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The miserable conditions inside former military barracks hastily converted into refugee camps are revealed today for the first time amid growing opposition to the move from the Interior Ministry.
Images of “unsanitary and inadequate” housing within disused army training grounds show crammed dormitories where social distance seems defiant. The British Red Cross said the Defense Ministry sites, surrounded by barbed wire and tall fences, were unsuitable for housing vulnerable and traumatized asylum seekers who had fled the conflict.
So far two sites: in Penally, Pembrokeshire and Folkestone, Kent – which together could house more than 600 asylum seekers while their applications are processed, have been converted.
Jennifer Blair of the Helen Bamber Foundation, which supports refugees who have endured extreme cruelty, said images from inside military camps raised new concern.
“To begin with, there is a lack of privacy for showers and sleep, and for rape and abuse survivors that is unacceptable. The Wales site, in particular, appears very run-down, with bunk beds and concerns about social distancing.
“It is unacceptable to house survivors of torture and trafficking in unsanitary and inadequate conditions. The use of barracks as refugee camps has been carried out without proper risk assessment, proper vulnerability screening and trauma informed specialized medical care.
Although the Interior Ministry says that no one staying at the sites is being detained, human rights groups have described them as “a prison without the safeguards of a prison.”
Chai Patel, director of legal policy for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said asylum seekers were subject to a night curfew and that there was “a real risk that these camps are just another form of detention with a lot of less supervision “.
Sonia Lenegan, legal director of the Immigration Law Professionals Association, expressed concern about the apparent lack of legal access for asylum seekers on the bases and said that despite repeatedly asking the Interior Ministry for details of any provision legal, there had been no response.
He also said that charities had had difficulty accessing the camps due to far-right protests outside them. This follows the recent admission by an Interior Ministry official that while they were fully aware of the far-right protests in front of army bases and hotels housing asylum seekers, they were “not following” them. . A welcome event will be held next weekend to show support for asylum seekers who have come to Napier Barracks in Folkestone.
Other problems identified by the charities include a lack of specialized mental health services, with a Syrian doctor who was transferred from the Kent camp on Friday to, according to Blair, “more appropriate accommodation” after suffering a nervous breakdown.
Jon Featonby, policy and advocacy manager for the British Red Cross, said many of the asylum seekers may have been imprisoned by their government or non-state actors in their home country and that being held indefinitely within such bases would not be healthy .
“We certainly don’t think this is a suitable place for people to stay. It is very worrying. It’s very worrying, ”he said.
Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn recently asked the Home Office to apologize for the hasty conversion of the Penally site, saying there had been a “lack of planning, communication, consultation and information.”
Last week, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary sparked consternation among human rights groups after calling the asylum system “fundamentally broken” and promising new laws to curb what she described as “endless legal lawsuits” from asylum seekers. Rejected.
The Interior Ministry has not yet responded to requests for comment.
