Some migrants are threatening self-harm and a hunger strike, and instability is “growing over the camp” in Kent, which is overcrowded.
The government has been accused of presiding over “chaos” after hundreds of refugees were relocated from an overcrowded immigration center in Kent.
The Manston processing center is supposed to accommodate up to 1,600 individuals for no more than 24 hours; nevertheless, as of Monday, there were 4,000 individuals on the premises.
Unrest is “growing over the camp” as some refugees threaten to self-harm and go on hunger strikes.
In the past three months, 1,322 children requesting asylum were placed in hotels instead of permanent homes, and 222 of them are missing.
Robert Jenrick, minister of immigration, stated this night that “excellent progress” had been achieved in reducing overcrowding at Manston, with the number of migrants there “dropping significantly.”
Mr. Jenrick anticipates that additional people will be relocated today and stated, “Unless we receive an unusually large number of migrants in small boats in the following days, the number of migrants will dramatically decrease this week.”
The site must return to a sustainable operating model as soon as possible, and we are doing all possible to ensure that occurs.
Sir Roger Gale, a local Conservative representative, has also stated that “several hundred” had been transferred, however, it is unknown where they have been taken.
Sir Roger had warned on Monday that the situation at Manston was a “breach of humane circumstances” and that, given the reported epidemics of MRSA and diphtheria, overcrowding was “quite unsustainable.”
The British Red Cross further stated, “It is evident that immediate action is required to ensure that the fundamental needs of the men, women, and children who have just endured a perilous and perhaps traumatic journey are satisfied in a safe setting.”
No one should be subjected to overcrowded housing that exposes them to the risk of sickness and arbitrary detention.
Insurrection is sweeping throughout the camp.
Detained migrants at Manston have threatened self-harm and hunger strikes in response to their detention.
Andy Baxter, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, who recently visited the facility and witnessed conditions for himself, has warned that “unrest is spreading around the camp” as 170 individuals are employed at the location.
Mr. Baxter told, “Our members are continually threatened by individuals asking, ‘What is happening to me? Where am I headed? When will my situation improve?’
“When our members are unable to respond, individuals threaten to engage in sit-ins, hunger strikes, and self-harm.”
He stated that some POA members are concerned about their safety and that there have been a few instances of people constructing “weapons” out of wooden cutlery and toothbrushes.
Mr. Baxter warned that there may eventually be a “severe breakdown in public order” at Manston and continued, “There have been no reported incidents of these weapons being used on anyone; but, our members are quite concerned.”
Some of the individuals detained at Manston have been there for weeks since there is no alternative housing to relocate them to; they cannot leave until they have a place to go.
It is difficult to communicate with anyone inside because their phones have been confiscated.
One said, “I stayed in Manston for 17 days. I slept on a blanket and was covered by another blanket, but it was insufficient and I was freezing. During my stay, there were daily conflicts among people.
The other individual stated, “There were no mattresses or even chairs in the tents.” We would place food boxes on the ground and sleep on them.
“I wore the drenched clothes they gave me when I arrived for the duration of my stay. A skin disease spread throughout my stay, and I was terrified of contracting it.
We are unable to independently verify these claims, but Mr. Baxter reported seeing “huge tents with quite inadequate facilities” and a paucity of mattresses and furniture.
Councils battling to survive
Away from Manston, municipalities have “serious concerns” about the Home Office sending unaccompanied children to live in hotels without informing local authorities beforehand.
This summer, more than 1,300 juvenile migrants were placed in hotels; as of 19 October, 222 of these youths were missing.
Almost all are male, and many are 16 or 17 years old. 39 had been missing for at least 100 days, while 17 were lost within a single day of the Home Office assuming responsibility for them.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, stated that when a child goes missing from a hotel, the Home Office “works closely with local authorities and the police to implement a comprehensive missing people policy.”
The Local Government Association is pushing the government to cooperate more closely with councils and assist them in supporting unaccompanied minors entering the United Kingdom.
Louise Gittens, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, stated, “Councils do not want any unaccompanied child to be placed in an unsuitable hotel by the government.”
“It is highly troubling and unfair that these hotels, which were launched as a temporary emergency response, are still in operation, especially while the number of missing children from these hotels continues to rise.
“We require an immediate plan to address this situation and expedite the placement of children in permanent homes.”
Braverman condemned
Yesterday, peers in the House of Lords criticized Ms. Braverman, with Labour’s home affairs spokesman calling the asylum processing scenario a “shambles” with “awful implications for people.”
Lord Paddick, his Liberal Democrat counterpart, criticized the home secretary’s “reckless rhetoric” as well as the “dismal track record” of claims processing.
However, former Brexit secretary Lord Frost backed Ms. Braverman, stating, “We have witnessed over the past few days what appears to me to be an almost obsessive pursuit of the home secretary, who is dealing with a variety of quite tough substantive issues.
A pursuit based on leaks, anonymous briefings, and the typical hypersensitivity to language.
