Brook House

Brook House Protest: I’m still on a hunger strike, and I will continue the strike.

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I’m from Yemen. I’ve seen war in all of its details, all of its destruction, death, repression, mines, death, everything. My uncle, friends, and relatives, died. I remember those who died, our most beloved. I lived war. I only left after I experienced it. We, young men, are a target. We were targeted by the Houthis because my relatives worked in hospitals and helped the injured. To this day every time I call my family or friends, I receive news that this or that friend died by stepping into a mine, or being hit by shells or missiles.

My whole neighborhood is destroyed. I lived the war in all of its details. When things went really bad, I tried to leave. I did not tell my family that I would leave the country, I only told them that I will go to a relatively safer city in Yemen. I borrowed money from this and that friend, then went to Mauritania. We walked by the border with Mali. We were caught by this gang, and they threatened to take our organs. We were stuck between smugglers and human traffickers. They threatened to take our organs or blackmail our families. My family did not know I left; that would’ve devastated them. We were able to get out of that, and we reached Algeria. We were sleeping in the desert cold; taken from one smuggler to another. From Ain Saleh, for a few months, to Ghardaia, where the Algerian army detained us for 15 days. They took everything from us, and deported us to the Niger desert. I still remember to this day, the soldier told me, “this is the road to Niger, this is the road to death.”

We were accompanied by Palestinians and others. We wandered from one region to another. And we were held in this room on the border with no toilet. We used plastic bags. We were there for a few weeks. Eventually we managed to enter Morocco, but we were caught and deported to Algeria, and they were going to deport us to Niger, but we escaped the Algerian army and returned, without any money. We slept on the streets. We tried to get to Spain, to Melilla. It took us 3 months to enter. After nearly 25 attempts, we did. We were beaten really badly. They treated us like slaves, not like refugees.

We entered Spain. They put us in a building with 600 people from all nationalities. I am short. I was subjected to beatings and sexual harassment. Whenever I tried to file a complaint to the Spanish guards, they would either laugh at me or would not understand what I said. It was 40 days in hell. I wished I could return to Yemen. Sometimes we washed the guards’ clothes so they wouldn’t beat us.

Then they transferred me somewhere else, because I complained a lot. I could barely walk 30 metres. Then they transported us to Valencia, and kicked us out into the streets. I spent three weeks on the streets, knocking the doors of one charitable society after another, but we were only met with rejection. The police treated me like a criminal, and used pepper spray on me, even though I’m a refugee. Even on the streets in Spain, I was sexually harassed. When I realised things are not going to work out in Spain, I decided to migrate, to Belgium.

I’ve seen people scattered on the streets in Belgium. We had our fingerprints taken in Spain, in Germany, and now we’re in Belgium, eating and sleeping on the streets, and being chased on the streets. I was going to request asylum in Belgium, but then I saw the situation of my peers, and some told me that they came over like I did, and were then thrown into the streets. Five years in war, and I thought I was brave among my family, but here I am being subjected to sexual harassment and the like. We moved to France. I contacted my family and told them I’m in France. I asked them for money so I can pay to the smuggler to enter Britain since there we would not face beatings and the like. From Dunkirk, which is filled with smugglers, we had difficulty, since we Arabs are hated by Kurdish smugglers, and so we faced difficulty.

We tried and tried. One day a smuggler told us if he sees us there again, he will kill us. We kept roaming France for a month. We reached Calais, and it’s filled with smugglers. I thought Europe would be a heaven. I developed a skin condition in Spain that they refused to provide treatment for.

The sea was my last hope. I thought to myself, if I don’t reach Britain, at least I will die in the sea, instead of returning to the streets of Europe. I was hoping that if I get to Britain, I will finally be able to live and start a life, and all the bitter days would be over; that it would be a watershed. I wrote my will and handed it to a friend, just in case, so he would tell my family, so they would forgive me. We were in the sea for eight hours. I felt regret. Why did I leave my family, why have them live in war on their own. I thought I’m selfish, because I left them. I should’ve continued to live with them. Not leave them and live on my own. Now when I call my family, they still struggle with what I used to struggle with. When I reached Britain, I thought I reached a safe harbour. You know, one would hope to die in his homeland, in his mother’s arms, to see his family and loved ones.

I reached Britain, and spent 4 months trying to build a new life, until that day. I had a GP. I explained to him my physical and mental health, and he provided me with care, until that day. We were in our place, I was happy, I was optimistic, and then all of a sudden, the police came over and took us. I asked them what crime did I commit, but they just took us to detention. They told me you have a fingerprint in Spain. I told the investigator, and the lawyer, if I was a refugee there why would they have me sleep on the streets? No matter what I said they would not believe. They just told me, ‘this is the law’.

I’m still on a hunger strike, and I will continue the strike. I told them that if I am to be deported to Spain, I will not be deported alive. I will not go back to a life of homelessness, to those who beat us and harassed us. You cannot know how I feel right now, since you’re not in my place. I’m only telling you a small portion of what happened. I can go on forever. I lost my family, my father, my mother, my friends, my city, and they’re all still in war. I thought that Europe would be a heaven on earth, that I will get to live and make something out of myself. Now, I think I lived like a king in my country. My last hope was Britain. I crossed the sea with my kafan on my hand, I either get to the shore or die. We faced gangs and threats, but Britain ruined everything. They want to get us back to point zero.

We’ve been here for two weeks. They lock us in our room from 9PM to 9AM. From day one I went on strike. Here, you’re subject to deportation at any moment. Every night, I can barely sleep. I’d wake up to every passing shadow, to every passing guard. Every time, I tell myself, “this is it”. I can’t even begin to describe it. If you look at my life, from beginning to end, you’d feel bad over all the time you lost, all the years gone. Five years lost to war, a year or so lost in Europe. I will not go back to live through that suffering again. My family calls me, and I tell them, “they put us in schools” and “I am now studying”. I don’t tell them that I am facing deportation. If we are deported, there is nothing but death. They think we came from a paradise. No, we came from the hell of war in Yemen, hell of displacement, hell of smuggling, and now they want to ruin everything.

You don’t even know how it’s like here with the guys and how we’re feeling. As soon as our room is closed, we’re tense and waiting. Where are we going to be deported to? Spain and the streets. To the starting point.

