Here's the second installment of issue 348 which is actually the first
story from that issue. You can get the pdf version of the issue (and
all the other issues) from our website. Sorry for the delay and
complication, don't even ask! This weeks issue is in the pipeline...
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This week's SchNEWS: http://www.schnews.org.uk/
WAKE UP! IT'S YER SECOND INSTALLMENT OF
SchNEWS
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YARL-BOO SUCKS!
"When I asked what the officers were doing with all this situation, they
said there is no officers, cos they all run away. I just couldn't
believe it... I saw that all doors and the gates (we had them along the
whole corridors) were locked. No officers, no police, no fire brigade or
anybody else. Only scared people everywhere...The some male detainees
(mostly black) were trying to get people outside the building. Cos if it
hadn't been for them we would all be burned in that fire."
>From a woman detained at Yarls Wood during the fire
It's been over a month since the Yarl's Wood Detention Centre in
Bedfordshire burned down, but the true story of what happened on that
day is still no clearer. The government's response -a promise to toughen
up their policies with more detention centres, increased security,
faster removal times for failed asylum seekers, and reduced access to
the judicial system.
Yarl's Wood only opened last November -built at an estimated cost of
£100 million and run by Group 4 under licence from the Home Office. To
make asylum seekers feel welcome they've installed security equivalent
to a category B prison, surrounded by 16ft high fences topped by razor
wire with moving cameras and microwave detection units to prevent
escape. According to the government the centre is supposed to house
'failed' asylum seekers facing immediate deportation, yet their own
statistics reveal that only 46 of the 385 detainees at Yarl's Wood on
the night of the fire were waiting to be deported.
Ever since the first people were locked up there has been constant
protests about conditions. In January nearly all the detainees, went on
hunger strike for 24 hours, while on the afternoon of 14th February, the
day the fire started, trouble flared after a woman was handcuffed so she
could be taken to hospital. At some point later a fire started. It's not
clear where, although many detainees believe it started in the reception
area to which they have no access. Shocking stories from those who were
inside on the day are only now emerging.
"The incident started when detainees saw a woman aged about 55 being
restrained and they were concerned for her safety. Women were told to
stay in their rooms by staff. Families were waiting in their rooms for
Group 4 to tell them what to do. Three hours later, when they became
aware of the fire, and the building started to fill with smoke and heat,
they were still inside waiting.
Exits and doors were locked. There was no evacuation by Group 4.
Detainees got one another out of the burning building. Once outside,
they saw others trapped in their rooms calling for help, unable to
breathe. One man opened his door and found flames outside. Detainees
shouted to Group 4 or the police asking them to help those who were
trapped. With exits being closed, the only way out of the burning
building would have been to try to smash their way through high security
toughened windows which are designed to open only a few inches.
Some detainees tried to put the fire out themselves, but when they saw
they couldn't, they shouted to firemen to come in. Others said police or
Group 4 tried to push them back in to the building, or blocked their
exit when they tried to get out.
Detainees, including a 2 month old baby, were kept outside most of the
night in freezing weather. Bedfordshire County Council had transport,
social facilities including a school available to provide respite care
but they were not used. People were herded around the site by
police/Group 4, who shouted at them and tried to make them gather near
to the burning building on tennis courts. When people protested, they
pushed them on to the unused part of the building."
Deportation Department
Whilst Group 4 were busy locking the detainees inside it appears that
fire fighters were being locked out from the burning building. Had they
got they could well have prevented much of the estimated £38 million of
damage. Home Secretary David Blunkett was quick to blame the fire and
the lack of access for the fire fighters, on the detainees, complaining
"Having removed asylum seekers from prison, we now find that our reward
is the burning down of a substantial part of the facility, this is
deplorable".
The Fire Brigade Union (FBU) however are refusing to tow the official
line and have attacked the Home Office and Group 4 for refusing to
install a sprinkler system. Andy Gilchrist from the FBU said "It is
clear that [they] have put their private profit before the lives of
asylum seekers thereby treating them as second class citizens. Group 4
flatly refused to put a sprinkler system into these premises to cut
their costs." Fire fighters who were at Yarl's Wood have also
contradicted claims that it was asylum seeker who stopped them getting
in to put out the fire. A spokesman said "None of the fire fighters has
a bad word to say against the asylum seekers, we are only demoralised
because we were prevented from doing our job." In the light of what they
saw at Yarl's Wood, the FBU are now calling for the immediate release of
all asylum seekers from detention centres until they can be made safe.
Group 4 is the largest security firm in the world, and are also involved
in Campsfield detention centre. In 1997 after mass protests at
Campsfield, 10 detainees were charged with rioting, but the subsequent
trial collapsed after it became evident that the Group 4 security guards
were lying and had themselves caused criminal damage. No action was ever
brought against the company.
For those who were locked up in Yarl's Wood on that night of the fire 70
have now been transferred to prisons, some of them are in solitary
confinement, although none of them have been charged with any offence.
19 are still missing, the official line is that they've escaped,
although it can't be ruled out that they may have died in the blaze, a
detailed forensic investigation of the site only began late February and
is expected to take 2 months. In what is looking like a massive cover
up, access by friends and relatives to many of those that knew what went
on during that day has been denied, and key witnesses to events have
been deported. Shakir Hussain a solicitor representing some of the
asylum seekers, has already had one client removed without any warning
"It seems to me that any potential witnesses were put in segregation and
shipped out as soon as possible". There is real fear among campaigners
that these moves could stop investigators getting to the truth.
*Stop the lies. Demonstrate at Yarl's Wood Detention Centre this
Saturday 12 noon till 2.pm Saturday. For directions tel: 07786517379
www.stoparbitrarydetentionsatyarlswood.co.uk
*Open Borders The Case Against ImmigrationControls by Teresa Hayter
(Pluto Press) www.barbedwirebritain.org.uk
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* There are 22 million displaced people in the world.
* The top five countries of origin for asylum seekers
in the UK are Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka
and Turkey.The average time for an initial decision
on asylum applications is currently 14 months. Last
year 69% of asylum applications considered were
refused.
* Currently 2,800 asylum seekers are locked up even
though they've committed no crime this figure is set
to rise to 4,000.year. This includes the detention
of whole families.
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