrooge” by Estella Tincknell, a Labour councillor for Lockleaze, the amendment was voted down by all other parties.

Tincknell went on to launch a scathing attack on the Tory Government, saying it “plays fast and loose with people’s lives” and under Theresa May, has “systematically created a hostile environment for refugees and asylum seekers”, while giving rise to casual racism.

Added his support for the motion, leader of the Lib Dem group Anthony Negus said: “It’s time that we put an end to this shameful and inhumane approach.”

The motion to call for an end to immigration detention was passed with 48 voting for, 11 against and three abstentions.

Main photo: These Walls Must Fall campaigners with Ken Macharia.

Read more: The Channel: Voices of people held in detention centres