Seeking Sanctuary, a small organisation set up by two Catholic Justice and Peace activists in Kent to support migrants in and around the Channel, has reported that the reception facility at Dover is unable to rapidly process the numbers now arriving on most days and conditions at the nearby centre at Manston have been “dire”.
The former military airport at Manston, designed to deal with 1,000 to 1,500 people within 24 hours of their arrival, was until recently holding more than 4000 people, many sleeping on the ground in marquees.
However, Ben Bano and Phil Kerton of Seeking Sanctuary report that the total number within the facility “is said to be down to some 1,500”.
Detainees have complained to Seeking Sanctuary about intermittent electricity and running water. Mobile phones are dead because they cannot be charged. Securing suitable food has been a struggle for vegetarians and vegans. Toilet facilities are inadequate, with one detainee reporting, that “someone wanted to go to the toilet for two or three hours and the manager told them to use a bag; some have been forced to use the bin.”
In these conditions disease can spread and it was announced last weekend that migrants are being vaccinated against diphtheria.
Seeking Sanctuary points out that immigration detention is the practice of holding people who are subject to immigration control in custody while they wait for permission to enter a country or before they are deported or removed. It is an administrative process, not a criminal procedure. Unlike most other European countries, there is no time limit on immigration detention in the UK, and many are held each year, some for lengthy periods, causing serious distress.
Last week Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead bishop for migrants and refugees for the English and Welsh bishops’ conference, said: “Above all we need to remember that migrants and refugees are made in the image of God.”
Seeking Sanctuary: https://seekingsanctuary.weebly.com/
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