Yarls Wood: the real story
internationalist | 22.03.2002 15:08
Events of 14 February as told to campaigners by detainees
The incident started when detainees saw a woman aged about 55 being restrained and they were concerned for her safety. They could hear sounds of distress but their view of what was happening was obscured. Women were told to stay in their rooms by staff, but after being told this, they saw no more of Group 4 until 6.00 the next morning. Families were waiting in their rooms for Group 4 to tell them what to do. Three hours later, when they became aware of the fire, and the building started to fill with smoke and heat, they were still inside waiting.
Exits and doors were locked. There was no evacuation by Group 4. Detainees got one another out of the burning building. Once outside, detainees saw people trapped in their rooms shouting for help, unable to breathe. One man had opened his door and there were flames outside. Detainees shouted to Group 4 or the police asking them to help those who were trapped. With exits being closed, the only way out of the burning building would have been to try to smash their way through high security toughened windows which are designed to open only a few inches.
Fire-fighters say that the fires could have been controlled had there been a sprinkler system, and if they had been allowed into the building straight away. Blunkett has directly contradicted statements by both the police and the Fire Brigade, some of whom have said it was Group 4 who would not let them into the building. Some detainees tried to put the fire out themselves, but when they saw they couldn’t, they shouted to firemen to come in. Others have said police or Group 4 tried to push them back in to the building, or blocked their exit when they tried to get out.
Detainees were kept outside most of the night, from 10.00pm till about 7.00am in freezing cold weather, families, children, old people, men and women, including a 2 month old baby. Bedfordshire County Council had transport, social facilities including a school available to provide respite care but they were not used. People were herded around the site by police/Group 4, who shouted at them and tried to make them gather near to the burning building on tennis courts. When people protested, they pushed them on to the unused part of the building. People were taken in 5-10 at a time, photographed and searched. Most women and families were bussed out to other detention centres. But men were separated and kept at Yarl’s Wood. Men who had shouted to the police for help were put in segregation for this. Some men were separated from their families.
Some female detainees have said that if they had not been shown the way to the exits by male detainees, they would have died in the fire. Basic fire precautions and procedures do not seem to have been followed. Detainees we spoke to had never had a fire drill and do not seem to have been aware of fire exits or fire routes, or how they could get to a place of safety, nor did they get any assistance from Group 4 staff.
A senior firefighter said “It was absolutely atrocious. There must be emergency plans regarding fire, riot, and unrest. Why did it take so long for the plans to be implemented? We expect the authorities to guarantee our security but normally that would happen even before we arrive.” Group 4 staff were also endangered by these procedural failings, some female staff having to be escorted to safety by detainees.
After The Incident
After the fire, it took from Thursday night to Sunday morning to set up a number for relatives to call to get information about survivors. Even then much of the information was wrong. By the time friends and relatives were told people were still in Yarl’s Wood, they had been moved elsewhere. One detainee had a bail hearing the Monday following the fire and was granted bail and so could be released, but Group 4 said they didn’t know his whereabouts. That meant one of two things – either he had escaped or he had died in the fire. His distraught wife and children were in court. Eventually he was found at Yarl’s Wood a few days later.
Many Yarl’s Wood detainees lost everything in the fire – including clothes, valuables, solicitors’ contacts and the documentation that is vital for their asylum cases. People have to hand over their cash and valuables to Group 4 when they go in to Yarl’s Wood, and now they have been destroyed they are facing months of waiting for claims to be investigated. Meanwhile, they face deportation back to their countries with nothing, having brought their life savings with them when they came here.
A firefighter has said that they are also frustrated because they class this as a ‘persons reported incident’. When people are unaccounted for, they assume they are on the premises until there is a thorough search. This has never been done but the police are suggesting that missing persons must have absconded. The search for bodies has certainly been remarkably slow. It is appalling that the assumption has always been that people have escaped instead of the assumption being that they have died. It would surely be a miracle if 380 people managed to get themselves out of the building over all the obstacles. The Bedfordshire Chief Constable has said in a letter to the Home Office that the police search for bodies among the wreckage may be hampered by haphazard record keeping.
