The deportation of a young Iranian convert is still set to go ahead. Much debate on http://www.hurryupharry.org/ is going on, and some of the commenters on Sunday morning's post by Melvyn Kohn are already talking to their MPs. And some, such as person going by the name of Rockall666, just wants to see him deported. One comment was rather prescient:
If Alan Johnson does not intervene promptly, he will have fallen at the first hurdle, proving that he is just as useless and illiberal as his various New Labour predecessors.
Which I hope is not the case. The HO number is 020 7035 4848, from which one may or may not be able to get to someone who will do their job and stop this deportation.
The case number again is E1084499. He is currently held at Harmondsworth and his flight is BD 931 at 1900 hours.
Showing posts with label Harmondsworth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harmondsworth. Show all posts
Monday, 8 June 2009
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Freedom cut short
(below is some writing from a detainee, trying to give an account from the inside)
The courtyard has an almost religious significance. Its crude, gravelly surface, upon which football and cricket matches are played, and its stoic tan brick facades, scarce make for an inner sanctum; it is, in its own way, nonetheless, sacrosanct at times. Groups of men, at times cheerful, at times sombre, socialise, play and pace along its nondescript lengths. They smoke, they chat, and they feed the pigeons when the officers are not around to disapprove. The avian company is a bit of comic relief; the birds swoop down to share our rations of bread and biscuits, squabbling amongst themselves not unlike those who toss them their daily crumbs. But, unlike their benefactors, they are free to fly away, free to pursue their lives and loves, and free to perch on the rooftop where they congregate so often, looking down with hungry, accusing eyes. Rats with wings one guy calls them.But it is at other birds that the inmates are more inclined to pay heed, craning their heads skywards to view when they appear. We are a stone's throw from Heathrow, and the jets soar above us like winged leviathans, roaring overhead with a rude disregard for any quiet conversation in the courtyard as they transport their living cargo to parts unknown. British Airways, Continental, Air France, El Al, Uzbek Airlines, the inmates know the exact markings of each as well as Bill Oddie knows his warblers. At times the sight of a particular airline serves to concentrate minds now as much as the sight of the gallows upon those condemned in days goneby. And some of these planes are just such; high tech, high flying birds that are as much the instruments of death as the scaffold. The stairs leading to the plane are not much different than those leading to the scaffold. The victim ascends these, and is not long after back on the ground, from which he ascends no more. Adam Mohamed, before he was led to the stairs of the plane taking him to Darfur, told his captors, who had hoped would be his protectors, that if he were sent back, he would be killed. Many proofs he produced, but these were ignored. His pleas fell on deaf ears. One of those flying machines which ruin so many courtyard conversations swallowed him up and spit him out in Darfur, where he tasted freedom under the bright blue sky of his homeland. No more legal visits, no more refusals, no more nightly lockdowns, he was as free as the pigeons that feast upon our bread. Home, and how sweet it was. Back in the arms of his wife, free to hold in his own arms the children he had not seen for so long. His detention by the British Home Office was a thing of the past. Never again would he have to live behind bars and share his life with strangers. But this utopia was shortlived. He was killed the next day, shot in front of his wife and children.
A similar fate may await my roommate, whose visible evidence of torture was treated with contempt by the interviewer, and whose requests for a Medical Foundation appointment were twice blocked by the Home Office. It is clear that they no more want to hear the evidence than US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter did when Jan Karski told him about Auschwitz in 1943. And so I fear for the young man, who is on the run from the Ergenekon. Will he too, be aboard one of these planes, escorted by four security guards and a medic who will hand him over to his oppressors in Istanbul?