All that I experienced in the war in Yemen does not reach this level of suffering. And here we are waiting, for our execution. They tell us they’re just enforcing the law. I do not envy others, but if this is the law, why is it selectively enforced. I know others who had fingerprints elsewhere who were granted asylum. We are waiting for the 27 of August, the day we die. They either leave us here, or deport us. If I knew this was what I was going to face, I would’ve preferred to die in my homeland. At least there I’d see my family. I’m full of regret. I am selfish. I left my family. I would rather die close to my mother than on their streets. They sentenced us to death.

Brook House Protester: ‘We came here and we just want the chance to live and find peace.’

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We are Yeminis and we are detained here, in Brook House in the UK. Our country is going through a war.

We left Yemen to escape persecution and war and to avoid death. And to come to a country that is safe, where we can live safely and healthily without fear of persecution.

All the cities have been destroyed by the war. There are so many weapons in the country. They are giving weapons to young kids to turn them into soldiers. There is a lot of corruption and there are no jobs. There is no choice other than to be involved somehow in the conflict. The youth feel like they are being brave and courageous by joining and it makes them feel that they are involved in something important, but they are dying or being imprisoned.

We are protesting because we are trapped and detained, and we are being threatened with removal to Spain on Thursday. When people leave their country they come to a place like the UK for its peace and safety. We don’t want to take advantage of welfare or anything, we want to work and study and to contribute to society. For Yemenis, a lot of us feel that there is peace and security in Britain.

I feel that the UK is our mother country because there are a lot of Yemenis here, we have family and family friends here. There are twenty Yemenis that are detained. Their mental health is suffering from the situation; they just want to get out and live in peace.

The protests are to bring attention to the suffering of the Yemini people, so that we can be released. And so that we are able to live with peace and justice. We hope that the British government will act justly and let us live here.

To get to Britain there was a lot of pain along the way. At first I was in Mauritania, then I was in the deserts of Mali. Then we made our way to Algeria after a 3 day long trip in which we ran out of water. We were scared that the government would catch us and send us back to Niger because that’s what they were doing to a lot of refugees and it happened to my friends. They were sent back to Niger after numerous attempts and payments that they made to get to Algeria. We then walked to a place in Algeria over 2 days – during which we were not allowed to stop or sit down. In the day time we were hiding and in the night time we were walking. We reached a place called Aïn Salah (Algeria). And then walked to another place called Ghardaia (in Algeria). After the sunset, we walked as far as we could until it was morning in an area called Djidiouia (Algeria), and the guy that was taking us was scared he would get caught and left us in the desert all the day. We were out of food and water and we were trying to hide. A lot of people gave up – they tried to find officials to hand themselves in.

Then the guy that was taking us came back and we started walking immediately – through mountains – I felt  faint and like I was going to pass out. When we reached Oujda (Morocco), 20 of us crammed into a car. The people in the car were from all over, some Syrians, some Yemenis. At each checkpoint/city, you had to pay a sum of cash. Up until this point I had given $3,500. I was lucky because other people had to pay a lot more.

I went to Nador in Morocco and we were there for 3 months. People would say they could take us to Europe but then they would take our money and then leave us. There are still some people I know who have lost all their money and are still waiting in Nador. And If you didn’t have money, people would try to jump over the wall to get to Melilla. This wasn’t free either – it would still cost money to climb the wall. I know some people who have fallen and broken their legs are still waiting to climb the wall. I finally crossed the wall.

In the camp in Melilla, it was tough. There was a lot of stealing; people had knives. It felt lawless. I wanted to leave and get out as soon as possible. When I was given refugee status, I was able to get to Madrid. I tried to get to the UK through Belgium and then from France. I was in Dunkirk for a month. I went to a car park there to try to get onto a truck, but there were people with weapons, and  it wasn’t possible even after several attempts. In the jungle there was a lot of conflict between people.

I got on a small boat to the UK – we thought we were going on a truck but that didn’t happen. We were told we had to go by water. They said it was going to be a short trip of 40 minutes. In fact, we left at 3am and we were still going at 8am. There were a lot of waves – we saw death. All we could see was water and sky. People had paid $3000 or $5000 to make this journey and they really thought they were going to die. Some people had paid all that they had, and owned some even borrowed from family to make this payment. 

On the journey, I was thinking about all I had to endure to get there. I was thinking about being close to death in the desert and death in the waves. I felt that like this was the end.

I remembered in the desert, I was so desperate that I asked my friends to just leave me there but they helped me push through. I thought of all this while thinking that I was going to die on the boat. I remember when we spent a night in Dunkirk, and one of the mafia  threatened us and said that this is your last night here otherwise we’ll shoot you.

And I felt a deep sorrow and sadness that after all that we had been through we might not even  make it and that this would be the end.

When we reached Britain it was like we had come alive again.  We were so happy. Everyone was taken to different cities. We told our families that we had made it. I was taken to Coventry, near Birmingham. I was there for 4 months.

Everyday, I would go running – I needed to get fit! People would be really nice at the park. I became friends with two older people – one was 100 and another was 85. We took a selfie together. I would talk to them everyday, and our friendship made me really happy. I would do push-ups and pullups. I also started learning English at home.

In my 30 years of life – it hasn’t been great. But here I felt that for the first time I could live out my dreams.

11 days ago, immigration enforcement came in the early morning to the place I was staying. My dream became a nightmare.

It has been really hard. I feel so depressed. I have started hating food, hating life. My friends and I are finding it really hard. I have felt suicidal and that it is not worth it to be sent back. After  having tried so hard for this. I have lost so much money and time. I can’t imagine that I will be able to continue if I’m sent back to Spain after all this.  My friends and  family friends are all here. 

I have a ticket for the 27th August but we are hoping to challenge it with our solicitors.

We came here and we just want the chance to live and find peace. And we want to be given the chance to flourish in society. I have hope that I will be able to get out and I will be treated with justice. I want to be active and contribute to society here.

Thank you to everyone who is helping us and continues to help us. God bless them.

Brook House Protest: They told me “you have to go back where you came from”. In that moment I was broken down inside

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This is my life story. Why I came out from Yemen when the civil war started.

I was leading a normal life. I was living in Yemen in the town called Sanaa. I was studying and working when the civil war started. I tried to stay there even though the civil war started. There was fighting and bombing and the Houthi fighters and the army fighters were there, and it was a hard time but still I tried to stay. Then I couldn’t stay there; me and my family moved away from Sanaa.

I went to a small town with my family. But the university was in Sanaa, not where I went. When I went to the small town the Houthi army was there. I managed to escape but they took my brother. I tried to hide then they got me and took me, and I was one month in jail because they seized the small town.

