Migrants living in London hotels have been subjected to sudden changes of accommodation, provided with out-of-date food and forced to share one washing machine between 300 people, areport has found.
Migrant Voice spoke to almost 180 people about their experiences arriving in the UK.
The charity raised concerns about everything from the poor quality of their food, to cramped accommodation and inadequate toilet and washing facilities, which it says has exacerbated physical and mental health problems for many arrivals, some of whom are seeking asylum.
One spoke about how residents from at least two floors were forced to share one shower, said the report.
“Another reported 24 people sharing one communal toilet on a different floor,” it added.
“A significant concern raised, which goes against reported Home Office statements regarding the standard and “luxuriousness” of the hotels used, is staff behaviour. Asylum seekers have reported being subjected to verbal abuse, racist comments and threats in some hotels.”
The “vast majority” of survey respondents had spent at least six months in their hotel, resulting in some developing depression and attempting suicide.
“The asylum seekers we spoke to consistently reported feeling stripped of any power or control over their lives by the way they were treated,” said the report.
“They saw no end in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel. Having escaped war, persecution or other violence, they are stranded in rooms shared with strangers, forbidden from working while waiting for an asylum decision; struggling to afford bare necessities such as toiletries and medicine; often unable to speak English and with no language courses available, and forced to eat poor-quality food every day.”
The picture is in stark contrast to the description of the conditions painted by ministers, who have spoken about how asylum seekers are being put up in “luxury rooms”.
“‘Hotel Britain’ must end and be replaced with simple, functional accommodation that does not create an additional pull factor,” said Britain’s Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.
Migrants at immigration processing centre in Manston - in pictures
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A person gestures through a fence at the immigration processing centre in Manston, Kent in southern England. Reuters -
Security staff work to cover the view of people thought to be migrants in the Manston centre. PA -
An aerial view of the facility in Manston. PA -
Seven hundred people were moved to the centre for safety reasons after incendiary devices were thrown at a Border Force migrant centre in Dover on Sunday. Reuters -
A man holds up a baby in the immigration processing centre. Reuters -
A woman at the Manston centre. Reuters -
A tent inside the processing centre. Reuters -
The entrance to the Manston immigration holding facility. AP
The country recently announced plans to house up to 500 migrants on a giant barge off the coast of Dorset.
The Home Office said the three-storey Bibby Stockholm would provide “basic and functional accommodation, healthcare provision and catering facilities” along with 24/7 security under government plans to reduce the £5.6 million ($6.9 million) a day bill on hotel accommodation for migrants, housing 500 single adult males while their claims are being processed.
Round-the-clock security would be in place on board “to minimise the disruption to local communities,” the Home Office added.
About 51,000 asylum seekers are currently in temporary accommodation such as hotels as the government tackles a backlog of claims.
“The increased use of contingency accommodation has been blamed on the increase in 'small boat crossings' in the Channel,” said the Migrant Voice report.
“However, the number of Channel crossings does not explain how, despite nearly 10,000 more applications being submitted in 2002 than in 2022, 84,132 compared to 74,751, the number of initial decisions dropped from more than 99 per cent of applications to 25 per cent.
“Meanwhile, the much publicised 'backlog' of asylum claims has grown over recent years, despite the number of applications remaining relatively static within much of the same period and the number of caseworkers processing them increasing from 260 in the year ending March 2016 to 614 in March 2022.”
