Brook House - Britain's new "Guantanamo Bay" detention Centre

A letter from ex-detainee George Mwangi to the press about the start of the building works for the new detention centre at Gatwick

Dear Journalists,

From these links and attachments, you’ll be shocked [or not] how barbaric the decision to continue opening these detention centres specifically for asylum seekers and immigrants labeled ‘a threat to British society’, and then disguising them with such names as ‘house’ is. From the videos links, you’ll see how human rights abuses continue to be acceptable in British soil, whereby asylum seekers (men, women and children), immigrants and people fleeing from wars, persecution, ill-treatment and abject poverty - which is directly caused by the UK and its allies, or those declared ‘illegal’ by an immigration system that is exploitative, exorbitant and in shambles.

I say this because the UK holds alot of power in multinational systems, and chooses what to implement and what not to with contempt, ignoring international conventions. If the UK and other global north countries honestly chose to change the table around, they would not treat human beings with exploitation. It is also hypocritical for a country that is signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, and the European Convention on Human Rights – ECHR.

If this new detention centre is built, it will be run for the profit of private businesses such as those contracted to build the detention centre, the one that will run it, and the ones that will be tendered to keep supplies going while the British taxpayer is struggling to get social housing or into the UK property ladder.

At a recent conference on People Experiencing Poverty at the University of Warwick, I met the new lovely Minister for Department of Works and Pensions, Ms Caroline Flint, and hope I hit it home to her, the truth on how ‘illegalising’ asylum seekers and migrants will work against the UK for generations to come, just like the slavery and colonial legacy that continues to haunt the UK.

Terror suspect can only be detained for 28 days without charge, and with the independent review of a high court judge, yet asylum seekers and immigrants an be held indefinitely in these UK ‘Guantanamos’, without any independent or prompt review of their decision, which is made administratively by immigration officers. http://www.aworldtowin.net/frontline/asylumseekeropenletter.html

The recent bombing attempts in London, and blasts in Glasgow, were planned and committed (according to the news reports) by the ‘good’ migrants who came to this country for the benefit of the UK healthcare system – NHS, having been newly qualified doctors in a war-torn country, Iraq. Yet Iraqi asylum seekers have been refused asylum in this country in a war that was inflicted by the UK and its allies (against British Citizens' wishes) in the name of ‘liberation’, leaving the country in tatter. Ironically, those refused asylum seekers are being forcefully returned to a country that now has ‘sectarian’ violence, being jetted in RAF airplanes (at yet more cost to the British taxpayer) from Brize Nortorn RAF Base.

Form the correspondences between myself, the immigration Minister, the director of detention services and the big profit-making company SERCO [that runs detention centres and private prisons for profit] via the local MP John Mc Donnell and the BIA Director of Detention Services Mr Brian Pollett, you’ll note how human rights of asylum seekers are held with contempt, insulting language such as ‘nefarious’, vexatious, etc, and with impunity.

I had hope in Gordon Brown’s leadership, but such policies of detaining innocent asylum seekers will only habour racism, xenophobia, hatred etc all in the name of profit and to keep the British public ‘happy’. Liam Bryrne MP, with his message : "Building this new removal centre at Gatwick sends a very clear message to those here illegally. We'll do everything we can to send you home.", will only be detrimental to the Prime Minister’s next election. These are the British values!

God help the foreigners!

Thanks

George Mwangi

http://georgemwas.blogspot.com/ | http://www.humanrightstv.com/index.php?channel_id=9&videofile=hrtv048 | http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,30100-joshi_p24922,00.html | http://www.channel4.com/more4/news/news-opinion-feature.jsp?id=464 | http://www.aworldtowin.net/frontline/asylumseekeropenletter.html | http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/04/369027.html | http://noborderslondon.blogspot.com/2006/10/still-in-chains.html