I was one month in jail, the Houthi army put me in jail for one month. They removed me because my brother got injured when they were bombarding. They let me out so I could see my brother. My brother was in a very bad condition; his legs were broken and everything. I took my brother out of the hospital and we went to the small town where my mother was and after 3 days we left. I went to another town and I got a passport and I left Yemen.

And then I went to Mauritania and from Mauritania I made my way to Europe. We kept walking. Walking with the trafficker and it’s all desert, we took cars and he blackmailed us. Then the trafficker met with another guy and the other guy took over.

This guy made us walk through the mountains. Then he showed us that he had a knife and guns and he asked us for money and mobiles. We gave him everything. Then we walked through the desert and I asked them where we are. They said it’s between Algeria and Niger. And then another trafficker took over and he put us in a truck, a big car where you put animals in. And then they took us to another place and another trafficker took over and we went to a place. During the time we were walking, we were abused, they were like hitting us and treating us badly.

We ended up in Morocco. And then another trafficker took over. And this trafficker just reassured us and said “I’m going to make you pass to Europe”. He took all the money but he wasn’t honest; he didn’t let us pass to Europe. We stopped there in Morocco. Approximately we stayed there for 2 weeks.

And then another trafficker came and one of the people said “don’t worry, we’ll help you leave”. They took us to Spain. When we reached Spain they asked us for money, and we said we don’t have money, they said “tell your parents to send you money”, but our parents are not working, we don’t have any connections.

When we said we don’t have money to give you they said “no problem, you can work with us now”. In this moment I thought: I need to run away. Because they are really bad people, they want us to work for them. They threatened to kill us, that’s why I realised I had to run away. 

I went to another town and I stayed homeless out on the road. I was searching for any refugee camp to help me and support me, just in terms of food and to continue living. I lived in that period on the road. It was really cold and I didn’t have my charger to charge my phone to connect with my people. It was a really tough time for me.

And then I met two guys, one from Yemen and one from Syria. They said to me “let’s go to somewhere where there is no war, where there is justice”. And so we went to some area but I don’t know the name of it. And then we decided to go to Britain. A trafficker said “I will take you to England”.

And then they took us to the sea and they said “you have to go”. I said “no, I’m scared, I don’t want to go across the sea”. There was a lot of people there from Iran and Kurdistan. He pointed a gun at me and said, “you have to leave now”. The guys there reassured me, they said, “don’t worry it’s only one hour and then you will be there, you will be safe”. The sea was really bad. I was so scared. But when I saw from a distance that we were close to Britain I was relieved a little bit when I saw the coast guard.


When we got there the guy took us to Coventry, and I stayed there for 3-4 months. I tried to forget everything I went through. I was thinking about my family. I tried to contact them and to see how my brother is doing. Then, when I was sleeping they opened the door and the police came to see me. He was talking to me but I wasn’t able to understand because everything was in English. I was so scared when he found me there, when he opened the door and he saw me.

I’m not a murderer, I’m just a normal guy. I just ran away from what I have experienced in a bad moment. Why are they treating me like this? They told me “come with me”. They told me “you have to go back where you came from”. In that moment I was broken down inside, I was feeling so bad.

And then they put me in a detention centre. They took the phone, they took everything. They gave me another SIM. But I’m not allowed to go out. Where shall I go if I go out? To the street? What shall I do?

I would rather die here than go back to where I came from.

I just want this country to hear us, because I’ve been in lots of danger. When I escaped from the desert and the mountains, I put my life under risk and I don’t want to go back. That’s all I have.

Brook House Protest: I am on hunger strike. I haven’t eaten since I enter here.

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I have a deportation ticket on the 26th to Germany. I was rejected three times from the high court. I still have my paper from the high court saying I have been rejected, but because my fingerprint was taken in Germany they want to take me back. I have been in Brook House from the 14th of August. I came by boat from Calais. There is no country that has taken me as an asylum seeker. I have a fingerprint in Greece and in Germany so I am stuck. I am now in the Observation Room in Brook House, I am monitored by someone who is checking me every 15 minutes. This has been happening for three days. I am on hunger strike. I haven’t eaten since I enter here. Since 14th I take water only and now I don’t drink or take any food. I hope I will be released so I can start my life here. I just want the people to feel like what I have passed through. I don’t want anyone to have what I have experienced passing through this life. But if someone has, I swear they won’t even last one day with this life. I feel like when immigration detained me they sent me to my death. I want to change my solicitor, no one has helped me. No one has given me any hope until now. Every time I am always searching for solicitor.

I started my journey from Yemen to Malaysia, I was there for six years but I cannot have a good life in Malaysia. I don’t have the right to seek for asylum there. From Malaysia I moved to Iran. I was tortured in Iran. In Iran they have guns and took everything I have. When I arrived to Turkey I try five times to go to Greece. Five times. The Turkey border guards tried to drown me, five times, when I tried to cross by boat. On the sixth time I enter into Greece, I stay 1 year and 4 months. After I finish my paper in Greece, I went to Germany. I ask for asylum in Germany, they rejected me the first and the second time, on my third time, I went to the high court, but the judge rejected me also. I stayed for 7 months as a homeless in Belgium. In Belgium, the police always come to take our things, our clothes, and throw it, because I am sleeping in the street. The police they don’t let me sleep. I decided to move to Dunkirk, a city in France, there is a lot of gangs there, they have guns, they will kill anyone trying to go to these places, because they have occupied a lot of parking for the lorries that are crossing to the UK. They are smugglers, they are taking you places to try to go to UK. And then I went to Calais and I sit in the Jungle. I sit there for 4 months. I was trying to go to the UK but it didn’t work. The police in Calais, one day they wake you up and the next day they let you sleep, then wake you up, then let you sleep. Once they took our camp. The police they are always throwing tear gas. After 4 months I pull some money to enter the UK. In UK, I enter on _______, and then on the 14th of August I was detained.

Without simple people there is no world. The victim of war are only simple people, the victim of hunger are only simple people. The country is standing up by the simple people. And we are the simple people. We are the land, we are the planet. We just want some respect.

We are only just human. We are only plain. But in fact, it’s things killing things. The struggling over struggle.

And the stupid regulation over stupid regulations.

