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.
Unlocking Detention’s visit to Dover
After the visit to the Verne, we moved round the coast and last week, 5 to 11 October, Unlocking Detention 'visited' Dover detention centre. https://twitter.com/DetentionForum/status/650955106565816321 https://twitter.com/DetentionForum/status/650954091388997632 We had some great [...]
“We all still have problems talking about it”
This year, Unlocking Detention is exploring how detention affects communities across the UK - not just where detention centres are located. This blog post is written by an artist who [...]
I was in Dover IRC for three years. It is a place of mental torture.
This blogpost is part of ‘Thinking Outside the Box’ - a Detention Action series which featuring the reflections of those with direct experience of detention, or of working with people [...]
Experiencing Democracy Up-Close and Personal – #UnlocktheDebate
Sonja Miley who works at Waging Peace - a human rights organisation which campaigns against genocide and systematic human rights violations in Sudan, and an active member of the Detention Forum [...]
When we ‘visited’ The Verne…
The first stop of this year's Unlocking Detention tour was the Verne detention centre. https://twitter.com/DetentionForum/status/649889152616525824 Last year when we visited the Verne, it was still a prison. It has recently [...]
When an individual is detained everyone is affected
This blog post is written by Gemma Pillay, from Nottingham. She works for the Nottingham and Notts Refugee Forum. On Sunday 28th June 2015 I received a text from my [...]
Soft furnishings don’t hide the bars
This piece was written by Fraser Paterson, who works at Samphire. You can follow them on Twitter at @samphire_ Many people will know Dover as Britain’s main border with Europe [...]
My first time visiting The Verne
This piece is written by Rahwa Fessahaye, Advocacy Co-ordinator at Detention Action The first time I went to Verne IRC was in November 2014, a few weeks after I had returned [...]
The Verne IRC: detention on your doorstep
As well as shining a spotlight on the very specific physical sites of detention which make up the UK's detention estate, 'Unlocking Detention' is also about highlighting the ways in which detention [...]
‘There are few visitors here’: The Verne, immigration detention on an island
By Pat, a member of the Verne Visitors Group and Detention Forum volunteer Above the Chesil Beach It’s difficult not to think about location. Bus number 1 from Weymouth city [...]
Prison under immigration powers: A plane crash
These piece was written anonymously for #Unlocked15 by a member of the Freed Voices group - a group of experts-by-experience who are dedicated to speaking out about the realities of [...]
‘Detention is everywhere’
This is a write-up of the Right to Remain annual conference which took place on 5th September 2015, which originally appeared on their website. While #unlocked15 'visits' physical places of [...]