Hello from Yarl’s Wood

Mixed feelings about today,

It’s good that the ladies feel like they have achieved something and I do too in a way.

The Home Office officials refused to talk to us as a group but we stood our ground. The directors strong armed them into it and they did eventually talk to us, although they did not really say anything worth listening to. Just things like our detention is lawful (doesn’t feel like it) and they don’t detain asylum seekers and torture victims, but I can tell you this place would be more or less empty without them. We demanded to know how they can justify detaining people indefinitely and they said each case is different and judged individually, so when I said that there isn’t a pattern and it seems like a universal response from the home office they claimed that we would see a pattern because they have grounds to detain us. But let me tell you there is no pattern in the circumstances of detainees, only the reasons given by the home office.

They refused to state that rape is torture and said “no comment” on that matter. It can be summed up as talking to a brick wall like every other occasion I’ve had to speak with an immigration officer.

Then she passed a piece a paper around and insisted we write our names on it so “they could reply in writing to our demands”.

But we all know this was a scare tactic to make people apprehensive and worry about their individual cases. I was so touched when not only everyone who had sat there wrote their names but the ladies prevented from coming where we were [the home office department] and sat in the corridor instead, insisted on writing their names.

I feel pressure to help the ladies which I put on myself, even before this protest I felt the same when I see people struggle with their paperwork or even when they don’t know where to go for something or just when I see someone crying I stop and ask if they are ok. Some people are in such a bad way and they react badly but that’s ok because the way I see it I might have been the only person to speak to them that day, and I know they just miss their families or they have serious psychological issues, I feel sorry for people.

A manager told me last week that I should concentrate on my case and be more selfish as I might feel better if I stop taking on people’s problems. He might have a point but I can’t help but have empathy and maybe that’s why I could never do a job like his. I empathise with people regardless of the colour of their skin, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and political beliefs. To me people are people, and we all want the same things on a human level. We want to feel safe, we want to love and be loved, and we want to feel accepted.

I’m getting emotional now and not sure what I’m writing about anymore I think the lack of caffeine and food is having an effect on my ability to concentrate, god knows I’ll be talking absolute gibberish tomorrow x x x

Thank you all for your support we appreciate it x x  👍👍😊😊👣

Hungry foreigner Made in Britain