‘Don’t lock up women who are in search of safety’
AREFUGEE who was herself held in a detention centre has spoken out in opposition to plans to build an immigration detention centre for women in County Durham.
In 2012 Agnes Tanoh was taken to Yarl’s Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire for three months, during which she suffered from mental health issues after facing the trauma of fleeing her home in West Africa in order to save her life.
The planned centre in County Durham would hold 80 women and open in the autumn on the site of the notorious Medomsley prison in Hassockfield.
Now Agnes, a detention campaign spokesperson at Women for Refugee Women, wants to stop others from suffering the way she did. She said: “I claimed asylum here because I was being persecuted in my country and I thought I would be killed. I suffered so much and for no reason.
“Instead of finding safety, I was locked up.
“Now the Government has agreed that I should stay in this country, and I have refugee status, but I still struggle with the emotional impact of being locked up in the UK when I most needed protection.
“I know how detention destroys a woman. Women become depressed and suicidal in detention. I don’t want to see this happen to any of my sisters who are looking for safety.”
MPs, faith leaders, asylum seekers and academics are among 200 supporters of the campaign who have written to the Home Secretary to express concerns about the proposed new immigration detention centre.
They include Mary Foy, MP for the City of Durham, Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne mayor, and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys.
The letter was coordinated by Women for Refugee Women, No To Hassockfield, the Durham People’s Assembly, Abolish Detention – Hassockfield and students from Durham University.
Owain Gardner, organiser of the No To Hassockfield campaign, said: “The human rights and mental health implications of the site being used for detention are enormous, not least because of its horrendous past.
“The choice of Hassockfield for the proposed removal centre is insidious, because of the lack of access to legal representation – County Durham has one of the lowest number of suitably qualified lawyers in the UK.”
From 1961 until the 1980s the site was Medomsley Detention Centre, a prison for young male offenders where more than 1,800 living former inmates reported abuse by staff.
Mollie Brown, chair of the Durham People’s Assembly, said: “Durham People’s Assembly is opposed to this detention/removal centre for the immorality of incarcerating people who are looking for safety and because of the horrendous history associated with the site and the impact this still has on the community.
“Whilst we welcome good jobs in the community...the types of companies that the Government is contracting to run and maintain the site have a history of poor working conditions and exploitative practices. Good jobs do not come off the back of cruel and inhumane detention.”
Alphonsine Kabagabo, director of Women for Refugee Women, highlighted the potential damage these centres cause to women’s mental health, especially as they are often vulnerable survivors of trafficking, torture and sexual violence.
Meanwhile, local people said they feel like they have been disregarded in the plans, with the site previously earmarked for new homes.
Durham County Council was expecting a Section 106 notice from Homes England, a plan which included provision for over 100 new homes to be built on the site, but this was not received.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Immigration detention plays a crucial role in a robust immigration system and a significant proportion of women detained are facing deportation because of criminal offences.
“The immigration removal estate is kept under ongoing review to ensure that the Home Office has sufficient resilience, geographical footprint and capacity for the men and women it is necessary to detain for the purposes of removal, while providing value for money.”