Unlocked Archives - Page 7 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.

“Immigrants emigrate, hopeful anticipate”

This contribution to #Unlocked18 comes from Ralph, who got in touch via Twitter. Ralph was detained for a total of 14 months in two prisons and a detention centre. Ralph tweets as @RO2tm I was detained on two [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:21:50+00:00November 9th, 2018|

Detention happens closer than you might think

This blog comes from Katherine Maxwell-Rose, Digital Communications Manager at IMiX– a communications and media hub for the refugee and migration sector. She tweets at @KatherineMaxi The BBC’s recent report into China’s vast detention centres was terrifying. Releasing [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:22:52+00:00November 8th, 2018|

Immigration detention: Mental torture

Content warning: suicide and self-harm This blog comes from A. Panquang, a Detention Forum volunteer and member of the Freed Voices. A was detained for 9 months. I called and met up with my pub buddy. The guy [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:23:31+00:00November 7th, 2018|

Immigration detention centres have no place in Manchester or the UK

This blog comes from Lauren Cape-Davenhill, Organiser with These Walls Must Fall. An earlier version of this piece was published in The Meteor. As an organiser in the northwest of England with These Walls Must Fall, a grassroots campaign [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:24:26+00:00November 6th, 2018|

Welcome and hospitality as a force of resistance and change: Sanctuary in Parliament 2018

Sanctuary in Parliament is an annual event which brings local City of Sanctuary groups from around the country to Parliament to meet their MPs to demand change. This year, it is aiming to generate an even bigger call [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:25:13+00:00November 6th, 2018|

Week 2: #Unlocked18 visits Brook House and Tinsley House

This is the first week that #Unlocked18 has focused on specific detention centres. From the 29th October to the 4th November, we 'visited' Brook House and Tinsley House, two detention centres next to the runway at Gatwick airport. [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:37:31+00:00November 5th, 2018|

“Your voice can make a difference”: Expert-by-Experience interviews a former minister about the parliamentary inquiry into immigration detention

Image by @Carcazan Unlocking Detention started in 2014. That year, Sarah Teather MP, who was then the Chair of the APPG on Refugees started the parliamentary inquiry into immigration detention, together with APPG on Migration. In this blog, K.A., [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:38:30+00:00November 5th, 2018|

No one left behind: Including people detained in prisons in immigration detention reform

This blog post comes from Benny Hunter at Association for Visitors to Immigration Detainees. AVID is a small, national charity that supports volunteer visitors to people in immigration detention, wherever they are held. AVID has 16 member groups that [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:39:14+00:00November 5th, 2018|

“I leave you to judge”: Reflections from a visitor

Image by @Carcazan This piece comes from Richard (not his real name), a volunteer with Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group who has been visiting people detained in Brook House and Tinsley House detention centres for 13 years. In 2005 [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:41:06+00:00November 2nd, 2018|

Live Q&A with Marino in Brook House IRC

This week, Unlocking Detention has been ‘visiting’ Brook House and Tinsley House detention centres, near Gatwick Airport. The Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group put us in touch with Marino (not his real name), who joined us on the phone [...]

Unlocked2022-10-05T13:41:50+00:00November 1st, 2018|