How you can support mass protest at UKs only female migrant detention centre and #SetHerFree

Crowds of protestors are set to gather outside a Durham detention centre in “a powerful display of solidarity with migrant communities”. It will demand a new approach to migration and end what campaigners call the “traumatic, unnecessary and expensive” practice of immigration detention. The demonstration will be held outside Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre in Durham on 18 October. Also known as Hassockfield, Derwentside is the UK’s only immigration detention centre exclusively for women.

The protest is organised by The No to Hassockfield Campaign, These Walls Must Fall and Right to Remain and is part of a national day of solidarity to end immigration detention. The event will bring together support from all over the north of England, with the aim of highlighting the powerful solidarity local communities have with people subject to our hostile immigration system. It will also be a call for an end to the increasingly visible hostility towards migrant communities from our Government and media.

Derwentside is a well-known hellhole

What’s interesting about Derwentside is that it was formerly known by another name, Medomsley Detention Centre for Boys. As part of Thatcher’s “Short Sharp Shock”, Medomsley was the setting for some of the most depraved abuse of both prisoners and boys this country has ever seen. I was contacted about this protest after organisers saw my review of Bad Lads, a new play highlighting the harrowing crimes, as there can be many parallels drawn between that and the women being held against their will in Derwentside.

Women trying to rebuild their lives forcibly detained

Campaigners from women’s group 4Wings, in Liverpool, had been preparing to attend the event when they were hit by the shocking news that one of their beloved community members, Arjeta, had been suddenly detained and taken to Derwentside. Arjeta is a trafficking survivor who has been rebuilding her life and, in turn, supporting other survivors in Liverpool. This sudden detention shows how this horrific act can affect whole communities and prevent trauma survivors from moving forward.

Dr Helen Groom from the No to Hassockfield campaign said:

We will not stop protesting against Derwentside IRC whilst it remains open. Whilst this government and right-wing agitators ramp up the hostile environment, we remain steadfast in campaigning to shut it down.

Government cannot ignore the power of solidarity

Crowds from across the North of England will gather to hear from people with first-hand experience of the trauma of detention. Speeches will highlight the injustices faced by women in Derwentside, many of whom are survivors of gender-based violence, trafficking, and exploitation. It will also, hopefully show the government that it is impossible to ignore the strength of community solidarity.

Eiri Ohtani, Director, Right to Remain, said:

Hostility towards migrant and racialised communities is filling headlines, social media and even our streets. What’s less visible is the powerful solidarity with people subject to our hostile immigration system that is shown every day, up and down the country. From volunteers supporting people at reporting centres to grassroots groups helping people find community and belonging, this quiet, everyday solidarity doesn’t get anywhere near as much attention.

Most importantly, as a day of solidarity, organisers want to ensure that their support is heard by those locked up in Derwentside with bright posters and loud singing, to show them that they are not alone.

You can register to attend the protest outside Derwentside IRC on 18 October here. If you can’t attend, you can show your support online with the hashtags #TheseWallsMustFall, #EndDetention, #NoOneIsIllegal, #SetHerFree. There are also some local actions happening in solidarity, which you can find here.

Featured image via the Canary