The women in Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedford are on their third week of hunger strike. They are beginning to feel weak, some can not stand for long on their feet. They are being harassed, moved around to different wings and threatened to be moved to Colnbrook detention centre.

Alaister Burt MP has been at the detention centre the August 8 and met 13 of the women. He will attend again the August 17t. He wrote to the Immigration Minister expressing the women's concerns about the volatile situation in Uganda and the immediate imprisonment and violence that awaits them.

Burt also expressed concerns about the legal service being inadequate and the fast track immigration system now enforced in the UK.

Another concern is that more than one woman has been diagnosed with HIV-AIDS and he questions what measures have been taken to ensure that they can receive treatment once returned to Uganda.
One of the women was due to be deported August 13 but was brought back and later released from detention.

Another, Harriet Anyangokolo, had a removal for today, August 14, but it was cancelled after her solicitor put an application for judicial review.

She told of concentration camps in northern Uganda , where women and children are routinely raped. They cannot move outside a three-mile radius because. If they do they are killed. Children are kidnapped and forced to join the rebel army, girls as young as six forced to sleep with officers.

Harriet left Uganda to save her own life. She left two little daughters behind and she does not know where they are. She misses them very much.

Harriet suffers from PTSD and is badly affected by her detention. She has been 26 days on hunger strike.

Another woman, C, has got removal directions August 16. She is now afraid her name will be made public. If deported her life will be in great danger. She came to the UK due to political persecution. Both her and her husband were active in the Ugandan opposition party.

Her parents and all her family were from Rwanda and died in the genocide, except her younger brother who was killed when she was arrested. The army broke into their house, killed her younger brother before her eyes and then gang-raped her.

Both C and her husband were arrested and put in different prisons. She was tortured and raped again. Later she heard her husband had been killed. C is now HIV+ as a result of rape. She could not afford to buy the drugs in Uganda.

C has also being diagnosed TB+. She never got the all clear and never received any proper medical treatment while in detention. She has a hospital appointment August 17.

She has nobody to go to. In detention she did a computer course and got four qualifications. What use will these qualifications be to her if she gets deported, where her very survival is at stake? She has been 22 days on hunger strike.

Two other Ugandan women have got removal directions August 20.
Several days ago another Ugandan woman was taken to the airport with her there-year-old and three-months-old daughter. They did not tell her or anyone else where they were taking them.

She phoned at 6pm from the airport very scared, but later was released. They are back to where they were living. Her husband was killed in Uganda, she came here pregnant and with a little daughter to save her own life and those of her daughters.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE WOMEN ON HUNGERSTRIKE.

They are in contact with the Cross Roads Women Centre. I am currently visiting two of them. I am also doing a fast in solidarity for a few days, it is nothing but if many people do it, it gets attention.

Send the women messages of support or phone them, go to visit if you dare.

The Zimbabwean hunger strike had the effect to get the deportations to Zimbabwe stopped at least for the time being.

Is there any way we can persuade the High Court to put a moratoria on deportations to Uganda too, and to every other country where people's lives are in danger?