The purpose of our hunger strike is to reach our voice

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We are in a very depressed situation. We are on hunger strike since 6 or 7 days. The purpose of our hunger strike is to reach our voice, but the staff in the detention centre are saying that even if you are on hunger strike your voice won’t reach. After visiting the mental and psychological doctor they sent reports to the home office, but they say you are not having any mental illness and accordingly they are refusing us. While most of the people here are suffering so many struggles during their journey to the UK, and this is not logical actually, that the home office are refusing the reports of the doctor.

I have not had an appointment with the doctor – it was supposed to be today but the interpreter was not available so they have postponed to this afternoon. When I reached the detention centre I told them I have sinus and colon problem and they hadn’t brought medicine, just yesterday they brought the medicine. And they told me I have to take the medicine with food and they told me I have to eat in order to take the medicine, but I am on hunger strike.

Even our voice was not accepted by the Home Office officer. We have conducted an interview with a Home Office officer in the detention centre and we explained to him the pain, the assaults, all the struggles during our stay in Europe. And they said this is not our business, this is not our issue and you need to discuss this with your solicitor, they are not bothered. And they need to hear our voice. I’m wondering why the Home Office did not hear our full story, our full suffering from the struggles and the pain that we thought and felt during our journey in France and Spain, and all the countries that we passed through.

They just met us very briefly in Dover and took a very quick screening, a very quick interview with us, and gave us a ticket. How come they are removing us? They need to hear our story.

When we tried to add a comment to our interview with the Home Office officer, they are not giving us any opportunity to do that. There are many attempted suicides from people inside the detention centre.

When I reached the detention centre I told them that I have a phobia of narrow places, and they have delayed my appointment so many times. Now my appointment was supposed to be in the morning and they have delayed it to the afternoon, and I’m afraid this is happening to so many people and I’m afraid that they are delaying the reports for the sake of removing me. I’m afraid that I am not fit to travel.

We need the people, the Home Office, to hear us, to hear our story. Yes, we have a fingerprint in Spain but the asylum system there is very poor. They have thrown us in the street. We were blackmailed from the human traffickers, we were assaulted by the police officers in Spain, we don’t want to go back because we were in a very difficult situation in Spain. It’s not a country that we are welcomed in. We are not able to live in a country that’s not protecting our human rights, we already fled from Yemen that has a lot of violations and war and its own struggle we are looking for a safe country that gives us new opportunities to live and gives us new life. This is not found in Spain. How come are we going back to Spain?

I came from Ecuador to Spain in transit. They forced me to fingerprint and they put me in detention for 9 days, although I told them I have a phobia for narrow places. They psychologically tortured me for 9 days and then threw me on the street.

After they released us from the detention centre and the airport we found ourselves on the street and we stayed 2 days in a shelter with no homes and no accommodation, until we found an Arabic man who took us temporarily in his home. And he told us to go to a person in Belgium who is welcoming us into his accommodation.

Most of the detainees inside the detention centre want the people to hear their stories, their struggles, and what they are suffering. We came to the UK because we believe the UK is the right country, where we can protect our human rights, and we are having a high expectation that the Uk government will consider our cases. After the struggles we faced in Spain we prefer to die in UK rather than going back. I told the Home Office that I’d prefer to die here rather than going to Spain again.

I fled Yemen because I was tortured by the Houithi regime. I was not able to complete my study. They fired me from the university and I was assaulted by this regime. We came from our country that is facing the most massive humanitarian crisis in modern history to find a safe place. I was not able to find it in Spain, the first country I went to and so I came to find it in the UK.

I’m looking for a new life. I’m looking to merge with the British community, serve the British community, be having a new life with new opportunities, reunion with my family.

Since we reached we felt that we are in our country. We are in safe hands, and we are ready to defend them, to defend England with ourselves. Our house is destroyed, we don’t have any things in Yemen so far. We lose our families, we lose our assets, we lose everything and we came here looking for new life and new opportunity.

Yemen is already in a crisis and the humanitarian situation is struggling. There is a lot of poverty, starvation, war violence. People are not able to find food, drink water, clean water, the diseases are everywhere; cholera, covid-19 and other new diseases. People cannot get a treatment; the health system totally collapsed, the country now is not any more a country. The people there are dying and nobody there is helping them.

The devastating outcomes of this war made many Yemenis flee to other countries and as a Yemeni refugee in the UK – I found its my dream to come here.

My mum and family are suffering from several diseases and they haven’t got any treatment so far.

The smugglers actually cheated me, I was supposed to travel to the UK but they sent me to Spain rather than going to the UK. The smuggler forced me to travel to Spain and there is no opportunities. In the beginning you know I was planning to go to the UK but the smuggler forced me to travel to Spain and I said if it is a safe country I don’t mind. I wanna start my life, my plan is to start a new life, a safe life.

But now I feel my future is black. Bad life then next it became good life, then bad life, until now it’s bad.

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This is the second time I have been detained. I enter into this country on the _______ and since I enter, they took me to Dover for 2 days and then they moved me to Tinsley House. I stay there around 1 month and pandemic came, they release me by immigration there. And I move for several hotels. ______, then _____, then _____. Recently in ______. I received paper from the Home Office that I should go to Luna House in London. So when I go there, they detain me again in Brook House. Now they want to send me again to Spain after I sit here in this country for more than 5 months and 15 days until now. I stay in this country which mean this is the longest time I sit in European countries including UK. This is what is going on in UK, but if you want to know from where I grow up, where I born, I can give you details about.

Well I born in Yemen for two years and then my family decided that Yemen is not good for the normal life. They moved to Saudi Arabia to work and when I arrived 13 my dad is dead. And I’m the only boy for my mum. My mum she’s still in Saudi Arabia when I arrived 18, I went to Yemen to study as a doctor. I stay there for 1 year. That was in 2013 when I was 19. And during that time the Houthi movement is start. It’s the movement to occupation the city centre it’s Sanaa it’s the capital city. And there I was study there. They catch me near to my University, they understand that I have different accent, which belong to Saudi Arabia. They try to investigate about me and they know I’m from Yemen and they know that I have home in Sanaa.