After the fire, some detainees were taken directly into segregation at Yarl’s Wood – they were told that all detainees were in segregation, which was untrue. They were either given no reason or false reasons for their segregation. Some were moved into segregation after talking to people on the telephone about the fire. Most of them had not been questioned by the police. One was denied access to his solicitor. Only “closed” visits were allowed and, at times, items and money left by visitors were denied to the detainees. Conditions for those in segregation were humiliating. Food was put on the floor and pushed through the doorway. People were kept in their rooms for days before they were let out into the courtyard for exercise. Some had no blankets or sheets for 3 days. When they asked staff why there were no blankets or sheets, they were told,“because you burnt it all down”.
Transfers To Prisons
46 people have now been moved to prisons and we don’t know if any of them have been charged with anything. Most have not been questioned by the police. Some have been told they have been moved to prisons because Yarl’s Wood is too crowded. But the Home Secretary had said some time ago that the holding of asylum seekers in prisons was a scandal. He is now saying that detainees who are being transferred to prison are those who have a history of violent or criminal behavour. But this is not the reason being given to the detainees, four of whom are women. They had been kept at Yarl’s Wood, presumably in the same wing as the men, yet the impression given after the fire was that no women were being held at Yarl’s Wood at all. The UNHCR has condemned the British Home Office’s movement of Yarl’s Wood detainees to prisons. In prison, some have been moved to isolation (24 hour lock-up) because the prison authorities cannot guarantee their safety. Some have tried to kill themselves.
The Home Office has already deported one person who had been held in segregation after the fire, and they have tried to deport another person who is being held in prison who was a key witness, and whose asylum case has not been completed. There may be others who have already been deported who we cannot know about because of the difficulties in getting information from the Home Office, which is made much more difficult when they move people to prisons. Others who could give evidence of the failure by Group 4 to guarantee their safety are also facing deportation.
Our position remains that the detention of people who have not been accused of any crime, without time limit, is inhumane and unjust. While we still have detention, it should at least be transparent, humane, regulated by properly followed procedures and there should be real evidence that would stand up in a court of law that it is absolutely necessary for the individual to be detained. Above all, if people are to be detained, this should be in conditions that are safe for both the people held there and equally the staff who are holding them.
It appears that this did not happen at Yarl’s Wood and consequently, campaigners are seeking:
An independent public enquiry into the events of 14.2.02 and the following treatment of Yarl’s Wood detainees, with full openness and disclosure to the public of relevant information
The immediate release of all detainees from Yarl’s Wood as they are not being housed in safe conditions
The release of any detainees who have suffered trauma as a result of the fire at Yarl’s Wood
A stop to all removals of detainees to prisons, a practice that has been condemned by the UNHCR
Immediate cessation of deportation of any Yarl’s Wood detainees who were witnesses to the events so they can give evidence at the public enquiry.
End of segregation and other victimisation of detainees who speak out
Questions:
What occurred during the restraint of the 55 year old woman that gave the detainees such concern?
Why was no attempt made by Group 4 and police to control the disturbance when it started inside the building, leaving women and families vulnerable, as well as members of Group 4’s own staff?
Why was there no evidence of an evacuation plan?
Why was there no attempt to rescue detainees from the burning building (except by fellow detainees)?
Why do some fire-fighters and police say they were denied access by Group 4?
Why did no-one check the building afterwards for the unaccounted–for persons?
Was there a fire alarm?
Were there clearly marked fire exits?
Why were detainees not moved to safety until 8 hours later?
Why were selected detainees segregated after the fire and yet not questioned by police or charged
Why were they not questioned by the police?
Why have people been moved to prisons if they have not been questioned by the police and have not been charged?
Why has there not been more effort to discover who has died in the fire?
Why have Group 4’s records proved so inadequated in identifying who was present on the night of the fire, and consequently who is now missing?
