March to Lindholme
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This weekend I am joining the South Yorkshire Migrant and Asylum Action Group march to Lindholme Prison near Doncaster. Find out all about it on Indymedia here. http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/10/384411.html
It is a disgrace that we deny asylum seekers the right to work and contribute to our society. And its even worse that we lock them up when their only crime has been to seek asylum from a country that has been persecuting them. The UK now has two prisons entirely full with asylum seekers!
I joined the march at Rotherham and walked to Lindholme Prison, staying at a Baptist Church in Doncaster on the Saturday night. I feel very honoured to have walked with such amazing people- asylum seekers and refugees from Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Congo and other countries,many who have experienced torture in their own country for speaking out against ruthless dictators. They have sought asylum in the UK, but instead of treating them like heroes as we should, they have been treated like criminals, often being locked in detention centres like Lindholme for no good reason. I am ashamed of our government who refuse asylum seekers the right to work, detain them without good reason and sometimes deport them to very dangerous situations where they fear for their life. The Green Party would give asylum seekers the right to work and end the unjust detentions. (see http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/mfss/Refugees.html)The Declaration of Dignity Not Detention, which we read outside the razor wire fence of Lindholme, statesFor those who are seeking asylum, those without documents, without lawyers, working for cash, sleeping on floors, living in limbo, the “overstayers”, the trafficked and invisible, we demand:The right to Stay The right to WorkFor a right to be heard, understood and appropriately represented. For a shared cultural dignity that rejects humiliation, interrogation and degrading medical examination; for an end to dehumanisation and destitution:Stop deportation Release the DetaineesFor photos from the demo visit http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/10/384411.htmlhttp://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/10/384594.htmlMany thanks to everyone who helped organise the protest and the many organisations that offered us hopitality along the route.