Yarld’s Wood Detention Centre was a part of the HUMAN REFUGEES immersive exhibition that took place in July 2017 in Migration Museum London.
Yarld’s Wood
This project consisted of the digital photographic images of Yarld’s Wood Detention Centre that is located near Bedfordshire, England.
Yarld’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre is 1 out of 13 centers that are currently based in the UK, it imprisons foreign nationals: such as asylum seekers, refugees and international students before deportation from the United Kingdom. The detention center is located near the leisure center for skydiving, the whole place is wired, and all buildings look the same. Therefore, in order to get to the actual place from the main road, you have to walk 2km through the green fields along the wire to get there, the place is clearly well hidden from the public.
Yarld’s Wood Detention Centre opened on 19 December 2001 and it was one of the largest detention centers in Europe hosting over 400 detainees, the control of the center passed to private companies - Englefield Capital and Electra Partners, and ever since it had been accused to be ’not safe, and never far from controversy’. The GSL (Global Solutions Limited) group has not renewed the contract so the following property was passed to Serco. In February 2002, the building was burned down as a protest by the detainees, and this was triggered by someone being physically restrained by staff. Officer, Darren Attwood at the time of the accident, complied to ‘lock the detainees in the burning building’.
The protest continued with Hunger Strikes from 2001- 2015, the cause of the protest was due to: lack of any help, locking detainees in a room without air, food, or toilet, against sexual abuse and rape, and in regard to a death of a Mr Pinakeen Patel. The detention center mainly hosts 90% of women, and yet half of the staff is male. 70% of those women report sexual violence and rape. Even though journalists proved to Serco that it is illegal to detain children at the center, to this day children are still held there in ‘extremely distressing’ conditions - unlawfully. Multiple detainees died from being denied medical assistance before their death.
One of the asylum seeker committed suicide, by hanging himself while waiting for the deportation with his 13-year old son. So many organizations as Women for Women Refugee, Legal Action for Women (LAW), Children’s Commissioner for England, UN’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, even Inspector of Prisons, published a report for reporting abuse, rape, allegations of racism, based on the undercover reporter for the Daily Mirror. The place was said to be ‘the place of national concern’ and to make sure that women were detained as ‘a last resort’. Upon my visit there in May 2017 with the Movement for Justice organization, nothing seemed to be changed, women still report sexual abuse and racist behavior from the staff. Let’s shut down Yarld’s Wood once and for all.
You said you know somebody inside Yarld’s Wood Detention Centre?
“Yes, I do. She is an asylum seeker…and I know somebody inside. She is in Yarld’s Wood right now. I do not know much what is going on with her, but today I joined the demonstration. I was trying to spot her earlier, but I do not think I have seen her. The windows are too small. I do not think is good, because when you come and you are trying to see there faces, because it is reflective you can’t even see them. Although, I have noticed something, you cannot open windows very far.”
There is no fresh air inside at all.
Now, when I came today, some of the stories I am hearing…its kind of like, very emotional for me. It actually made me cry. So, how would I feel if I was in there? If I would be for one minute inside, I would have done something. I feel sad for the family, for the people that are inside the detention center. There were some people that were screaming ‘HELP ME’. It is very upsetting and I have spotted a child in there, and it is making me more upset, how would his family feel?
They do not even have basic human rights in there.
The problem is that the security in there, if they were okay and if they would treat people the right way, things might have gone slightly better, but it is the security in there that abuses women. Somebody that I know who is in there, had been raped in there, not a long time ago. She was in Yarld’s Wood and one of the security guards raped her. Now, there was a documentary based on what they did. There was a nurse, she was inside Yarld’s Wood- to check, she had the footage, she had the camera- it was on the BBC News. But I feel that everything that they are doing is absolutely wrong, that should not be doing it. If somebody treated their mother like this, what would they do? Would they stand their watch what is going on? – Somebody did this to there sister or mother, I do not think they would sit there look at them. They need to understand – they need to stop treating people bad. The entire building look depressing. And, they should shut down Yarld’s Wood.
Is it your first time here?
I remember when I came here last year, they have connected somebody on the phone and the person said to me (on the speaker) they were feeling very depressed. Because, when they had there hand out of the window, the security said they cannot have their hand out. They cannot look, they cannot breathe, they cannot do anything.
And, they have not even been prosecuted for anything they have done for the detainees.
It is going into news, but nothing is happening. No one is taking any action. If you look outside the gate, you cannot even have the access to go in.
Even in order to come to the place you had to go around.
The problem is they have the security system, they see what is going on outside at the moment, but they do not want to face it. They are the ones that should be prosecuted and be inside the bars. I feel that somebody should try to reach Home Office, or any other organization that would help to shut down Yarld’s Wood. When, I have climbed up the ladder, I have seen the families, they are in tears- they need help. But if they were to be sent to their country, who knows what would happen to them back in there.
Are there visitation hours for the family members?
I do not think family or any other members are allowed to see them. I am surprised they have a phone. But, they take phones of people – they might be hiding it. I have never been in there, which I am curious to see what is happening in there. I would approach security and ask them, how would they feel if somebody would rape their mothers?