Refugee Week event hears of trauma caused by detention

A public discussion held in Milton Keynes to mark Refugee Week heard a powerful testimony of the trauma wreaked by the immigration detention system.

A former detainee called Jury described how being twice confined in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre has left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, for which she is now receiving counselling.

On one occasion she was detained without prior warning, and without any of her possessions. 

The panel event, organised by The Open University, aimed to challenge the hostile reception of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.

Panellist Joanne Vincett, an Open University PhD researcher, said that the government is using detention to deter migration, regardless of whether those detained are seeking asylum. 

She said the policy is causing avoidable damage to people’s mental health, in addition to being an expensive option, but alternatives to detention are not being seriously explored. 

The audience at the event also heard from Patrick Page, a senior caseworker in the Public Law and Immigration Department of Duncan Lewis Solicitors who, through litigation and lobbying, helped compel to UK government to limit the length of time pregnant women can be legally held in detention.

The discussion was chaired by Dr Fidèle Mutwarasibo, Visiting Research Fellow in the OU Business School Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership, whose area of expertise includes refugees, migration and human rights.

Jo Vincett said afterwards it had been an ‘inspiring’ public event. “The ‘take away’ message was what we can all do – write to your MP, keep pressuring for policy reform, don’t let the conversation about detention fall by the wayside. 

“We also need to encourage more people who have been detained to tell their stories, which many are scared to do because they’re afraid it might affect their cases. But people need to know what is happening.”

The panel event Refuge or detention? Challenging the hostile reception of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK  took place at Milton Keynes Community Foundation on 21 June. 

It was one of a series of free events run by The Open University to mark Refugee Week 2018.