The courtyard has an almost religious significance. Its crude, gravelly surface, upon which football and cricket matches are played, and its stoic tan brick facades, scarce make for an inner sanctum; it is, in its own way, nonetheless, sacrosanct at times. Groups of men, at times cheerful, at times sombre, socialise, play and pace along its nondescript lengths. They smoke, they chat, and they feed the pigeons when the officers are not around to disapprove. The avian company is a bit of comic relief; the birds swoop down to share our rations of bread and biscuits, squabbling amongst themselves not unlike those who toss them their daily crumbs. But, unlike their benefactors, they are free to fly away, free to pursue their lives and loves, and free to perch on the rooftop where they congregate so often, looking down with hungry, accusing eyes. Rats with wings one guy calls them.But it is at other birds that the inmates are more inclined to pay heed, craning their heads skywards to view when they appear. We are a stone's throw from Heathrow, and the jets soar above us like winged leviathans, roaring overhead with a rude disregard for any quiet conversation in the courtyard as they transport their living cargo to parts unknown. British Airways, Continental, Air France, El Al, Uzbek Airlines, the inmates know the exact markings of each as well as Bill Oddie knows his warblers. At times the sight of a particular airline serves to concentrate minds now as much as the sight of the gallows upon those condemned in days goneby. And some of these planes are just such; high tech, high flying birds that are as much the instruments of death as the scaffold. The stairs leading to the plane are not much different than those leading to the scaffold. The victim ascends these, and is not long after back on the ground, from which he ascends no more. Adam Mohamed, before he was led to the stairs of the plane taking him to Darfur, told his captors, who had hoped would be his protectors, that if he were sent back, he would be killed. Many proofs he produced, but these were ignored. His pleas fell on deaf ears. One of those flying machines which ruin so many courtyard conversations swallowed him up and spit him out in Darfur, where he tasted freedom under the bright blue sky of his homeland. No more legal visits, no more refusals, no more nightly lockdowns, he was as free as the pigeons that feast upon our bread. Home, and how sweet it was. Back in the arms of his wife, free to hold in his own arms the children he had not seen for so long. His detention by the British Home Office was a thing of the past. Never again would he have to live behind bars and share his life with strangers. But this utopia was shortlived. He was killed the next day, shot in front of his wife and children.
A similar fate may await my roommate, whose visible evidence of torture was treated with contempt by the interviewer, and whose requests for a Medical Foundation appointment were twice blocked by the Home Office. It is clear that they no more want to hear the evidence than US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter did when Jan Karski told him about Auschwitz in 1943. And so I fear for the young man, who is on the run from the Ergenekon. Will he too, be aboard one of these planes, escorted by four security guards and a medic who will hand him over to his oppressors in Istanbul?
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Britain's Guantanamo Bay
The 20 or so detentions centres in the UK are eyesores and a burden on the taxpayer. For some reason, the Labour government has farmed these out to foreign companies to run. British workers grind away for their paycheques, portions of which they hand to the government, which in turn hands the dosh to foreign companies. Little wonder, when a British defence company can be sold to a foreign bidder to the exclusion of British bidders. Quinetic was a sweet little deal between two men named Blair and Bush, both of whom can be said to have gained. The latter's company, Carlyle, paid £40 million for a 31% stake in this firm. Not long afterwards, their stake was worth £335 million. So it is not hard to see what Bush gained, but one can only guess what Blair got out of the deal. He certainly lives well, what with his £3.6 million house in Connaught Square, gaurded 24/7 at further cost to the taxpayer.
Other companies to be treated to lucrative contracts include Serco, Kalyx and GEO. All three run asylum detention centres. Presently, GEO is set to take over the Harmondsworth facility near Hearthrow. The transfer takes effect on the 29th of this month. GEO is looking to house 620 inmates, at the cost to the taxpayer of £90,000 per head. That translates to £55.8 million a year, of which, at a profit rate of 20%, the US investors will take £11.16 million. What with 20 of these facilities, we are looking at a lot of money going out of the country, in a time of deep economic crisis.
But there is another twist to this tale: GEO is the company that runs the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Bringing it here is an insult. Years ago, on a post at Harry's Place, it was called "Britain's equivalent of Guantanamo Bay." What is Jacqui Smith thinking, bringing over this firm? Why does she not think about the British economy first?
