PROTESTERS took to a beach yesterday calling on the government to review its treatment of asylum seekers.
Supporters of refugee charity Calais Action and members of Extinction Rebellion held a socially distant demonstration on Brighton beach to show solidarity with asylum seekers detained at Napier Barracks in Kent and Penally Barracks in Wales.
Activists held placards which read "Priti Patel, where is your humanity?" and "Napier, we are watching".
It comes after a fire broke out at Napier Barracks on Friday, where about 400 asylum seekers have been housed since September.
Five men were arrested in connection with the fire, which happened after objections to some asylum seekers not being moved following an outbreak of Covid-19 at the ex-military site, according to the Home Office.
Campaigners say residents have been without heating and electricity and charitable organisations such as Care4Calais have been refused entry to provide blankets.
They say asylum seekers have previously been met with "hostility" after protesting against conditions at the site, where there were reports of more than 100 people testing positive for coronavirus.
A letter from one resident at the site sent to the Help Refugees charity read: "Living in a terrible condition and unsafe when it comes to Covid, affected all the residents physically and mentally".
Natasa Leoni, a volunteer with Care4Calais who attended yesterday's protest, said: “Refugees are welcome here - treating people who are seeking asylum with humanity is a basic requirement of a decent society.
“Conditions are always hard for refugees. They don't expect special treatment but basic human rights. To be allowed to speak your beliefs without fear of reprisals from the state should be a given.
“We won’t stand by and watch Priti Patel and the UK government exploit the human rights of vulnerable people who have fled to try and find safety in our country.”
Hermione Berendt, a member of Extinction Rebellion Brighton, said: “The United Nations estimates there are 25 million climate refugees and the Red Cross believes that as many as one billion people will be displaced by climate change over the next four decades. What then?
“Our government has created a hostile environment for refugees and migrants in the UK, which is completely crazy when we are literally complicit in displacing people from their homes.
“We have to take a stand against environmental and social injustice. Seeking asylum is not a privilege - it is a human right.”
A Home Office spokeswoman told the BBC it is meeting all its statutory duties to accommodate asylum seekers.
The spokeswoman said: "The Napier Barracks site is safe and secure and we are working with our provider to repair the damage that has been done.
"There are no plans to move any asylum seekers from the site and we are accommodating them all safely in the parts of the site that have not been damaged.
"To provide additional physical support and reassurance to staff and asylum seekers located at Napier barracks, immigration enforcement deployed members of its rapid response team."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel