Yesterday I used the phone to call, I was among the detainees also protesting making a lot of noise I was holding a towel, I was making so much noise. I really appreciate what you guys are doing. But the problems in this house are so bad, we are Africans there are foods we don’t eat but they don’t give us good food. If you have a complaint they won’t listen they just tell you to write it down. If you go to hospital with a complaint they will not put it down on your record they will say something else. It is like they are trying to hide something.

They pick people who don’t have money to pay for lawyers, they pick people who don’t have money. My roommate doesn’t have money to even follow the documents she doesn’t even have lawyer she doesn’t even know where to start. So it is unfair.

I had an Indian girl who was my roommate before. When they took her from the house they took her card from her and she doesn’t have anyone here, no mother, she said she that being here is even better because she had no one she is doing nothing about her case just crying her head off, so they take someone like this back to their country. They wake you up at midnight maybe 2am and if you refuse they shut all the doors and they drag you out.

There was one lady who was here she was having problems with her mind, we don’t know where she is now, they say is she underground and nobody knows, this is breaking our hearts.

Me, I came here from the airport and they asked me who my husband was, he wasn’t here to pick me up, so I have to go to court, so now I’m here, so if my husband is not coming then I have no one to support me.  At the moment I can’t sleep – my heart. I shouldn’t suffer because my husband is having problems with me. I did not just get my papers easily, when we put in the application I went to court and they granted it to me.  But because he did not come to identify his face they take me. I think as a human right it is not fair for us. A lot of people are losing their life here. People are
falling sick. It’s torture. It really is torture.

I went to the salon to get my hair done in Croydon. The Immigration officers came in and asked for our papers. I felt like I wanted to fall down and die because I didn’t have them. They took my prints and they said I’ve been here since 2007 and asked why I don’t want to go home. Well I have no one at home. They put handcuffs on me and the man said I was rude. But I didn’t want to run away because I was scarred: there were like 8 officers inside the shop. I wanted to go to weewee but I couldn’t go –  I weeweed on my trousers there in the shop. So I was cold I needed my jumper. And then they told me I was a liar and that I wasn’t cold. And they put me on the van and took me to home office in Croydon and then to Heathrow for three days.

I had a bad ulcer and they gave me some medicine to take and then they took me to yarls wood. They give us chips but I’m not meant to eat chips. It’s so hard for me to eat because what I want to eat is not here. They don’t want to do anything about. They’re not giving people tickets anymore. They’re not giving information. Now they come in the night they will tell you they are waiting and tell you to pack.

The protest was very nice. I loved it. My prayer is to let the doors come open and so people can see what is happening here. They treat us like slaves. That’s what is happening here. We want our freedom and we want Nigeria to stop issuing travel documents. I have been here 8 years, I’ve lost my brother and lost my dad who are in the UK, I don’t have any family in Nigeria.

The way things are going in this house we are not happy. The food they give us is not good so sometimes we don’t go to dinner.  At the moment all we have to say is people should keep working for us because it is difficult most of us have no money. Some people have just been taken away because they have no money for lawyer. It is good for us to write it down.

We are still writing all the problems. We are not eating, we try to do something.

People settle down their whole life is in the country, hundred percent people don’t like to go so people living five years six years everything they settle down in this country, they like to take them back to India, Sri Lanka, wherever. They can’t go some people have children they have family here. We can’t go, we stay here in the detention centre, that’s why we are fighting. The room, the food is not human, we are like butterfly, the human they want freedom. This is like a zoo, the people telling ok that animal got the freedom, but freedom means no cage they can jump that’s the life.

This is like a two metres by two metres space, they give you food. The human wants to see so many places the human is liking outside, this is like a headache place now. All the people don’t like to wait here, we like to go out as soon as possible, we know that United Kingdom is amazing big place, this is like a 100 yard 100 yard place, we like to go soon as possible out that’s it.

The best thing we can write it down. Most of the people can’t talk English so it is best that we write it down. Everything we write it down in a letter we put our room numbers on it and we will send it in a couple of hours.

It would be good if the protest was on the news so that everyone will here it. If everyone would hear it then this immigration would have to change their way. Parliament would have to change the legislation which is affecting us here.

I can’t imagine they would take people without the ticket. They don’t give the tickets, they keep them and call you to legal or the unit office and then take you. They take people unawares. They collect her phone so she cannot contact anyone – her lawyer or anybody. The officers will go to her room and get her things and take them. She cannot change her clothes. They’ve done this to three or four ladies.

There’s no good care. No good food. No good water. No good place to sleep. There’s these little bed bugs over the beds. The water is affecting their skin. People are having serious stomach ache and there’s no good medical care. And if some people have an appointment in the hospital they will have to handcuff them as if they were a criminal. Arriving here without a visa is not a big crime that they have to handcuffed to go to hospital.

The protest yesterday was good. You guys out there are feeling for us. You are feeling what we are going through. Because we are here unlawful. They say we will resettle people after 10 years 12 years 20 years. There is a woman here who has been here 21 years. Her lawyer applied for the 20 year rule and she was refused. She is being removed on a charter flight on the 24th of November. I want everyone to know about this Charter flight to November and to stop it.

I have been here for 18 years. This is the first time they are arresting me here. They got me when I went to sign. I don’t have any where to go. I left Nigeria when I was in my 20s. I came here in my 30s. I am 51 now. The whole of my family are dead, I don’t have any body. To start with, I went to South Africa but they took my South African passport. When I visited Nigeria in 2000 I was almost killed by extended family who thought I was coming for inheritance. I had to run. Now they say I have to return to where I was almost killed.

Basically I work in the family unit. I serve food. You know you have jobs in detention. I work service assistant – basically we serve the food. They are all on hunger strike. I like serving but the only bad thing is you can’t get extra things – you can’t give people extra because the officers will tell you off. You get paid £3 a day. I 12.30-1-30, 5.30 til 6.30. People come here with no money.

At the moment I’m facing deportation. My human rights and asylum has been refused. My case is very strong but my solicitor is very weak. Other solicitors can’t do legal aid so I can only go with this one. I have a deportation order.

The staff is really really crap. They don’t treat us with respect. They don’t let us have bowls and cutlery in our rooms. They use bedding and towels that have been used by other people and have only been washed with hot water.

When there’s a fire we have to stay inside our rooms but normally we should go to the fire assembly point. There was a fire last month, late last month when one lady put herself on fire and a couple of people got injured. They just said we should stay inside. There was ambulance there was police and fire brigade.

I grew up in the UK since I was in year 4. Since then I was in the care system under section 31. I used to abscond because I didn’t let me see my mum, I could only see her supervised and if I saw her alone you’d get in trouble. When I was 16 committed robbery and I went to prison for 3 years and 6 months I was told to do half. I served the sentence but then I was taken away by immigration. I was told to finish my whole sentence by immigration. If I had my early release I would be out but I’m still in for the full time. And then they took me to Colnbrook Detention centre and I came to Yarl’s Wood in March 2015

They want to deport me now. It took them 8 months to even make a deportation order and they refused my asylum and human rights. I also suffer from mental health problems and ADHD.

It’s horrible what detention does to people. You leave prison and come here and no one its like a new subject that you have to learn. They separate you from your family. They make you feel like you have no hope. I want to get bail but it was withdrawn by the judge three times. I could have got bail but the first time I didn’t have my probation letter to say I could stay at the address. The second time my friend had temporary accommodation so I couldn’t get released to it. The third time my sister was pregnant so she couldn’t come and she was going to be my surety.

Its unfair becauser Social Services could have applied for british citizenship when I was young because I’ve lived there for so long. But now I’m 18 they can’t and they can’t give me support. And now I’m being deported.

It’s not fair that someone who has been brought up in this country. I was born in Venezuella and I’ve been here when I was 4. I came to the UK and they want to deport me to Guyana where my mum is from. But my whole family is here.

I’ve been here 8 months I want people to know what it’s like.

The officer here has closed the door, the door to have access to the internet. Here in the family unit 36 family refuse to have food. Everyone here has the same problem and want home office to review all their cases. Nothing else. Some people are victim of the solicitor some people cannot speak English. To take one solicitor you need to pay £10,000.  The people now are all in the corridor in the family unit demanding the home office review their cases and release them.

The protest today there were lots of people outside in the rain. Thank you, it was good.

The officers closed the computer room so no one can have access to the internet. There’s 36 family in the corridors. They want two things. We want everyone released and their cases can be reviewed. They make decisions are refused they are victims of the solicitors. Private soliccitors cost like £10,000 most people are victims of the solicitors. They have closed the fast track but people had decisions made then and are still here.