SERCO-MPLICIT

Around 70 women migrants on hunger strike against their treatment at Yarl’s Wood detention centre are being supported by a solidarity hunger strike by students and campaigners.

The women began the hunger strike last Thursday (4th), calling for an end to detention and appealing to the UK Border Agency to allow enough time and resources for residents to present their cases.

On Monday (8th) guards broke the protest up violently, locking most of the women in a corridor for around eight hours without access to food, water or medical care. Even after some women started to collapse they refused to help, preferring instead to stand around laughing at the sight of desperate woman having to urinate on the corridor floor. There are reports that 20 women who climbed out of a window were beaten and held in isolation. One of the hunger strikers said, “Many guards behave like we are in prison. They should go to the army, this place is not for them.”

After the hunger strikers were removed to their wings, the Home Office tried to falsely claim the strike had ended. As calls from the strikers flooded in contradicting the claim, four of the women were taken to Bedfordshire police station before being removed to Colnbrook short term holding centre.

Yarl’s Wood is run by private firm Serco. Jane Peder, a campaigner against Yarls Wood, said, “Serco is running Yarl’s Wood as a business at the cost of women and families who come to the UK to ask for protection. Serco staff are acting as front-line immigration staff - they clearly overstepped their capacities and need to be held accountable for their actions against the women.”

The campaigners began their hunger strike outside Serco’s London offices on Wednesday (10th) morning ahead of a planned solidarity demo at 2.30pm today (12th).

*For further info contact noborderslondon@riseup.net