AVID Annual Report 2022

Co-Directors Report

2022 was a year of flux and political instability. In April, the Nationality and Borders Act came into law; the plans, attempts and stalling of deportations to Rwanda followed shortly after; there was a U-turn on the government’s commitment to a reduction in detention which had preceded the pandemic; and a new category of detention centre (Residential Holding Rooms) was quickly added in an amendment to the Short-Term Holding Facility Rules following the breach of those same rules in Manston. The effects rippled through the detention estate as we lurched from one crisis to another resulting in protests, fear and the tragic loss of life.  

In the midst of all of this, we have been discussing our strategy at AVID with the hope of providing a plan that can proactively work towards our mission – to end the human suffering caused by immigration detention. Not an easy feat when there is so much reactive work to do. However, it is in this process that we have found hope, clarity and a sense of direction. What has provided this sense is the constant in our work, that constant being that visitors keep on visiting. Some of these visitors have been visiting for more than two decades and have seen both the transience of political trends as well as the pains of detention which remain the same. Likewise, for as long as there has been detention there have been people in local communities who have seen something that they know to be wrong and been unable to look away. It is this that we focused on when setting out our strategy – the unique role of visitors and how we, at AVID, can maximise this position to build the types of communities which visitors show us are possible.  

First and foremost, visitors provide humanity and care in a bureaucratic and faceless system. Recently, we hosted a session with people who have been impacted by detention to gather feedback on a resource we were creating. Those at the session explained the trauma caused by the immense weight of power which has no clear source, but which keeps you locked up, senselessly and without accountability. Meeting a person who cares in this context and who can provide you with the information that you need is unquantifiable.  

At a training session we hosted with Durham Visitors Group last year, a group who visit women held in Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre (IRC), one of the newly trained visitors recounted her first visit. She explained how she felt on entering the centre, going through security and being given a beaker as she waited in the visit's hall. She felt angry on behalf of women who she met and who were caught between the fear of being deported and the strain of imprisonment. She finished by saying that, despite the discomfort she felt, she did not want this feeling to change because it acts as an important reminder of what is wrong with this system and the need for people like her to be aware of what is happening in their local communities. However small the act of visiting might seem; entering on these terms is an important disruption to the norms that sustain detention.

Having a presence in places of detention - which are largely hidden from public view and operate in isolated areas - is vital. This became evident during the crisis in Manston last year. During this time, we were contacted by lawyers, the media, other national charities and independent monitoring bodies seeking information and to connect with people who were, or had been, detained in Manston. We were able to connect these groups with other groups in our network who were working, or had worked, with people previously detained in Manston. Whilst political and media attention move at speed, the consistent presence of visitors is important to build understanding of the daily realities of detention and make sure this information gets to the right place so that change can happen. As an example of this, in October of last year one of our members, Gatwick Detainee Welfare Group (GDWG), launched the findings of their Walking Inquiry into Immigration Detention at a parliamentary reception in Westminster. The Walking Inquiry had been prompted by the Brook House Inquiry following the revelations of extensive mistreatment and abuse in Brook House IRC in 2017. At the launch, a cross-party section of MPs and Peers agreed that there must be an end to indefinite detention as they heard from heard from staff, visitors and people with lived-experience of detention from GDWG.  

On the question of how we can maximise this unique position of visitors, 2022 was a chance for us – post-pandemic – to consolidate our purpose as a central point for visitor groups. We continue to see the need for support and advice in an environment that is ever complex and difficult to navigate. In 2022, we supported groups as they adjusted to changes in drop-in procedures following the pandemic. A small network, relationships remain key to the way that we work, and we readily travelled across the UK to meet and shadow groups on their visits. The pandemic had, in many ways, engendered closer working relationships between our members due to the opportunity to meet regularly online and discuss shared challenges. We have pursued different ways to share knowledge across our network and utilise the strength of its diversity, hosting regular network sharing sessions. A particular highlight was our Members Convening in November which brought our members together to reflect on our shared values and what binds us together beyond the act of visiting. This has led to a significant milestone in the form of our Members Charter which articulates seven core values that we are committed to in our work with people in detention. These values are community; solidarity; anti-racism and anti-oppression; lived-experience led; care and accountability; dignity; and independence.  

The commitment to these values necessitates that we see our work within the wider movement and towards a future without immigration detention. With this in mind – and in the face of an acutely hostile environment – we will mark out a forward-looking path with confidence that others will follow and that humanity will have the last word.

Annual Report