Editor’s Notes: Names marked with an asterisk * have been changed to protect identities. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, these organizations can help.
London, UK – Refugees detained in Britain and scheduled to be deported to Rwanda have told Al Jazeera they are on hunger strike as they struggle with serious mental health problems, and one says he has suicidal thoughts.
The United Kingdom announced in April a controversial plan for asylum seekers in the African nation. The first deportation flight will take off on June 14.
Ahmed * from Syria said he fled the war-torn country after refusing to join the army and arrived in the United Kingdom without documents. He will be deported on the first flight.
“I escaped and arrived in the UK via the Balkan countries,” the 20-year-old, detained at the Colnbrook Immigration Expulsion Center near London Heathrow Airport, told Al Jazeera by telephone .
“Unfortunately, on May 20, the Ministry of the Interior notified me of the decision and gave me a ticket to Rwanda.”
He said he was on hunger strike to protest the measure and did not understand why he was being sent to Rwanda, given language and cultural differences.
“I do not see any reason why I should go to a country in Africa where I have no relatives or family. I don’t know the people there. I will refuse to go there, but if the UK government insists on my deportation to Kigali and forces me to board a plane, I will take my own life. “
Protesters have spoken out against the deportation scheme to immigration centers such as Colnbrook [Courtesy: Movement for Justice]
Ferhad *, a 23-year-old Kurdish detainee from Iran at the same center, said the prospect of deportation was particularly bleak compared to the European reception of Ukrainian refugees.
Now, when he hears a plane flying over the center, he feels nervous. He is also on hunger strike and is scheduled for the June 14 flight.
“When the war in Ukraine began, all Ukrainians were welcomed and treated better,” he said. “Because we are all refugees, I did not understand why I would move to Rwanda when the Ukrainians are welcome, they are offered a better life, a refuge and everything they need.
“Regardless of our background, we are all human beings. Kill me here or let Iran kill me, instead of taking me to Rwanda. “
Al Jazeera spoke to 15 detainees in Colnbrook, where more than 60 people are expected to be deported to Rwanda. It is understood they will stay longer in other detention centers near London.
Al Jazeera contacted the Interior Ministry to ask how many people are generally scheduled to be deported, but a department spokesman declined to comment.
Asylum seekers in Africa were also part of the group of detainees with whom this journalist spoke.
Asim *, a 25-year-old Sudanese man who arrived in Britain in early May via France by boat, said he risked his life traveling through Libya and the Mediterranean Sea to reach the United Kingdom. But days later, on May 17, “I was given the decision to send myself to Rwanda,” he said by telephone from Colnbrook.
“I fled Darfur because of the conflict. Kidnapping and taking me to Rwanda is against my basic human rights, and I am on hunger strike to protest.”
British Home Secretary Priti Patel, who signed the multimillion-dollar agreement to relocate refugees to Kigali with Rwanda, has promoted the agreement as an efficient way to prosecute the growing number of irregular migrants.
He also says it will prevent traffic and reduce deaths on the English Channel, the stretch of water between France and the south of England where some have died while trying to reach Britain in unsafe ships.
While most deported immigrants have spent thousands of dollars on their travels, the introduction of the UK Nationality and Borders Act in April allows the government to transfer irregular migrants to a “safe” third country.
About 20 of the 60 detainees in Colnbrook are believed to be from the Middle East.
Rights groups and opposition politicians have said the expulsion measure is unethical.
Interior Ministry documents received by some refugees, seen by Al Jazeera and dated June 1, say that individuals cannot appeal the decision to send them to Rwanda on June 14.
While describing a distressing environment, the detainees also spoke of questionable conditions.
The center’s guards confiscated their smartphones on arrival and provided them with mobile phones without an Internet connection. A Muslim detainee said he did not feel secure that the food served at the center was halal.
“We are hearing tragic stories about the severe impact on mental health, with reports of self-harm,” said Enver Solomon, head of the UK-based Refugee Council, about the information his organization has received from detainees. “We are concerned that the government will not look back on the case and should do much more to exercise its duty of care towards vulnerable people.”
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry responded to the allegations, saying that detainees had been able to contact their legal representatives by telephone, e-mail and video calls and receive 30 minutes of free counseling through an assistance scheme. legal.
The spokesman also said detainees receive three good quality meals every day to meet religious, dietary, cultural and medical needs.