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National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC)
Phone: 0121-554-6947 Fax: 0121-554-7891
E-mail  ncadc@ncadc.org.uk
Web site:  http://www.ncadc.org.uk/
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Yarls Wood Detention Centre - Burnt to the Ground
The UK's flagship detention centre, Yarls Wood, still burning, lies in ruins this morning after a major disturbance by detainees. Which began yesterday afternoon and continued for several hours. It is not known how the fire started, though detainees are adamant, that the fire started in the reception centre, which they did not have access to.
Attempts by security staff at the centre to remove a elderly sick detainee in handcuffs to hospital started the protest. The detainee had been ill for the last three days and other detainees felt she should have been moved to hospital immediately.
At one stage an estimated 200 detainees climbed onto one of the roof of one of the buildings
This is just the latest of a series of continuing protests at Yarlswood Detention Centre since it opened on Monday 19th November 2001. Detainees at Europe's largest detention centre - have been suffering punitive conditions since the camp opened.
On Monday the 10th December 2001, just 3 weeks after it opened a protest against conditions at the centre, Five Roma began refusing to eat, the hunger strike soon broadened into a opposition to detention itself. Since the 10th of December there has always been people on hunger strike. One detainee from Eastern Europe went with out food for 34 days.
On January 18th 2002 nearly all the detainees, went on hunger strike for 24 hours, one of the main complaints on this day, was the handcuffing of detainees being transported to hospital.
Emma Ginn, from the Campaign to 'Stop Arbitrary Detentions at Yarl's Wood,' said: "since the camp opened there have been daily complaints about the delays in access to medical treatment and delays in moving people to hospital. There have also been complaints about, limited association times - bad food - delay of incoming phone calls - use of handcuffs when detainees are taken to court, the dentists, or to hospital - unequal distribution of a weekly £2 telephone card to all detainees - neither detainees or visitor are allowed pen and paper during visits - childrens' access to education very poor."
NCADC comment:
Arbitrary detention, dispersal, vouchers, deportations, self harm, suicides, racist attacks, snatch squads, are all part of the daily life of asylum seekers in the UK.
The blame for what happened at Yarls Wood lies squarely with the Government. Their latest Draconian proposals for asylum seekers, unveiled in "Secure Borders, Safe Haven", will lead to more incidents like these.
NCADC demands the immediate closure of all detention centres, a end to dispersal, scrapping the vouchers today, (not next autumn). To be blunt only the complete repeal of all the UK's racist Immigration laws, will prevent a repeat of the events at Yarls Wood.

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National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC)
Phone: 0121-554-6947 Fax: 0121-554-7891
E-mail  ncadc@ncadc.org.uk
Web site:  http://www.ncadc.org.uk/
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