Such questions will have to be rhetorical, they only serve to illustrate a point in the whole issue. What we need is not large ugly detention centres, run for a profit for the sake of foreign companies, but a sensible policy instituted for the sake of all parties involved - which includes asylum seekers and the British taxpayer, but does not include GEO and other entities that have sullied their hands with involvement in Guantanamo Bay. Recently a group called Strangers into Citizens proposed an amnesty that received support from Boris Johnson. It straddles both sides of the political spectrum because is makes sense. In blunt financial terms, it is estimated to be worth £4.7 billion to the UK; and of course, in much greater terms, it is an absolute necessity. Opponents, not surprisingly, included Phil Woolas, who was in turn opposed by Jon Cruddas of his own party. The fact that Spain has had an amnesty going for the last two years and has found it successful, in fact, Spain claims that illegal entry is on the decline since the amnesty went into effect.
So what then, would we do with the Harmondsworth facility if we were not housing asylum seekers in a state of forced idleness? Given its proximity to Heathrow airport, which is expected to experience an increase in visitors with the additional runway, might we not turn it into a £100 a night hotel and bring revenue into Britain?
That is not, however, going to be done if we do not take the initiative and let these high paid employees, to wit, Woolas and Smith, know that they are supposed to do their job. They had to do when Joanna Lumley and her brigade made an issue of the Ghurka visas, even though that issue, though a very good one, was not a matter of life-or-death, nor a matter of economic importance. The amnesty is both, and ought to be implemented immediately. We do not need any more Guantanamo Bays or the companies that run such centres.
Other companies to be treated to lucrative contracts include Serco, Kalyx and GEO. All three run asylum detention centres. Presently, GEO is set to take over the Harmondsworth facility near Hearthrow. The transfer takes effect on the 29th of this month. GEO is looking to house 620 inmates, at the cost to the taxpayer of £90,000 per head. That translates to £55.8 million a year, of which, at a profit rate of 20%, the US investors will take £11.16 million. What with 20 of these facilities, we are looking at a lot of money going out of the country, in a time of deep economic crisis.
But there is another twist to this tale: GEO is the company that runs the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Bringing it here is an insult. Years ago, on a post at Harry's Place, it was called "Britain's equivalent of Guantanamo Bay." What is Jacqui Smith thinking, bringing over this firm? Why does she not think about the British economy first?
Such questions will have to be rhetorical, they only serve to illustrate a point in the whole issue. What we need is not large ugly detention centres, run for a profit for the sake of foreign companies, but a sensible policy instituted for the sake of all parties involved - which includes asylum seekers and the British taxpayer, but does not include GEO and other entities that have sullied their hands with involvement in Guantanamo Bay. Recently a group called Strangers into Citizens proposed an amnesty that received support from Boris Johnson. It straddles both sides of the political spectrum because is makes sense. In blunt financial terms, it is estimated to be worth £4.7 billion to the UK; and of course, in much greater terms, it is an absolute necessity. Opponents, not surprisingly, included Phil Woolas, who was in turn opposed by Jon Cruddas of his own party. The fact that Spain has had an amnesty going for the last two years and has found it successful, in fact, Spain claims that illegal entry is on the decline since the amnesty went into effect.
So what then, would we do with the Harmondsworth facility if we were not housing asylum seekers in a state of forced idleness? Given its proximity to Heathrow airport, which is expected to experience an increase in visitors with the additional runway, might we not turn it into a £100 a night hotel and bring revenue into Britain?
That is not, however, going to be done if we do not take the initiative and let these high paid employees, to wit, Woolas and Smith, know that they are supposed to do their job. They had to do when Joanna Lumley and her brigade made an issue of the Ghurka visas, even though that issue, though a very good one, was not a matter of life-or-death, nor a matter of economic importance. The amnesty is both, and ought to be implemented immediately. We do not need any more Guantanamo Bays or the companies that run such centres.
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