The letter stated that several inmates were “extremely unwell” and that a large number of minors “should be in school, not prison.”
A note in a bottle has been hurled over the perimeter gate of the Manston processing center by migrants pleading for assistance.
A young girl threw the bottle at an outside photographer for the PA news agency. It contained a letter claiming that the Kent facility held pregnant women and sick detainees.
Hundreds of people are believed to have been relocated from the old airport site in Ramsgate out of fear that it had grown dangerously overcrowded.
The letter, which was written in terrible English and addressed to “journalists, organizations, and everyone,” implied that 50 families were detained in Manston for more than 30 days.
It said: “We are currently living a tough existence… we feel like we are in prison.
Some of us are quite ill…there are some pregnant ladies for whom nothing is done.
“We genuinely need your assistance. Please assist us.”
The letter asserts that there is a disabled child in the facility, adding, “He’s awful, and nobody cares about him.”
“It is difficult for a parent… some too many children shouldn’t be here. They ought to be in education, not jail “It is a plus.
The letter continued, “our food is so poor that it makes us sick… we have no phone, no money, and no cigarettes.”
Witnesses reported seeing security officers at the site escorting individuals back inside as members of the press approached the perimeter fence.
The girl was part of a gang of children who evaded security guards and raced to the barrier to hurl the bottle at the photographer.
The message continued, “We wish to speak with you, but we are not even permitted to go outside.”
Some detained migrants at Manston have threatened self-harm and hunger strikes in response to their detention.
Robert Jenrick, minister of immigration, stated on Tuesday that the number of migrants had “significantly decreased,” with more likely to be relocated the following day.
The situation was deemed a “breach of humane circumstances” because 4,000 individuals were being detained in a facility with a capacity of 1,600.
A spokesperson for the Home Office stated that Manston was “funded and equipped” to process migrants and that alternative housing would be sought for them “immediately.”
The spokesperson cautioned anyone contemplating leaving a “secure nation” that “despite what they have been told, they will not be permitted to begin a new life here.”
He said, “We strongly advise anyone contemplating leaving a safe nation and risking their lives at the hands of despicable people smugglers to rethink.”
The department stated that it meets all the fundamental needs of migrants arriving in the United Kingdom, that their safety and those of its employees are its highest concern, and that it is devoted to safeguarding their welfare.