They go to my home and take it and they want for good because I from, I came from Saudi Arabia. And they have a lot of information about their life, lifestyle, how they think, where is the important place, they want to, they were, they were just interested in military questions. So I arrived to that point that I should go back to Saudi Arabia to bring my mum they said we will stay in this home until you came. I run away from them. I run away from these people. I say a lot of things that… I’m from Yemen, but I never feel that I belong to a country. If you will go from Yemen, you will not believe what is going on. So I back to Saudi Arabia. In 2014 I found myself useless, until someone get me a van, I work illegal in the company… you know it’s called Creem, for transportation. I was working as assistant project manager and during that time, I can handle myself. I was having salary, I was having normal life. I was travelling, I was studying in University. I have a certificate from England, because this University they have a branch in Saudi Arabia. So when I graduate I find myself facing the authorisation system that belong to the new King, they want to employ many Saudi so I find myself I can’t work there and I can’t offer myself to pay for my ID because they are taking a lot of tests for the foreigner. I arrive to that point if I couldn’t find work, this is mean my visa would be expire so I would back to Yemen, I thought. And I don’t want that.

So in _________, I moved from Saudi Arabia to Mauritania, by airplane. And from Mauritania I cross to Mali, this is in Africa. When you move illegal there are many smugglers, they will transport you from place to another place. You will pay every time. And I find myself with a smuggler he said he will take us, 200 for everyone. And he appeared me if I don’t pay, he tortured us, I were with some of African people. He was raping some women and he was have gun and he said I just want 500 Dir and I will leave you. I stay with him for 8 days, some people they cannot pay, he sell them for other people, but I contact with my friend in Saudi Arabia, he is working in Unilever, he is from Palestine, I told him what’s my problem and he said, “okay I will pay 500”. After 8 days I find the hard time with him. I broke my nose, he put a knife in my chest and even he banged me in my left, my right hand in my shoulder with back of the gun. And when he understand that I will pay for him he to start to treat me nicely, until take he take his money, and he left me on the street, then I complete my way with the other smugglers. I enter into Algeria. For Mali into Algeria, and then I… it was 3 steps, because Algeria is a big place, and then I enter from Algeria to Morocco. From Morocco I was trying to go to Melilla by the door and the police from Morocco they threaten me also, one of them they slap me in my face because I was trying to enter to Spain, in Melilla. It’s part of Africa, if you don’t understand that, because people they don’t understand how can you go from Morocco to Spain by walk. Yes, there is a place belong to Spain. So when I find myself I cant go from the gate I decide to go by the sea… he insult my mum, he insult my mum and slap me. I don’t accept that but I say that I will never go through this door. I will try to go by sea again. And you know that they say, there is a lot of people are dying, one of my friend he is die from the sea on the 15th of September, his name is Hilal. The seas mean you will die or you will survive. That’s what’s going on.

I enter into a place in island that belongs to Spain military that is called “Chafaner”. And the military they let me stay for two days and after two days there is something that happen to me. There is a woman, from the military, she want me to clean my, she want me to clean that place that is provided to me, like a big room, and during that time she was monitoring me when I was in my room. She treat me bad you know like I’m shit you know. She broke my heart but after two days there is a, they call it in English, Red Cross, they bring a ship to take me. I was, we were two, me and one boy, he is also from Yemen. They took us to Melilla again. But this time I enter to Melilla by sea, by the help from the military. In Melilla I stay there for three months in a camp, and in this camp in Melilla there is a lot of thieves outside of the camp. So I fight one, four, five, six people, six boys, they are teenagers you know, but because they are teenagers, they are surviving by stealing people things. To be honest I fight with them, they don’t take anything but one of my hand, in the left hand there is one finger is still hurting, until now, it’s not moving smoothly, until now. So I said it’s okay, still in Africa, and when I go to Spain, these things will be different.

They move me to Cadiz, it’s like island, again. But this is not a problem, I find myself in a room with 6 people. All the people with me they are evicted asylum seeker but they have the right to stay for 3 months, but in my case, I will be accepted because I have a war in my country so I was not afraid about to be evicted to be honest. But there is also things happen because they are knowing each other, they are living each other. They always look at me with strange eyes and stole shoes from me and my headphones. And one day one of them he get angry and they banged me my head. It doesn’t hurt me actually but I said as much as I can I will not let this going on, so I took my right, I called the police, I speak with them in English, they bring one of the police officer, when they came, one of the boys he speak Spanish, he told them “there is nothing, don’t worry, there is no problem here”. So he lie just to close this case. And I speak with the police, I told them “listen he is threatening me, that he will broke my head until the blood is here. He said to me directly “no blood, no case”. I said “okay”. He said if he banged you with your head, you can go to the emergency too, we have people. So, I find myself the police is not standing with me and even the place that I’m living there is not good. Because it is easy to understand the asylum seeker, they have different rules there. You go with different organisation and you’re a victim. Maybe you will have a good organisation and maybe you will not.

I arrived to the point that I will not stay in that place in Cadiz. So I moved to Barcelona and in Barcelona, I go to the Red Cross and I told them I have the right to stay in Spain and I want home. They told me that I should to come in… I apply for them on the _________, they told me come in __________, so I should come to Barcelona for 3 months, see what’s going on, to can provide accommodation, so they don’t provide accommodation, in Barcelona like homeless, I meet bad people. I told the Red Cross how I can survive, they told me you can go to for the homeless, is a place for the government, they open their doors at 9 you can sleep until 7 and they will kick your ass out, until you can’t more. So when I go to sleep once, I find a lot of them, they are drinking, they don’t let you sleep. It’s hard for me. So I said at least I’m going to search for a place so I can survive.

I find myself in Paris with Romanian people. They are also bad people but they are nicely  because I am homeless and they speak Spanish, they treat me nicely. I go with them. They were stealing things from the groceries, they would do bad things, but at the same time, I was surviving with them now. I’m not bad boy but how can I survive. Until in one day, I meet one, they said, “go to Calais”. I said “what there is?”, he said “in Calais you will have your own camp”. I said, “really I will have a camp for myself?” I were happy really. Because this is what I want, I want to sleep to alone, I want just to eat. That’s it. My request it was so easy, I find myself in Calais. And then I find a lot of people there trying to go to the UK. I find a lot of them. I ask everyone. I meet a lot of Yemenis, they are coming from German, they get evicted because their fingerprint. I find a lot of them they came from all European countries they get evicted because of their fingerprint. And all of the people they want to run to UK. So I decided I want to run there. Why? Because when the people come to the UK they are treated good. I will stay in this country. So I was finding a good country to belong. Because since I born, I never belong to any country, until now. I can tell you. I own this Yemen passport, yes, but I never feel like I belong to country. Because I am education, and I want to belong to country, I want to know what’s going in my economy, you know I have different mind. I want to belong to a country. So I said UK. UK. I contacted my friend, they are Saudis, they are studying in UK, they told me “you can go _____ but don’t think you will have a good life, they are capitalism”, I said “I know what it means capitalism”, but it’s okay for me I can survive, because I speak this language. At least I can speak with anyone, I can tell anyone I feel pain directly, without to speak in Arabic, without using interpreter, because I feel bad when I were in Spain. I don’t speak Spanish, the people there treat me bad, and when I want to speak, you can’t.

