Helen Hintjens uses the way the Dutch authorities responded to a school fire in the Hague and one in a detention centre at Schipol airport to comment on the treatment meted out to asylum seekers in the Netherlands. It was raining in the Hague, on Monday 16 January. Standing on the corner, a crowd of
Theme: Education
Disastrous cuts planned for helplines
A decision to cut funding for specialist legal support is likely to have dire consequences for new immigrants and asylum seekers across the country. On 16 January the Legal Services Commission (LSC) announced that it intends to abolish, as from July, one of its most successful schemes for providing specialist legal help to the most
Vigil for Bereket Yohannes at Harmondsworth
On a bitterly cold Sunday morning last week, over eighty people gathered outside Harmondsworth removal centre for a vigil in memory of 26-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker, Bereket Yohannes, who was found hanged in a shower block at Harmondsworth on 19 January. Bereket’s is the eighth asylum seeker to take his own life in an immigration
Better care for asylum seekers with HIV
The National AIDS Trust (NAT) has welcomed a decision by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to amend its policy on the dispersal of asylum seekers with healthcare needs. In a recent report, NAT highlights the problem that dispersal brings in terms of healthcare needs of asylum seekers with HIV and welcome the December 2005
Coalition against deportations to Iraq
On 11 January 2006, a coalition was formed to stop forced deportations of Iraqi and Kurdish asylum seekers to Iraq. The group included the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, Green Party, National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities, Organisation of Kurdish Women-Britain and the Campaign to Stop Deportation
‘Life Without Fear’
A new campaign for the rights of Iranian asylum seekers in the UK has been launched. The International Federation of Iranian Refugees in the UK has launched a campaign against the British government’s policy of deporting asylum seekers to Iran. The organisation believes that Iran is unsafe for return and an immediate stop should be
‘My life doesn’t belong to me anymore’
Innocent Nkung, a 35-year-old asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), suffered such homophobic and political persecution that he had to flee the DRC and is now fighting to stay in the UK after his asylum claim was refused. Innocent, who has a background in campaigning on human rights issues had been arrested
World stage involved in anti-deportation drama
A campaign to save a mother and her two children from deportation has broadened its appeal by seeking support on an international scale and enlisting the help of Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh. Samina Altaf and her two children, Aqsa, 12 and Sumama, 6, fled their native Pakistan following incidences of domestic violence and sought
Detainees punished for protesting after suicide
Asylum detainees at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre have been punished for protesting against conditions there after the suicide of an Eritrean asylum seeker. On 19 January 2006, Bereket Yohannes, a 26-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker was found hanged in a shower block at Harmondsworth – the first death of a detained asylum seeker this year. According
Orwell revisited: a film on asylum detention
The organisations No Borders, the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns and the Manchester Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers have joined forces to produce a very evocative short film exploring the experience of ‘failed’ asylum seekers in detainment. The promotional video was filmed on location at Dallas Court Enforcement Unit, Salford and involves a group of