Torture survivor warns migrant barge at Portland is a 'human rights disaster'

Sepideh Sahar is from an action group called Freedom from Torture

Author: Maria GreenwoodPublished 20th Sep 2023
Last updated 20th Sep 2023

A survivor of torture has visited Portland Port to deliver a warning to the Government, that its migrant barge is a human rights disaster.

Ever since the scheme was announced, clinicians at Freedom from Torture have been warning the Government that housing torture survivors and refugees on barges is a “physical and mental health catastrophe waiting to happen”.

The Bibby Stockholm arrived in Dorset in July.

Since then the Fire Brigades Union have condemned the barge as a “potential death trap” and has since brought legal proceedings against the Government.

At the end of August, all 39 refugees were removed from the barge following the discovery of life-threatening Legionella.

Refugees who were on board the Bibby Stockholm have spoken of the impact it had on their mental and physical health, with reports of one person trying to take their own life.

Sepideh Sahar, Survivors Speak OUT Assistant Consultant at Freedom from Torture, said:

“I know how it feels to live in isolated and institutionalised accommodation, and I am deeply concerned by the decision to cram refugees onto a barge. It’s inhumane, unsafe and unacceptable.

"Once again, this Government has shown the world how cruel they can be to vulnerable people in their time of need. People fleeing torture and war need to be given sanctuary. Instead of being isolated in inappropriate accommodation, they need to be housed in the communities with access to support and services, where they can have a real chance to rebuild their lives in safety.”

Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland Port

Ann Salter, Clinical Services Manager at Freedom from Torture, said:

“Even before fire fighters condemned the Bibby Stockholm as a “potential deathtrap”, and before life-threatening bacteria was discovered, we’ve been warning that packing refugees onto barges is a mental and physical health catastrophe waiting to happen.

“The Government must abandon this plan immediately, and instead address the asylum backlog which has been allowed to spiral out of control. We need survivors of torture to be housed within the communities, where they have proper access to medical care, legal access and other services, and a chance to rebuild their lives.”

Downing Street has defended the use of barges to house migrants, insisting it is a cheaper alternative to housing them in hotels.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said:

"The Home Secretary and I have been clear that the use of expensive hotels to house those making unnecessary and dangerous journeys must stop.

"We will not elevate the interests of illegal migrants over the British people we are elected to serve.

"We have to use alternative accommodation options, as our European neighbours are doing - including the use of barges and ferries to save the British taxpayer money and to prevent the UK becoming a magnet for asylum shoppers in Europe."

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