LONDON: Asylum seekers have said they were “treated like animals” while housed at a decommissioned army facility in the UK that the government had previously been warned was unsafe.
Former residents of Napier Barracks in Kent claimed that their conditions were “inhumane,” and that some even attempted suicide.
There have been repeated calls for the site to be closed after a fire broke out on Jan. 29 amid disturbances, after at least 120 people caught COVID-19 at the barracks while being forced to live in cramped conditions that prevented social distancing.
At a court hearing on Wednesday, it emerged that the government had previously been warned by Public Health England that the barracks was “not suitable” for housing people during a pandemic.
“It was really shocking for me,” an Iranian asylum seeker called Majid, who spent over four months there, told Sky News. “Twenty-eight people were in each block with just two toilets and two showers in a block. Everyone slept close to each other, sharing the same air. There were no supplies to clean or take care of our health.”
He added: “I saw several people attempt suicide and others were self-harming. They were desperate, afraid. We’ve been treated like criminals.”
Another asylum seeker called Mohamed said: “The security officers treated us very badly. They didn’t want to hear from us, and we weren’t allowed to speak to anyone in authority.”
He suggested that the conditions in which he and his fellow residents were kept were what led to the disturbances in January. “We were so shocked at the state of the barracks, and it was this frustration that boiled over,” he said.
Majid said: “I was in my room, and I heard my friend say one of the blocks is on fire. I felt really unsafe and it really traumatized me, seeing the fire, seeing the fear in everyone’s eyes.”
The number of residents at the barracks, which was subject to an inspection earlier this month, has since been reduced from over 400 to 63.
Immigration Compliance Minister Chris Philp said in a statement: “Napier has previously accommodated army personnel, and it is wrong to say it is not adequate for asylum seekers. The department takes the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously.”
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Asylum seekers: UK facility ‘inhumane’
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Asylum seekers: UK facility ‘inhumane’
- Conditions at Napier Barracks led to spread of COVID-19 in January
- UK government warned previously by Public Health England that site “unsafe” amid pandemic
Germany says UN rights rapporteur for Palestinian territories should quit
BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday called for the resignation of the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, over comments she made allegedly targeting Israel at a conference.
“I respect the UN system of independent rapporteurs. However, Ms Albanese has made numerous inappropriate remarks in the past. I condemn her recent statements about Israel. She is untenable in her position,” Wadephul wrote on X.
Albanese has said that her comments are being falsely portrayed. She denounced what she called “completely false accusations” and “manipulation” of her words in an interview with broadcaster France 24 on Wednesday.
Speaking via videoconference at a forum in Doha on Saturday organized by the Al Jazeera network, Albanese referred to a “common enemy of humanity” after criticizing “most of the world” and much of Western media for enabling the “genocide” in Gaza.
“And this is a challenge — the fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support,” she said.
Albanese said that “international law has been stabbed in the heart” but added that there is an opportunity since “we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy.”
Wadephul’s French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday made the same call for Albanese to resign over the comments.
“France unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Ms Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable,” Barrot told French lawmakers.
Albanese posted video of her comments to X on Monday, writing in the post that “the common enemy of humanity is THE SYSTEM that has enabled the genocide in Palestine, including the financial capital that funds it, the algorithms that obscure it and the weapons that enable it.”
In her interview with France 24, which was recorded before Barrot’s statement, she contended that her comments were being misrepresented.
“I have never, ever, ever said ‘Israel is the common enemy of humanity’,” Albanese told the broadcaster.
“I respect the UN system of independent rapporteurs. However, Ms Albanese has made numerous inappropriate remarks in the past. I condemn her recent statements about Israel. She is untenable in her position,” Wadephul wrote on X.
Albanese has said that her comments are being falsely portrayed. She denounced what she called “completely false accusations” and “manipulation” of her words in an interview with broadcaster France 24 on Wednesday.
Speaking via videoconference at a forum in Doha on Saturday organized by the Al Jazeera network, Albanese referred to a “common enemy of humanity” after criticizing “most of the world” and much of Western media for enabling the “genocide” in Gaza.
“And this is a challenge — the fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support,” she said.
Albanese said that “international law has been stabbed in the heart” but added that there is an opportunity since “we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy.”
Wadephul’s French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday made the same call for Albanese to resign over the comments.
“France unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Ms Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable,” Barrot told French lawmakers.
Albanese posted video of her comments to X on Monday, writing in the post that “the common enemy of humanity is THE SYSTEM that has enabled the genocide in Palestine, including the financial capital that funds it, the algorithms that obscure it and the weapons that enable it.”
In her interview with France 24, which was recorded before Barrot’s statement, she contended that her comments were being misrepresented.
“I have never, ever, ever said ‘Israel is the common enemy of humanity’,” Albanese told the broadcaster.
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