In Calais, I was trying to go to UK, there is a lot of things, where they are occupation the barking for the lorries. So in one day I want to do a chance and they threatening me I can’t and if I come again they will kill me, like Sudanese. Maybe you know there are a lot of things over there, they are killing people. In one day there were six officers that came to move people from where they are sleeping, they banged me in my head just to enter into the car to the police station, until my eyes are bleeding from inside. So I stay there in Calais for 3 months trying to go, in ______ I was having bad idea that I will go, I will swim for 5 minutes from the beach to the boat, I can enter to the boat, and enter to the ship that will go to UK. It’s easy, I’m a good swimmer, I came from Jeddah, Jeddah is on the beach, I like fish I know how to snorkelling, I know how to diving, even I know how to do fishing. It’s easy, so I enter into the sea, and I find it, the weather, I don’t think about the weather, I thought coming from 5 degree country, the weather is 5 degree. So my body is stop, all my body I can’t move it, after 2 mins I’m stuck in the sea, I find the wave is move me to out of the beach. I was screaming. I feel die. I stay there for 40 minutes, no one, no one listen to me. I thought I will die. Until, the police they came, they give me their hand, I give them my hand and I wake up in the hospital. It was nightmare for me, and in that time I find smugglers, who told me, that known me for long time and he’s nicely with me and he said “you know that people, they are paying 5000 pounds, if you can offer 2000 euro, I will take you with me”, I contact with my friend _______ I don’t have brothers, I don’t have family really. He said “it’s fine in my salary it will come and I will give it to you, just wait me for one month”. I arranged the money. I try once in February and the waves was so high, I was almost died, but I don’t scared this time because I feel death before I went. But the people they are crying, they were bringing the people to back. We back again to Calais after 1 hour. On ______ we try again and we enter to the UK.

So there is things that you don’t know. But maybe you want’ to know. In Paris, they want to appear me bisexual things and I resist that, I resist that he was nicely with me, he was just seeing if I will accept or not. But in Barcelona, one of them he wanted to rape me and I broke his head by a bottle of glass and I run away to Paris.

I told you all of my story now. So I’m just running away. Running, running, running.  Until I arrive to the UK and they want to kill my life again to start from zero. The problem is where will I go now? I don’t want to go to Spain. I want to go to another country. I want to go to Canada, I want to go to America. I want to go to any country, I don’t want back to Europe. Even if UK they don’t want me it’s okay. I don’t want to fight their regulation but at least search for a good place for me. I’m really feel bad. There are some people they cross from Spain, just they have fingerprint and they don’t want to Spain, their idea to go to UK, their own choice. But no, I want to stay in Spain, but I can’t stay in Spain. Really I can’t, I can’t. Even in France, one of the police, I forgot to tell you they banged me in my eyes. I still have scars in my eyes. It was bleeding on my face. I know, you will not believe, but I still have a video when he banged me. Is still have the video when I go out from the building in Calais, and before I go from the organisation in Spain, sorry I really forget things, before I go from my organisation I send an informal email to the United Nations, I told them everything what I see in this organisation because I was just asking them to move me to another organisation, but they said we will do our own investigation and no one was look after me. S what else, I call the police, he doesn’t help me, I contact with the United Nations, they don’t help me. I go to Barcelona, they don’t help me. I go to Calais, they don’t help me, the police. So I came to this country. I’m sorry if I bother you but I came by force. So now what? If you want to kill me? They detained me twice, I’m the only boy here in this detention, who is detained twice.

For me, they just detain me, and then no they don’t give me ticket, but for other people, many of them they have ticket except for one maybe. I think there are only two they don’t have ticket, including me. But other’s they have ticket on 27. And today one, our boys, they cancelled their ticket. One only and the others they have ticket, and for me I don’t have ticket. But I’m detained. I spoke with the mental health I told them I’m hearing noise from my head, they don’t care. I told them I can’t sleep, they don’t care. I told them I have nightmares, they don’t care. I told them, I’m taking medicine it’s for my high pressure and I have anxiety in my heart. I have an irregular beating heart you know. I explain everything, but no one cares. Really, I mean it. No one cares. Not immigration, United Nations, European countries. No one cares, no. The problem is UK they are taking our case and country, there is one, his name is Martin Griffiths from 2018, he’s from UK… everything that is going on with this country which is Yemen, no one cares. Unfortunately European countries, they are just lying. This is what I understand now. They are just like an angel from outside and they are dead from inside. I’m sorry to say that, but this is what I discover. I travel from many countries. My ex-girlfriend is from Europe also and when I enter Spain, I know this people they are kindly, but their system for an asylum seeker is bad. It’s exhausting, They are just treating you like a homeless. What I want from my paper if you will not give me accommodation, at least you will give me permission to work. I have high education. Just give me permission to work and I will manage myself. Nothing. Nothing. And now what? Suicide? I can’t. They just give me reason. What I will kill myself? Just help yourself, you can’t even die. No one cares. I came by myself by the way, the taxi he told me, “I will give you a new accommodation”. I said “you are lying, you will take me to the station, it’s okay I am going with, I am not afraid. If they do not want to give me my paper, it’s okay”, you know the God will fix my pain in one day. But now I feel my future is black. Bad life then next it became good life, then bad life, until now it’s bad.

The treatment of the people here, it will shock

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The treatment of the people here, it will shock.

They want to send me to the country where I have taken finger prints. They have kept me in here for 50 days. I went to the police station to ask for help, and they locked me up and put me here.

The Dublin Rules, I am ready to follow them but they don’t follow the rules for everyone. It is different for every person. I came through Europe, if they catch me for this reason then deport me. I have no hope left in this country. I become different, I don’t know who I am. I start to believe I am criminal because I am here. I am full of depress. I can be strong enough. I spend one year to come to this country. I tried to come officially but there wasn’t an official way. I lost my time, I lost my life, I lost my family. I came for a future. People come for this. They are thinking about us wrongly. They are doing what ever they want with us. I complain in my country, which is why I run from from my country. But I didn’t leave my country to come to one without human rights. But this is happening to so many people, this cannot happen.

