Unlocking Detention: Morton Hall week
This week it was the turn of Morton Hall to be visited by the virtual Unlocking Detention tour. https://twitter.com/DetentionForum/status/657483619691286528 Morton Hall was built as an RAF base, then served a low security prison. It was re-opened, with more security, as a detention centre. https://twitter.com/DetentionForum/status/656018210093821952 https://twitter.com/AVIDdetention/status/656107657435156480 People are locked in their [...]
Morton Hall: Michael and Holly’s story
To mark the Unlocking Detention tour's visit to Morton Hall IRC this week, this Q and A features Michael, a member of the Freed Voices group, and his partner Holly, reflecting on the two years he was detained at Morton Hall in Lincolnshire, and the impact it had on them [...]
A friendship to treasure
This blog post, about "an unlikely friendship, forged behind barbed wire and in the shadow of indefinite detention" was written for Scottish Detainee Visitors, and has been republished by Unlocking Detention with their permission. It was written by Giovanna Fassetta, Chair of SDV. I first met Simon in Dungavel in [...]
Unlocking Detention visits Brook House
Last week, it was Brook House detention centre's turn to be 'visited' by Unlocking Detention. https://twitter.com/DetentionForum/status/653472708886294528 https://twitter.com/DetentionForum/status/654599119961325568 https://twitter.com/GatDetainees/status/653900797810487296 https://twitter.com/GatDetainees/status/654613143952470016 We had some brilliant articles published during Brook House week. There was a really interesting piece published by our partners The Justice Gap, on the politics of space and time, looking [...]
How detention affects Devon: A looming dread
This post was written for Unlocking Detention by Abbie Grace, support worker at Refugee Support Devon, and someone who lives in Devon and has experienced detention first-hand. Although detention may seem far away from us in Exeter, the nearest centre being over 60 miles away, we are constantly reminded of [...]
Looking behind the labels: Vulnerability and immigration detention
This blog post was written for Unlocking Detention by Ali McGinley. It was first published on the Justice Gap. Ali is director of AVID - the Association of Visitors of Immigration Detainees - and has managed AVID since 2009. Ali is a member of the Detention Forum coordination group, and [...]
The Immigration Bill: An injection of compassion is sorely needed
This blog post was written for Unlocking Detention by Jon Featonby, Parliamentary Manager at Refugee Council and Parliamentary Lead for the Detention Forum. It was first published on the Justice Gap, who are our #Unlocked15 partners. Thursday, September 17 and another Immigration Bill was published. The ink had barely dried [...]
Walking with Refugee Tales
This blog post was written for Unlocking Detention by Professor David Herd, of the University of Kent. It was first published on the Justice Gap, who are hosting Unlocked articles in partnership with the Detention Forum. As the subtitle of the project had it, Refugee Tales was ‘A Walk in [...]