Unlocked Archives - Page 3 of 32

Unlocking Detention shone a spotlight on the hidden world of immigration detention. This ‘virtual tour’ of the immigration detention estate used Twitter, Facebook and a website to ‘unlock’ the gates of immigration detention centres.

Each week, Unlocking Detention ‘visited’ one of the UK’s detention centres. We heard from people who had been detained there, volunteer visitors, NGOs, campaigners and the families, friends, neighbours and communities over whom detention cast its long shadows.

We started Unlocking Detention back in 2014 and it ran for 6 years. While we no longer run this campaign with its dedicated website, it has left a powerful legacy of the impact of immigration detention. We have archived the key information, and we are now proud to continue to make it accessible via our website.

Your guide to #Unlocked18

#Unlocked18 marked the 5th year of Unlocking Detention, our virtual 'tour' of the UK's immigration detention estate. Whether you followed the tour from the beginning or you're just joining us now, we hope you find something to whet [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:29:25+00:00January 7th, 2019|

On International Migrants Day – reasserting the humanity and dignity of people in immigration detention

Image by@Carcazan After weeks of our virtual ‘tour’ of detention centres which began in October, Unlocking Detention ends today, on International Migrants Day. People who are in immigration detention generally do not feature on International Migrants Day – [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:30:22+00:00December 18th, 2018|

“It is only an accident of fate that I was born in the UK.” Interview with Baroness Hamwee about her detention reform work

Image by @Carcazan K.A., an expert-by-experience, interviewed Baroness Hamwee, a long-term advocate for detention reform in the House of Lords. She was recently named as a Detention Forum Champions, recognising her tireless work on challenging immigration detention. ================================================================ [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:31:39+00:00December 17th, 2018|

Life after closure: The experiences of the Verne Visitors Group

This blog comes from Ruth Jacobson, a committee member of the Verne Visitors Group (VVG). VVG was established in 2014 to support people detained in The Verne immigration removal centre (IRC) until its closure in December 2017. Here, [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:34:41+00:00December 14th, 2018|

Rebuilding a life after detention

This blog comes from Indre Lechtimiakyte. Indre is originally from Lithuania and has been working as a caseworker and coordinator of the Ex-Detainee Project for Samphire since 2016. Prior to joining Samphire, she worked on the return migration [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:35:32+00:00December 14th, 2018|

Week 7: #Unlocked18 visits Morton Hall

Week 7 of #Unlocked18 took us to Morton Hall IRC, near the small village of Swinderby in Lincolnshire. Surrounded by fields and villages, it is one of the UK's most isolated and least-known detention centres. It was originally an [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:37:25+00:00December 13th, 2018|

‘If I don’t come back, call my lawyer’: Practical solidarity for people at risk of detention

Luke Butterly works for Right to Remain, a UK-based human rights organisation challenging injustice in our asylum and immigration systems. This blog has been reposted with kind permission from Red Pepper. In communities across the UK, around 80,000 people [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:38:49+00:00December 13th, 2018|

Hidden in plain sight: Working with trafficked people in detention

Content warning: torture. Image by @Carcazan This blog comes from Beatrice Grasso, Detention Outreach Manager with JRS UK, who recently published a report on the indefinite detention of trafficking survivors. While JRS’s research draws on case studies from Harmondsworth and [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:39:21+00:00December 13th, 2018|

When a ‘good’ inspection report is bad news

This blog comes from Kate Alexander, Director of Scottish Detainee Visitors, who support people detained in Dungavel immigration removal centre (IRC) and tweet at @SDVisitors The latest inspection report on Dungavel IRC, published on 16 November, makes interesting [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:44:30+00:00December 12th, 2018|

Because of detention | In spite of detention

Content warning: torture. This contribution comes from the Life After Detention group (LAD) based in Glasgow and facilitated by Scottish Detainee Visitors. Between them, members of LAD have lost 4 years and 8 months of their lives to [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:47:39+00:00December 11th, 2018|