I have a friend, they are saying to him, ‘We will deport you, we will deport you’ and after 6 months he goes crazy. He says, ‘If you want to deport me I’m ready, I don’t want to stay in this country like this.’ But they still don’t deport him. This happens to so many people – they don’t want us in this country but they don’t deport us.

I try to complain but it was to the manager to G4S. They say you must wait for your answer but the Home Office and Immigration are the same. You write them, but they don’t answer. How long you going to wait? 3 months, 4 months? I cannot complain because I am not from here. What can I tell them? I have no papers. They talk about democracy but it isn’t human, they are not human rights.

Home Office they say Afghani people have not problem in their country. They don’t believe us. I go to the doctor and they say it’s fine and give me paracetamol. Like I come to the doctor for paracetamol. I have a real problem. If you are vegetarian everyday you have rice and potatoes. Its ok, I am vegan that is my choice. I don’t complain but it isn’t right.

The person I share the room with, he has heart problem. He asks for the doctor but the doctor didn’t come from one hour. ‘Your heart is normal, it is healthy.’ They need to treat people with heart problems seriously. They treat us like animals, worse than animals. They treat animals better than us.

In this place many things will happen here but how will people know? We are behind the walls, they cannot see it. It will shock you. 15 hours lock up every day. It is not detention centre it is prison for us.

He was distressed, he was shouting they come to kidnap me , they come to kidnap me

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Last night my friend Darren C. phoned me and he left his phone on and he was shouting that they were coming to get him. He was shouting that they were here to kidnap him, he was shouting shouting, I was listening, and shouting shouting shouting. He was distressed, he was shouting they come to kidnap me , they come to kidnap me. And then after that we were hearing a lot of noise they were banging the door, a lot of guys shouted shouted. And then after that, he was saying, I have got nothing, why are you coming for me, a lot of shouting. And then he hung up the phone. That was all I heard, the shouting.

This morning when I woke up, what happened about 7 o’ clock this morning, the riot squat came, I heard that his left arm was broken. I heard that he came down peacefully, but I also heard that his left arm was broken. He is in solitary confinement at the moment, so we don’t know what happened. From 9 pm to 7 am in the morning we were locked in . They came about 10 pm to take him away, the riot squat. I think this his when they broke his arm. I am concerned that his arm is broken. At midnight there was a lot of shouting and banging, a lot of banging . Everybody could hear him shouting and then they started banging the door. It was disruptive.

Everybody is sad and in a low mood today you know. It could happen to anyone of us. It was really horrible. I have been in this detention months for 23 months, I volunteer to go back but until now they haven said anything, why they are still keeping us. I am ready to go home, I don’t know why they are detaining me. I am just waiting for 3 months, I have applied and waiting. It is draining , I want to go back, they still haven’t removed me, next months I will be here for 2 years. Things like last night happen before. You know what happens they are locking us up right now (5pm), so I need to go.

They beat him up

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I can only speak on my behalf. I can only talk about me personally. So if you want to know about others that’s fine as well but.

Personally, I came to this country young as a refugee by myself. I was helped by the United Nations from Somalia. My flight left Ethiopia to Paris in 1996 and when I got to Paris airport I was transferred to another flight bound for London. I was told what to do, as soon as you get to the airport say you are from Somalia and to claim as a refugee straight away – which is what I did. I was taken in by Social Services, I was taken to a B+B for a couple of weeks. And ever since then I have been in this country legally. I did not understand the law and how immigration works. I didn’t know what I needed to do to obtain passports or travel documents or anything like that.

Since 1996 till now, the Home Office have never provided me with identification whatsoever. Even though they said I could claim benefits or I could work you know. But I didn’t have an identification to prove who I was so I was struggling. I was homeless on the streets you know. There are a lot of homeless agencies that have helped me over the years. They’ve got my name on the records so you can check I’m on there to confirm, they have my name on their files I’m sure.

Over the years I’ve been arrested for petty crimes like shop lifting. The stuff I was stealing was mainly food, I wasn’t stealing alcohol or I wasn’t robbing people on the street or burgling people’s houses. I was just trying to survive and the best thing I could do was go to a supermarket and nicking a sandwich or something like that. You can check my criminal record, it’s all there.

The first time I was detained was in 2010. I was here when the gentlemen was killed, [Mubenga]. I’ve been detained, in and out in and out. But whether I’m in there or out my life has never been there because of the simple thing as an identification that I have never have ID. I would be put outside and after a couple of months they would nick me again and say that I was illegal in this country and what not.

Before I could get a solicitor to help me, these days I can’t get a solicitor and that’s why I’m still in this predicament right now.

I was here when there was the guy who was killed in 2010. I believe he was from Angola. I was talking to him the way I am talking to you. Like I knew the guy. They put him on the plane, he struggled with them and he ended up choking to death you know.

Since I came here to Brook House, I was in another detention centre for 10 months and I didn’t hear anything from the home office in all that time until I got into trouble with the officers and they shipped me off here.

Since I’ve been here I’ve witnessed people trying to kill themselves, jumping on the wire meshes.

I’ve witnessed people cutting themselves. I am one of those people, I’ve got scars all over my body. Just to try and get some help. I’ve got a lot of mental problems at the moment. You know strees, depression, anxiety, paranoia. I’ve been trying to get some medical help if I could but I can’t seem to get any medical help in here. I can’t seem to see a doctor in here.

I’ve tried to fax the paper to the court but the courts are demanding £140 from me that I don’t have in order to see my case. I don’t know what to do at the moment. I am very desperate. I don’t know what to do, I’m in a cell by myself everyday being harassed to sign a piece of paper to go back to my country. And going back there to me is a death sentence. I’m cooperating with them as much as I can but I don’t know how anyone can cooperate to be returned to somewhere where they are going to be killed basically, so I don’t know what I can do.

I’m very sure that a judge would release me and this is the problem that I’ve been having but I can’t get any legal advice whatsoever.

As far as the things, I have witnessed in here – there is a guy in here and he’s the reason I am calling you.

They are trying to take him back to Tunisia and he’s from Greece, he’s lived there for 21 years. He has documentation to that effect. He did not want to go back to Tunisia. He is not violent, he cannot even speak English that guy. There is no words that he can say to them you know.

They beat him up, they broke his fingers. There are scars all over his hands like coming from the handcuffs. They pulled his fingers out of the sockets, they didn’t break the fingers but they pulled like three for fingers out of his sockets you know what I mean. After, his joints were very painful. All his fingers are swollen. His leg, he can’t walk properly.

