January Walking Inquiry Thoughts

Walking Inquiry - What is it like to be in detention?

Waiting

Isolation

Uncertainty

Alone

No comprehension

Loss of hope

Faith not enough

Fear of staying

Fear of having to go

Addiction

No control

Indefiniteness

Locked in

Fear

Aggression

Time stopped

No power to change anything

UNACCEPTABLE - INHUMAN - INJUST - DEGRADING - UNJUSTIFIABLE

Walking Inquiry - What does it mean to be an ally of someone who has experienced detention?

Accepting people who have experienced detention as they are

Welcoming people who have experienced detention into all settings as equals

Seeing a person who has experienced detention as a person, not just a refugee/detainee

Listening carefully, patiently, actively to what the person wants to say

Reading, talking, watching, listening - learning and unlearning

Informing yourself so you can inform others

Stepping closer to understanding and empathising

Amplifying stories, experience, insight

Giving your time, energy, thought, voice

Challenging your own assumptions

Accepting criticism with grace, even when it's uncomfortable

Don't behave as though you know what is best for people who have experienced detention - but do empower them to take control again

Don't expect those who have experienced detention to educate you on their struggles - but do amplify whatever you learn from them

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor" Desmond Tutu

Walking Inquiry - questions prompted in me

Is Britain a place of safety?

Why do we detain people? How does the government justify it?

"Have you still got breath for life?"

—Anonymous