Campaign to Stop Arbitrary Detentions at Yarl’s Wood
Contact: 01234 330698 (Loraine Bayley) / 07786 517379 (Campaign contact)
07867 690332 (Lizzie Scott) / 01234 822946 (Mike Gilmour)
The incident started when detainees saw a woman aged about 55 being restrained and they were concerned for her safety. They could hear sounds of distress but their view of what was happening was obscured. Women were told to stay in their rooms by staff, but after being told this, they saw no more of Group 4 until 6.00 the next morning. Families were waiting in their rooms for Group 4 to tell them what to do. Three hours later, when they became aware of the fire, and the building started to fill with smoke and heat, they were still inside waiting.
Exits and doors were locked. There was no evacuation by Group 4. Detainees got one another out of the burning building. Once outside, detainees saw people trapped in their rooms shouting for help, unable to breathe. One man had opened his door and there were flames outside. Detainees shouted to Group 4 or the police asking them to help those who were trapped. With exits being closed, the only way out of the burning building would have been to try to smash their way through high security toughened windows which are designed to open only a few inches.
Fire-fighters say that the fires could have been controlled had there been a sprinkler system, and if they had been allowed into the building straight away. Blunkett has directly contradicted statements by both the police and the Fire Brigade, some of whom have said it was Group 4 who would not let them into the building. Some detainees tried to put the fire out themselves, but when they saw they couldn’t, they shouted to firemen to come in. Others have said police or Group 4 tried to push them back in to the building, or blocked their exit when they tried to get out.
Detainees were kept outside most of the night, from 10.00pm till about 7.00am in freezing cold weather, families, children, old people, men and women, including a 2 month old baby. Bedfordshire County Council had transport, social facilities including a school available to provide respite care but they were not used. People were herded around the site by police/Group 4, who shouted at them and tried to make them gather near to the burning building on tennis courts. When people protested, they pushed them on to the unused part of the building. People were taken in 5-10 at a time, photographed and searched. Most women and families were bussed out to other detention centres. But men were separated and kept at Yarl’s Wood. Men who had shouted to the police for help were put in segregation for this. Some men were separated from their families.
Some female detainees have said that if they had not been shown the way to the exits by male detainees, they would have died in the fire. Basic fire precautions and procedures do not seem to have been followed. Detainees we spoke to had never had a fire drill and do not seem to have been aware of fire exits or fire routes, or how they could get to a place of safety, nor did they get any assistance from Group 4 staff.
A senior firefighter said “It was absolutely atrocious. There must be emergency plans regarding fire, riot, and unrest. Why did it take so long for the plans to be implemented? We expect the authorities to guarantee our security but normally that would happen even before we arrive.” Group 4 staff were also endangered by these procedural failings, some female staff having to be escorted to safety by detainees.
After The Incident
After the fire, it took from Thursday night to Sunday morning to set up a number for relatives to call to get information about survivors. Even then much of the information was wrong. By the time friends and relatives were told people were still in Yarl’s Wood, they had been moved elsewhere. One detainee had a bail hearing the Monday following the fire and was granted bail and so could be released, but Group 4 said they didn’t know his whereabouts. That meant one of two things – either he had escaped or he had died in the fire. His distraught wife and children were in court. Eventually he was found at Yarl’s Wood a few days later.
Many Yarl’s Wood detainees lost everything in the fire – including clothes, valuables, solicitors’ contacts and the documentation that is vital for their asylum cases. People have to hand over their cash and valuables to Group 4 when they go in to Yarl’s Wood, and now they have been destroyed they are facing months of waiting for claims to be investigated. Meanwhile, they face deportation back to their countries with nothing, having brought their life savings with them when they came here.
A firefighter has said that they are also frustrated because they class this as a ‘persons reported incident’. When people are unaccounted for, they assume they are on the premises until there is a thorough search. This has never been done but the police are suggesting that missing persons must have absconded. The search for bodies has certainly been remarkably slow. It is appalling that the assumption has always been that people have escaped instead of the assumption being that they have died. It would surely be a miracle if 380 people managed to get themselves out of the building over all the obstacles. The Bedfordshire Chief Constable has said in a letter to the Home Office that the police search for bodies among the wreckage may be hampered by haphazard record keeping.
