It was nice and sunny when over a thousand protesters followed the call of the Scottish Trade Union Council to travel to Dungavel Detention Centre, which lies isolated in the countryside 40 min away south of Glasgow in Lanarkshire, near Strathaven.
Protesters arrived from all over; buses were provided from Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Birmingham and North East England.
A samba band played at the arrival, and the protesters banged against the fence with fists and sticks, so that the first speeches drowned in noise of the publics outrage against the seperation, the rascist and inhumane institutional treatment of refugees in this country. A whole line-up of politicians from a wide spektrum spoke out against the prison like institution, with the star speakers Mercy Ikolo, who was just released on bail with her 14 month old daughter Bessie from Dungavel, and human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar.
Pics [1, 2, 3], report
Protesters arrived from all over; buses were provided from Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Birmingham and North East England.
A samba band played at the arrival, and the protesters banged against the fence with fists and sticks, so that the first speeches drowned in noise of the publics outrage against the seperation, the rascist and inhumane institutional treatment of refugees in this country. A whole line-up of politicians from a wide spektrum spoke out against the prison like institution, with the star speakers Mercy Ikolo, who was just released on bail with her 14 month old daughter Bessie from Dungavel, and human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar.
Pics [1, 2, 3], report
The Friday evening in Glasgow, Positive Action in Housing organised with over about 500 people a well-attended public meeting with speakers educating about the current Asylum Policy and mobilising against the Detention Centre. Many human rights groups and charities such as Oxfam Scotland, Save the Children and Amnesty International support the petition to call for the closure of Dungavel, which is now aimed at the Scottish parliament.
Dungavel Detention Centre (which has been renamed into removal centre by authorities last year) is run by a private firm, and has been subject of controversy particularly because of the imprisonment of children with their parents in the "family unit".
Fatima Muse had her state weekly allowance of 3.50 pounds removed after she hid food to feed her two young children, aged 1 and 2 outside the set meal times, according to the BBC.
At the moment 22 children under the age of 16 are said to be held in Dungavel.
The prison like institution was also in the controversial news, when the Ay family, from Kurdistan, got deported to Germany, after the mother spent over a year with her 4 children aged between 7 and 14 in the prison-like Detention Centre.
It is outlawed to imprison refugee children under the UNHCR convention.
more infor:
[Scottish Refugee Council| National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns| Barbed Wire Britian| Noborder Network| Human Rights Network]
Dungavel Detention Centre (which has been renamed into removal centre by authorities last year) is run by a private firm, and has been subject of controversy particularly because of the imprisonment of children with their parents in the "family unit".
Fatima Muse had her state weekly allowance of 3.50 pounds removed after she hid food to feed her two young children, aged 1 and 2 outside the set meal times, according to the BBC.
At the moment 22 children under the age of 16 are said to be held in Dungavel.
The prison like institution was also in the controversial news, when the Ay family, from Kurdistan, got deported to Germany, after the mother spent over a year with her 4 children aged between 7 and 14 in the prison-like Detention Centre.
It is outlawed to imprison refugee children under the UNHCR convention.
more infor:
[Scottish Refugee Council| National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns| Barbed Wire Britian| Noborder Network| Human Rights Network]
