Asylum seeker reveals trauma of detention in the UK
This came through to my inbox from British Red Cross the other day. This is David's story. David is from Kenya and he is gay. He is fleeing persecution and attacks in his own country. His family and friends have suffered brutal attacks. He is waiting for his refugee status to be granted in the UK.
“I left Kenya because I was fleeing not only persecution but unjust abuses. It’s still happening now. It’s even worse.”
Before he left Kenya, David worked for the Kenyan Election Board. “I was being forced to do illegal activities… to steal the election,” he said. David was attacked and stabbed when he was still in Kenya. Later, his former manager was murdered.
David is now claiming asylum in the UK. If the Home Office decides that his case is strong enough, he will be allowed to live in Britain as a refugee. Like many people in his position, David has to report to the Home Office regularly. Reporting to the authorities probably seems reasonable and straightforward, and so it should be. It can take years for the Home Office to decide if people will be allowed to stay in the UK.
Here comes the part that's truly outrageous.
Whilst they wait for the asylum application to be processed, people like David can be put in an immigration detention centre without any notice and with no time limit. Often people don’t even know why.
According to this campaign by the British Red Cross, the UK is the only European country where there is no time limit on how someone can be detained. Last year over 27,000 people were held in immigration detention centres.
This runs in contradiction to the just and fair values that the UK should be promoting to the rest of the world.
Detention centres are supposed to be used when people have to leave the UK and return to their original country. But most people held in the centres now return back to their homes in the UK – they don’t have to leave Britain at all.
A broken system like this only make us all feeling ashamed. If a country sets out clear policies not to take on any asylum seekers for whatever reason then fine, it's at least clear even if it may be morally questionable. However, if you set out to be a positive force in the world and truly want to promote the core values that you believe in, and you decide to offer help and take on refugees, then you do what you can to look after them.
Our system should be helping to alleviate sufferings not causing more harm. This is not just about the asylum seekers, this is also about UK's reputation. If we decide to do something as a country we do what we can and do it well.
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