After the fire, some detainees were taken directly into segregation at Yarl’s Wood – they were told that all detainees were in segregation, which was untrue. They were either given no reason or false reasons for their segregation. Some were moved into segregation after talking to people on the telephone about the fire. Most of them had not been questioned by the police. One was denied access to his solicitor. Only “closed” visits were allowed and, at times, items and money left by visitors were denied to the detainees. Conditions for those in segregation were humiliating. Food was put on the floor and pushed through the doorway. People were kept in their rooms for days before they were let out into the courtyard for exercise. Some had no blankets or sheets for 3 days. When they asked staff why there were no blankets or sheets, they were told,“because you burnt it all down”.
Transfers To Prisons
46 people have now been moved to prisons and we don’t know if any of them have been charged with anything. Most have not been questioned by the police. Some have been told they have been moved to prisons because Yarl’s Wood is too crowded. But the Home Secretary had said some time ago that the holding of asylum seekers in prisons was a scandal. He is now saying that detainees who are being transferred to prison are those who have a history of violent or criminal behavour. But this is not the reason being given to the detainees, four of whom are women. They had been kept at Yarl’s Wood, presumably in the same wing as the men, yet the impression given after the fire was that no women were being held at Yarl’s Wood at all. The UNHCR has condemned the British Home Office’s movement of Yarl’s Wood detainees to prisons. In prison, some have been moved to isolation (24 hour lock-up) because the prison authorities cannot guarantee their safety. Some have tried to kill themselves.
The Home Office has already deported one person who had been held in segregation after the fire, and they have tried to deport another person who is being held in prison who was a key witness, and whose asylum case has not been completed. There may be others who have already been deported who we cannot know about because of the difficulties in getting information from the Home Office, which is made much more difficult when they move people to prisons. Others who could give evidence of the failure by Group 4 to guarantee their safety are also facing deportation.
Our position remains that the detention of people who have not been accused of any crime, without time limit, is inhumane and unjust. While we still have detention, it should at least be transparent, humane, regulated by properly followed procedures and there should be real evidence that would stand up in a court of law that it is absolutely necessary for the individual to be detained. Above all, if people are to be detained, this should be in conditions that are safe for both the people held there and equally the staff who are holding them.
It appears that this did not happen at Yarl’s Wood and consequently, campaigners are seeking:
An independent public enquiry into the events of 14.2.02 and the following treatment of Yarl’s Wood detainees, with full openness and disclosure to the public of relevant information
The immediate release of all detainees from Yarl’s Wood as they are not being housed in safe conditions
The release of any detainees who have suffered trauma as a result of the fire at Yarl’s Wood
A stop to all removals of detainees to prisons, a practice that has been condemned by the UNHCR
Immediate cessation of deportation of any Yarl’s Wood detainees who were witnesses to the events so they can give evidence at the public enquiry.
End of segregation and other victimisation of detainees who speak out
Questions:
What occurred during the restraint of the 55 year old woman that gave the detainees such concern?
Why was no attempt made by Group 4 and police to control the disturbance when it started inside the building, leaving women and families vulnerable, as well as members of Group 4’s own staff?
Why was there no evidence of an evacuation plan?
Why was there no attempt to rescue detainees from the burning building (except by fellow detainees)?
Why do some fire-fighters and police say they were denied access by Group 4?
Why did no-one check the building afterwards for the unaccounted–for persons?
Was there a fire alarm?
Were there clearly marked fire exits?
Why were detainees not moved to safety until 8 hours later?
Why were selected detainees segregated after the fire and yet not questioned by police or charged
Why were they not questioned by the police?
Why have people been moved to prisons if they have not been questioned by the police and have not been charged?
Why has there not been more effort to discover who has died in the fire?
Why have Group 4’s records proved so inadequated in identifying who was present on the night of the fire, and consequently who is now missing?
Campaign to Stop Arbitrary Detentions at Yarl’s Wood
Contact: 01234 330698 (Loraine Bayley) / 07786 517379 (Campaign contact)
07867 690332 (Lizzie Scott) / 01234 822946 (Mike Gilmour)
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