London: A Syrian refugee in Britain who was deported to Rwanda has said he would commit suicide if sent back to the East African country.
The man, identified as Khalid, is being held at the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Center along with several others being deported to Rwanda.
he told The Guardian: “Everyone here is under a lot of stress because of Rwanda. We can’t eat and can’t sleep. I was displaced and imprisoned in Syria for nine years and was also detained and tortured in Libya.
“Being in custody is very arousing for me. It is important for asylum seekers to remain safe. I will not be safe in Rwanda. If they succeed in sending me there, I will commit suicide after reaching that country.
Khalid has been in the UK since 2022, and learned that he could be sent to Kigali for the first time in February 2023. He was detained for deportation purposes last week.
“They arrested me and handcuffed me in the police cell. The same thing happened to two other people who were reporting – Iraqi Kurds. After being taken out of the cell, we were handcuffed again and taken to the detention center in a van,” he said.
“I’ve been trying to see a doctor at the detention center because of an infection in my leg that requires antibiotics, but I haven’t been able to get an appointment yet.”
Another asylum-seeker, who did not give his name, and who came to the UK from Sudan in 2022, told The Guardian that he had traveled through the Mediterranean and that the boat he was on almost sank.
“I would have been happy to claim asylum in Italy but the Italian authorities did not fingerprint me and told me to go to France. There I was told it would take four years for them to consider my asylum claim so I waited in the woods of Calais to be flown to the UK. Crossing the Channel in a packed boat was even scarier than crossing the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.
“I was very scared when I heard about the government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda as early as 2023.
“I fled an African country because it was not safe and I am very afraid of being deported to another African country because I know it would not be safe for me.
“I was arrested last week when I went to report in Newcastle. They didn’t mention Rwanda until I reached the detention center and at first just said, ‘We are sending you to a safe third country.’
Both men told The Guardian they were struggling to contact legal representatives while in detention, with a seven-day deadline set for people wishing to appeal the Home Office’s decision to send them to Rwanda Was.
The charity Care4Calais has published data showing that the majority of the more than 100 people detained for deportation to Rwanda come from war zones.
Hannah Harwood, the charity’s head of legal outreach, said: “The asylum claims of those detained have not been processed, and from the first group we have been in contact with it is clear that if their claims were processed “So they will probably be granted refugee status.” the UK. This confirms how shameful the Rwanda plan is and why it must be stopped.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the welfare of people in our care extremely seriously. Strong safeguards are in place to ensure everyone is treated with respect and gets the support they need.
“All detained persons have access to mobile phones, the Internet and landline telephones so that they can keep in touch with friends, family and other support.”