At the moment, I’ll be honest with you . I believe that technically I don’t exist. The Home Office or the agencies that work for them, they could do anything to me you know, move me some where, bury me if they want to because who is there to know otherwise. There is no one ringing to check up on me, there is no solicitor to check up on me. I don’t feel safe to be in the hands of the state at the moment.

I’ve been in this country long enough to know that there are good British people out there. No one can convince me otherwise. But as far as the government is concerned I would not trust them. I’m really really paranoid, even this time I’m talking to you I believe that I’m being listened to but what choice have I got.

On Wednesday I’ve got an interview with them and this has been made to look like an interview but I believe I’m going to be removed from this detention centre but God knows where I’ll be taken. And I just need someone or anybody to keep in touch with me just to make sure they know that I’m safe because I don’t know what I’m facing at the moment. You know the world is a very dangerous place at the moment.

Publicity is the only weapon that I have at the moment. That we have at the moment. Not only I, there are a lot of us here.

Basically they tried to deport him to Tunisia. He’s lived in Greece for 21 years, he’s got indefinite leave to remain in Greece. Came over from Greece to here. They wanted to deport him and he said fair enough you can deport me back to there by law you should be deported people back to the first country they claim asylum in. They refused to do that, they tried to deport him back to Tunisia, even though they have proof that the man actually lives in Greece.

So he refused to go and that’s when they grabbed him by the neck according to him. Twisted him up, broke his fingers, fucked up his leg. They brought him back the following morning, he came here. We took him to see the nurses and doctors. The doctor did not take any pictures of the incident. We called the police. Every time you call the police I believe they record it, so you can check to confirm this. The police refused to come and said they needed to speak to take it up with staff in here as soon as they heard we were calling from Brooke House. They said no we can’t come to Brooke House, if you have any problems take it up with the management.

Now I believe that if I commit an assault against anybody outside like that then that is GBH, and I would be arrested and pending trial I would go to prison for that kind of crime. Why should that be done to anybody and you can’t call the police, they don’t want to know? That makes us feel like we are less human that others.

The officers, they came up stairs and they told us you called the police and said no problem they accept it and straight away they gave me this notice for an appointment with the removal people on Wednesday. Now I’ve never been issued with any removal notice and no flight ticket so why am I having a meeting even though my case is still going. So because we called the police we are getting threats because of that.

We took him to the doctors. We saw how they treated him so we had to take action into our own hands.

Yes I can say that, as a result of that, I believe my life is in danger. You know I don’t mind, if its for the right reasons I will die happily no problem. The truth is the truth you know, at the end of the day you don’t need to advertise the truth. The truth will stand up to itself.

I have a problem accessing mental health in here. Every time you want to see a doctor you see a nurse. They make sure you don’t see a doctor they just give you paracetamol and that’s it. I’ve got cuts all over my body, I’ve got cuts all over my back. I have got so many injuries. I self harm at the moment, you know I’m not proud to say that. But I’m really you know, I’m desperate.

I’ve never been violent against anybody or any staff member. People have been made in charge by the home office. They are in charge of my life and they make lies about me. I have no way of defending myself.

I believe I had more rights when I was in prison in an A cat prison and in a B cat prison than in a detention centre. You have something called adjudication where you’d say your side of the story and the officer involved would say their side of the story. Then the governer would make a decision after that. So you do get a fair process that you don’t have here.

They say you have the internet here, they have computer screens but basically you can’t access anything. It’s blocked. You can’t access anything because it’s blocked.

You can’t get no reception in the building. When people outside they call but all the time they can’t get hold of me you know. This phone is different with a Lyca chip that’s we I think haven’t got reception.

Recording: https://soundcloud.com/detained-voices/sets/342015a-1/s-8Jtqh

I want to talk about work

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First of all, I am a fulltime student which give me the right ot education in the UK and is a human right. I am a full time student of construction at a college – The college gave me full support yet the home office put me in detention. I have a partner here and I’m not a criminal. I find it pretty disgusting – it’s a kind of ethnic cleansing. I don’t see why I should be in detention. – I was one of the best students in my department.

I want to talk about work. There is no induction for people who start work in detention. They pay £1 per hour for any job. I was specifically told that I had no right to work outside of detention. If any company out there employ ‘illegal migrant’ then the company get prosecuted and fined and the migrant get arrested and jailed. But G4S, GEO, SERCO and MITIE all run these detention centres contracted to the Home office  and all employ illegal migrants. They should be prosecuted and fined. They make lots of profit and pay us under minimum wage and treating us like slaves. I find this very disgusting. Why are we being treated in this inhuman way.

People work as cleaners, in the kitchen, some people who wash pans, some that work in the library as an attendant, those who clean tables, people who clean the showers. Every essential part of the centre apart from security staff are all done by detainees who are paid £1 an hour.

The health and safety situation is poor as well. One of my colleagues went to the showers. Under the health and safety rules and regulations under the slips trips and falls – wherever there is a hazard of falling they should put a sign so that people don’t. But that was not there until a week ago. A pad mate slipped and fell and almost brought a claim.

In normal circumstances the first thing that gets done when you’re employed is induction. There are no induction packs whatsoever. No one knows their rights from left. I’m quite educated but for most people in here the system is shambolic. IT’s a place where they cage them just to remove them. Everyone is classified as a danger to the public yet they’ve committed no crime and they come from a war torn area. I’ve seen lots of papers and its like a template, they just classify people. IT’s an administrative thing – categorising migrants all into on section. Once an immigrant family, they designate them a danger t the public and need to remove.

It’s not the Britain I used to live in. It’s all politically motivated. No body is talking about this. WE are being used to make profit, as cash cows for the home office and for the security companies. G4S £148 million last year – where are they making this profit? They are making it from those in prison, from detainees. If they employed people outside to work here, they would be paid 6, 7 pounds an hour. Any other job they would punish people for paying £1 an hour. I think this is double standards.

If I’m allowed to work in here, and I get released – I will not be allowed.

Why do I say that the Home office is involved in this? Because before you get a job in a detention centre, the Home office have to clear you. So they know! They have to clear you, so they are involved. If they don’t clear you, then you don’t get a job. They know this is how much they pay. They know exactly what is going. The Home Office, the medical care and the companies are all involved in this. They know about it – so why is it different? Why should we be marginalised and almost enslaved?