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RAF Wethersfield: Asylum seekers claim they are put in isolation for feeling depressed [1]
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Date: 2023-09
Wethersfield’s first occupants are believed to have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats, and by the end of August it housed close to 100 people. The Home Office has said it intends the site to be “fully functional” this autumn, planning to house up to 1,700 single adult men there.
A private company, Commisceo Primary Care Solution, was awarded a £1.1m contract to provide health assessments and a medical centre at Wethersfield. openDemocracy approached Commisceo for comment about the allegations of solitary confinement but did not get a response.
The Home Office has said it “does not recognise” the allegations we put to them.
Malik* arrived in the UK on a small boat on 19 August and was placed in Wethersfield on the 24 August. Asked whether he had seen anybody being quarantined for depression, he said: “I’m 100% sure they have done this.”
Malik said his room oversees the quarantine building so he sees people being put in there. He’s aware of at least one case of a Kurdish man being placed there for depression, he said.
Hunger strikes
The latest allegations follow reports on Monday that a number of the men at RAF Wethersfield had blocked vehicles from accessing the site in protest about their living conditions.
As a result of their protests, which the Home Office has downplayed, the Home Office came to speak with them this week. “Everyone shared their own personal problems, but I don’t really know if they are going to work on it or not,” Malik said.
While the Home Office claimed that reports of hunger strikes were “untrue”, a spokesperson from Care4Calais told openDemocracy on Wednesday: “Our volunteers have spoken to residents who are on hunger strike at distribution today.
“The guys said they feel no hope about their situation and one was clear that he will not eat until he is moved.”
Ali told openDemocracy that the food was among the worst things in the camp. “Every day, it’s chicken and potatoes, chicken and potatoes,” he said, adding the food smells as though it has gone off and many of the men have suffered sickness.
“I was 64 kilograms and now I’m 58 kilograms,” he said, claiming he had visited the doctor with an upset stomach three times over the past six weeks. “We have to keep getting refills for our medication to deal with our sickness.
“I don’t feel any hope – like anything is going to change in my life.”
Ali added that they have nothing to keep them busy in the day even though they’ve asked – such as wi-fi, television, laptops, books or English classes. “I have £34 in my account,” he said, “no clothes and no money for extra food.”
Kareem*, who is originally from Iraq, was also at Monday’s protest.
The 22-year-old told us: “We are in prison, except we are not in prison clothes.” He said two men fainted from hunger strike and the group had to call an ambulance for them.
“I have depression, headaches and heartache,” he said, adding: “Nobody in the camp is in a good condition.” Kareem described small, cramped living quarters with up to three men sharing bedrooms and bathrooms designed for one person. “Our beds are full of insects.”
He described how the men felt completely cut-off from the world and there was only one bus a day into the city of Colchester, about an hour away – and it returns two hours later. “If you miss the bus, then you have to sleep on the street.”
Steve Smith, CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais, told us that some of its clients had been at Wethersfield for more than two months and that his organisation had been raising safeguarding issues with the authorities on an almost daily basis – but was never responded to.
“There are genuine concerns amongst our team that there will be a very serious incident at Wethersfield before any meaningful action is taken about the wellbeing of the people being left isolated at the camp,” he said.
Wethersfield is illustrative of government plans for asylum accommodation going forward, he added, pointing to other sites such as RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and the Bibby Stockholm barge off the coast of Dorset.
“These institutional sites are not appropriate as long-term accommodation, never mind people who have survived horrors such as war, torture and modern slavery,” said Smith.
An ongoing court case from Braintree District Council is challenging the Home Office’s plans to expand Wethersfield with a High Court hearing scheduled on 31 October. The High Court will also hear evidence about the inappropriate use of the RAF base Scampton in Lincolnshire – which is due to open in weeks and house up to 2,000 men.
“We do not recognise the allegations being made,” the Home Office told us in a statement.
“Despite the number of people arriving in the UK reaching record levels, we continue to provide accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, to meet our legal obligation.
“All residents have access to medical support, including mental health support, and the food provided meets NHS Eatwell standards, catering for all cultural and dietary requirements. To suggest otherwise is wrong.”
*Names have been changed
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[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/raf-wethersfield-asylum-seekers-solitary-confinement-depression/
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