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Protesters rally against refugees detention in UK

Protesters gather outside the Yarl’s Wood detention center to call for release of refugees. (File photo)

Hundreds of activists have gathered in front of a refugee detention center in the United Kingdom, calling for the release of the refugees being held in the camp.

Demonstrators were marching in front of Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Center near Bedford on Saturday.

They were calling for the closure of the camp, which is house to at least 400 refugees and asylum seekers, who are facing deportation to their home countries

"There is absolutely no need for these immigration detention centers at all,” said an activist. “It's just [that] our government makes vulnerable people like immigrants and asylum seekers a scapegoat for the problems in this country.”

Protesters were also holding banners reading "Shut it down," "Smash all borders" and "Resist deportation."

The demonstration was also joined by people detained inside the camp, who were seen waving and holding signs to the outside from the windows. They were beating on windows, while holding signs reading "Save us."

Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack, read a manifesto in front of the detention center on Friday, saying “Detaining asylum seekers is inhumane, costly and totally unnecessary.”

“Women who are coming to the UK seeking refuge are being detained in appalling conditions in centers like Yarl’s Wood, often for years with no end to their incarceration in sight,” she added.

The Green Party has vowed to end immigration detention, starting with the release of the most vulnerable female asylum seekers, who have experienced rape, sexual abuse or torture.

Britain has one of the largest networks of refugee detention facilities in the European continent.


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