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.
Jammin’ & bluesin’: Music in Detention at Harmondsworth
This blog post was written by Music in Detention volunteer, Alicia. I have been volunteering in the office at Music In Detention (MID) for the last two months and I [...]
Harmondsworth: Story of those detained within the walls
This blog post was written by Susannah Willcox, who is an Advocacy Co-ordinator at Detention Action. Working in this capacity, she regularly visits and runs workshops in Harmondsworth detention centre. [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
My four months in Brook House: I did all I could not to let it destroy me
This piece was written for Unlocking Detention by Yann, a member of the Freed Voices group. Freed Voices are a group of experts-by-experience who are dedicated to speaking out about [...]
What would YOU miss if you were detained?
This year at Unlocking Detention we’re asking people to send us their photo-answers to the question: ‘What would you miss if you were locked up, without trial, without time-limit?’ Or, [...]