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1st Ocober 2013

Keep reading for a statement from the women of Yarl's Wood


Emergency Demonstration Today

Stop Tonight's Charter Flight to Pakistan 

* Stop Deporting Yarl's Wood Women
* No Cover-up of Sexual Abuse 
* For a Full, Public Inquiry into Yarl's Wood

 

2.00pm TODAY

Tuesday 1st October

Home Office:

2 Marsham Street, Westminster, SW1P 4DF 

 

The struggle for justice by women in Yarl's Wood detention centre is exposing the racist, sexist and abusive regime under which they are forced to live. The action of one woman who complained against sexual abuse and took legal action against the Home Office has blown the lid on Yarl's Wood's dirty secret. Now 30 Pakistani and other women are organising resistance to the deportation of at least eight detainees on a charter flight to Lahore tonight: they have circulated a petition inside Yarl's Wood and been on hunger strike since Friday.

 

Five of the 8 women facing deportation to Pakistan tonight have experienced or witnessed sexual harassment from male officers in Yarl's Wood. The attempt to deport the witnesses is part of the Home Office's desperate attempts to cover up the scandal.

 

The women threatened with deportation all face persecution, torture or death if they are returned. Fozia is a lesbian who was tortured by her own brothers when her sexuality was exposed. On an earlier attempt to deport her she took a large dose of pills and cut her arm but was still handcuffed, shackled and brutalised by five 'escorts'. Amina was a victim of violence and abuse within her family both in Pakistan and in Britain. 

 

Others have escaped forced marriage, domestic violence and the threat of 'honour killing'. All are victims of a perverse burden of proof whereby asylum seekers are assumed to be liars until they can somehow prove the opposite. (See below statement issued by the hunger strikers on Sunday)

 

We must unite with the women in Yarl's Wood to stop tonight's charter flight. Join today's demonstration at 2.00pm at the Home Office. 

 

Fax and email the Home Office demanding that tonight's charter flight is stopped and there is no deportation of women from Yarl's Wood.

 

Home Secretary Theresa May: mayt@parliament.uk, Fax: 020 7219 1145

 

Immigration Minister: ministerforimmigration@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

 

And copy to the following Home Office & UKBA addresses:

citto@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk   

public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

ukbapublicenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk

 

Phone, fax or email your MP today - call on them to demand the cancellation of the flight and an end to the cover up of sexual abuse in Yarl's Wood.

 

Sign & Circulate the Movement for Justice petition for a full Public Inquiry into Yarl's Wood 

 

The petition is now also endorsed by (email MFJ to add your groups name): 

 
Yarl's Wood Movement for Justice Group, Leeds MFJ Group, Manchester MFJ GroupLee Jasper (Co Chair of BARAC and National Black Members Officer for Respect Party UK), Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC), National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC), Virtual MigrantsHands Off Somalia

 

  

The following statement was issued by 14 of the Yarl's Wood hunger strikers on Sunday, 29th September

 

"The day before yesterday hunger strike is going on at Yarl's Wood against charter flight deportation, no right of appeals in fresh claims and even sexual abuse.

 

We should have right of appeal and right of bail. Why we are discriminated by UKBA and other institutions. We are not street dogs, we are human beings. We spent a lot of money to come for protection. We never do any illegal act or break any law but still we are facing detention and racial discrimination.

 

We are women and in our culture if a woman been detained for any reason it is considered that she is characterless and society has bad eyelid on that woman. If have been send back to our countries with handcuffed our society will never accept us.

 

And if we apply asylum it does not mean that we are criminals or asylum is a crime.

 

Please we need justice, we need safety and we need protection. Women seeking asylum from gender violence, honour killing, forced marriage, domestic abuse, trafficking need time to prove their cases. We have had no access to legal aid.

 

Charter flights are illegal, it is a mass deportation. Women claiming asylum for gender based issues must have time. We have not had access to legal aid. Because of huge waiting list due to mass round up no due process.

 

Why we are being kept in isolated places like police stations, cells or detention centres. We are not criminals.

 

Asylum is not a crime.

Asking for justice is not a crime

We want independence.

We want our rights. 

We want to raise our voice in public ...

 

 

 

Movement for Justice statement on the Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry

 

Movement for Justice statement on the Yarls Wood uprising last October

 

More evidence comes out about sexual abuse at Yarls Wood (Guardian Article)

 

Links to Observer articles:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/14/detainees-yarls-wood-sexual-abuse

 

 

Contact us on 07930 302 263 or 07587 693 316

 

EMAIL - MFJ@ueaa.net

 

 

SIGN & SHARE THE PETITION

Donate to MFJ card

Movement for Justice...

 

We march today, we march tomorrow, and we keep marching to build a new Britain: diverse, integrated and equal. We aim to win. We tell the truth about racism, sexism and anti-gay bigotry and the growing inequalities within our society. We believe that every human being is entitled to a job, to education, to food, shelter and the other necessities of life, so that every one of us can live in dignity, proud to be who we are, encouraged and able to fulfill our hopes and aspirations.

 

Join MFJ at  www.movementforjustice.org