Rule 35

‪‎Rule 35
‬“Detention should be reconsidered if a detainee is experiencing physical or mental issues or has previously experienced torture”

With the recent exposure of the appalling and degrading conditions at the infamous Yarls Wood Immigration and Removal Centre, this play brought the darkness and inhumanity of detention by thrusting you into it. This play was wholly interactive and from the onset gave me the opportunity to feel some of what is experienced by the hundreds of people held in detention who are “treated like animals” by the UK asylum system.

On entering I received a “pat down” by the guards using the scanner devices, the whole time being shouted at and told to “get in line.” Paper’s being shoved in my hand I was told to walk in single file, told off for speaking, told to bag my belongings, and then handed a number, which was unnerving when knowing that I had done no wrong.

As I walked I could not ignore the loud humming noise like the engine of a plane that reverberated around me making me feel a little disoriented. I passed a sign reading “from this point you will be blindfolded.” For a person with vertigo being blindfolded is a distressing experience as balance becomes difficult, but I wanted to take part so I could really walk in their shoes. Watching bright lights flash by through black blindfold while being guided into the theatre space, though raising my anxiety also made me inquisitive about what the rest of the play had in store. I heard the slamming of doors, and the heavy clink of keys repeated over and over. A sharp tug, and my blindfold was removed to a room floodlit so bright that I had to shade my eyes.

The story unfolded with sound, performance and visuals as women who had experienced detention retold their own stories aswell as other women who had been interviewed about their experiences. I couldn't help but notice how guards circulated the room, heavy footsteps, stern looks. Knowing that our every move was being watched made me sit fixed in my seat unwilling to look around in case I caught the eye of a guard. Others in the audience had already been dragged out to participate while they enacted some of the humiliating, degrading and abusive treatment of those who find themselves in detention.

I learnt that there was no proper medical assistance, doctors were not qualified and there was only one mental health practitioner to 400 people detained. I discovered how guards abused their power physically, mentally and in many cases sexually. These women lived in constant fear and even those that had been released who awaited asylum felt they could not live in peace as there was continuous worry that they could be taken, sent to a detention centre or even worse be deported. Many of these women had already suffered trauma and torture, and though they had thought they were coming to a place of refuge and safety they found imprisonment instead.

I think for me working with women who have suffered this kind of trauma it really put me in their shoes this evening. I remember working with a client that due to her detention suffered a phobia of banging doors and keys. I can see and understand how that can be. Knowing that with each banging door and each time those keys clatter in locks means another person being locked up. Learning that in the UK there is no cap on how long a person can be detained for, means that many counted up their days rather than counting down. Release is always unknown and the impact psychologically is extremely worrying.

I salute the brave women that felt empowered to share their stories in the hope to highlight the issues of the inhumane asylum system in the UK. With the parliamentary enquiry that has been released a number of recommendations have been made. You can read them here.

http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/pol…/the_truth_about_asylum

Things need to change and each one of us has the ability to try and make a difference.

© Aisha Mirza 2015