Why are people who have experienced detention not heard?

“There’s an obvious physical element - people in detention do not have access to social media. They can’t tell their stories on Facebook or WhatsApp.”

“And even when they are released, they often don’t have access to the technology.”

“At a fundamental level, their silence is embedded in the system. There is a culture of silencing. Because they are locked up, they are removed from the community, they are not seen in any public places. They can’t meet people eg at the school gate or in the street.”

“It’s no accident that Detention Centres are isolated. Members of the general public don’t normally see these centres as they might see a prison building. There is no physical evidence of the detention system - the buildings are hidden away.”

“We in the UK have a history of putting inconvenient people behind barbed wire.” “Yes, think of internment camps during the Second World War…. And very early concentration camps, eg in South Africa, long before the Nazis introduced them in Germany in the 1930s.”

“Getting access to people in detention is hard, even for visiting MPs, and certainly for journalists.” “No cameras or recording devices are allowed in.” “The scenes shown on BBC Panorama were shot illicitly.”

“People are often detained far away from their family and friends - so their isolation is even more marked.”

“The people themselves are silenced, and this may continue long after they are released. They may have no way to speak out for all sorts of reasons - their English may not be good, they may think that they won’t be believed”. “They are usually poor and lacking in all sorts of resources and they certainly feel undervalued and forgotten.” “They feel their voices are not valued.”

“They also feel vulnerable - in case they are detained again, or because they may be subject to racist abuse. They may feel it best to keep their heads down.”

“We - Visitors - need to bear witness. We know that even when we visit, people struggle to communicate with us. They wonder what they are allowed to say. They struggle to find the language.” “Will their truth be believed?”

“We can play a part in championing their voices.” “It’s sometimes hard for us to recall all that people tell us. We must make sure we make notes as it is easy to forget or get muddled.” “This should be part of the training for new visitors.”

— Brighton Visitors' Support Group