Unlocked Archives - Page 5 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.

Double-header Q&A: DAK and Seed answer your questions from Harmondsworth IRC

Image by @Carcazan This week, we spoke to two people detained in Harmondsworth immigration removal centre (IRC), DAK and Seed (not their real names), who spent over an hour answering questions sent in from across the UK. Some of [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:57:21+00:00November 29th, 2018|

“I cannot do anything from here”: LGBTQI+ asylum seekers in detention

Content warning: suicide. This blog comes from Gabriella Bettiga, Legal Officer at UKLGIG (UK Gay and Lesbian Immigration Group). You can find them on Twitter at @UKLGIG Among those held in immigration detention, there is a group of [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:58:22+00:00November 29th, 2018|

“Allowing people to see what might be possible”: Volunteering in detention

Content warning: torture, rape. Image by @Carcazan This two-part blog features reflections from two volunteers with JRS UK, who support people detained in Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), The first comes from Cashel Riordan, a counsellor and [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T11:59:57+00:00November 28th, 2018|

Three years after Moroccan Jew’s death in detention, why no inquest?

Content warning: suicide, death. This piece comes from Hannah Swirsky, Campaigns Officer at René Cassin. It was originally published on Jewish News. Immigration detention has again reached national news after a recent Guardian investigation into those detained in [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T12:01:45+00:00November 27th, 2018|

Week 5: #Unlocked18 visits Campsfield House

Last week, #Unlocked18 visited Campsfield House IRC near Oxford. Since it opened in 1993, tens of thousands of people have been detained here indefinitely. The centre has also been the focus of many protests and a sustained campaign [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T12:02:28+00:00November 26th, 2018|

“I regularly speak to people who are in absolute despair”

Content warning: torture, trafficking. In the second of a two-part series from Detention Action, volunteer Mary-Ann talks about what she’s learnt from supporting people detained in Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Volunteering for Detention Action has [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T12:04:12+00:00November 26th, 2018|

“We both hoped there wouldn’t be a next visit”: The paradox of visiting detention

In the first of a two-part series from Detention Action, volunteer Anthony talks about his time visiting people detained in Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), near Heathrow airport. I remember feeling particularly nervous about making my [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T12:05:30+00:00November 26th, 2018|

The voiceless place

Maddy Crowther is Co-Executive Director of Waging Peace and Article 1, which support Sudanese asylum-seekers and refugees to build meaningful lives in the UK. They run a Sudanese Visitors’ Group supporting their clients held in detention. Maddy has co-written [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T12:09:13+00:00November 23rd, 2018|

Q&A with Siarhei in Campsfield House IRC

This week, Unlocking Detention has been ‘visiting’ Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire. The Duncan Lewis Public Law, Civil Litigation and Immigration teams put us in touch with Siarhei, who is currently detained in Campsfield. In addition to [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T12:10:14+00:00November 22nd, 2018|

Week 4: #Unlocked18 visits Yarl’s Wood

From the 12th - 18th November, #Unlocked18 visited Yarl's Wood IRC in Bedford. It was a packed week, with new content every day alongside new graphics and illustrations. Also this week, Sanctuary in Parliament took place, JRS and the Detention Forum [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T12:12:03+00:00November 22nd, 2018|