ASYLUM SEEKERS DRIVEN TO SUICIDE
Five people in Scots hotels try to take own lives as they shelter from far-right protests
FIVE asylum seekers in Scots hotels have attempted suicide, it has been revealed.
In the latest incident, a man living for months in Erskine’s Mutha Glasgow River hotel tried to take his own life.
The hotel has been the focus of protests by far-right groups.
Charity Scottish Refugee Council told a Scottish Parliament committee a “frontline professional” had reported four suicide attempts by asylum seekers at another hotel.
The incidents have involved asylum seekers at hotels provided by Home Office contractor Mears Group.
Charities fear there could be many more incidents going unreported.
They are calling on the Home Office to end the use of hotel rooms and “institutional accommodation” urgently, with people instead housed in communities.
About 1400 asylum seekers are housed in 16 hotels across Scotland including in Greenock, Aberdeen, Dumfries, Falkirk and East Kilbride.
Almost 500 people share bedrooms and many have been in hotels for over a year, some being moved often.
They are provided with meals and receive £8.86 per week.
Across the UK, 23 asylum seekers are believed to have taken their own lives from 2020-23.
In December, Albanian Leonard Farruku died in a suspected suicide on the Bibby Stockholm barge, moored off Dorset. Asylum seekers told The Ferret website fear of far-right groups, combined with financial support of less than £9 per week, meant they often felt unable to leave hotels, making them feel “trapped”.
Others said they felt like they were in an open prison and it could be triggering for those who had experienced trauma such as conflict, trafficking or torture.
The Erskine hotel has been a focus for protests organised by far-right organisations including Patriotic Alternative and Homeland, and attended by white supremacists.
Counter-protests have been held by unions and refugee supporters.
Mears is in the process of closing the hotel and moving those remaining there to other accommodation across the country.
One asylum seeker, previously resident in the hotel, said: “The situation at that hotel was horrible. Every Sunday there were protests outside against us.
“It meant we were afraid to go into the centre – we felt people hated us. People cannot afford a bus pass so they stay in their rooms. They feel trapped.”
Last month, the Scottish Refugee Council told the Scottish Parliament’s social justice high levels of self-harm meant there was a “heightened risk of deaths by suicide” at the hotels.
The charity told The Ferret it was “horrified” by the incident in Erskine and is calling for “an immediate end to the use of hotel rooms and other types of institutional accommodation”. Pinar
Aksu of Maryhill Integration Network claimed asylum seekers were “being moved like jigsaw pieces”, putting additional strain on their mental health.
She added: “Recently, the person who tried to take their own life indicated feelings of hopelessness, and simply wanting to build a normal life.
“Placing and displacing people across hotels needs to end.”
Paul Sweeney, Labour MSP and chair of the Scottish Parliament’s cross-party group on migration, blamed “the psychological torment” of the Home Office’s “cruel” asylum system.
A Mears spokesman said staff received training, including on mental health.
He added: “The safety and welfare of our service users is of the utmost importance to Mears and we have in place a team of welfare support officers who are on site at hotels daily.”
A Home Office spokesperson said it ensured “the needs and vulnerabilities of asylum seekers are identified and considered”.
■ If you need help or support contact the Samaritans on 116123 or jo@thesamaritans.org
Placing and displacing people across hotels needs to end
PINAR AKSU OF MARYHILL INTEGRATION NETWORK