A warzone charity has started working in Britain for the first time as it moves in to help migrants held in a asylum centre.
Medicinies Sans Frontieres medics are treating and assessing the physical and mental health of the men being held at the Wetherside barracks in north Essex.
The charity started work at the former military base alongside Doctors of the World in September and has become worried about the living conditions in the ‘extremely remote site’.
An anonymous asylum seeker previously complained about fights erupting between men at the centre in – with chairs thrown and one man suffering a bloodied face.
They said the centre on the former military base ‘has many, many problems’, adding that ‘no one on the camp is feeling safe’.
Migrants housed at the centre staged a protest in November over ‘its ‘prison-like’ conditions, complaining they were freezing due to poor clothing and bedding and didn’t have access to doctors.
Scuffles between different migrant groups are a regular occurrence, an asylum seeker at Wethersfield said
Temporary accommodation units housing migrants are pictured on the MDP Wethersfield Ministry of Defence facility
Around 650 asylum seekers are housed in the refurbished barracks and portable buildings at the former RAF base – a fraction of the 1,700 the government wants to place there.
‘We know from our work around the world that harsh deterrence policies, such as holding people seeking sanctuary in mass containment sites, is a recipe for disaster which ultimately costs lives,’ said Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, who has been running the project at the site.
‘This has sadly come to pass on Bibby Stockholm. Many of the men held in Wethersfield will likely have experienced violence, war, arbitrary detention and other trauma and will require tailored and specialised healthcare.
‘Everyone who reaches the UK in search of sanctuary needs safe and dignified accommodation in the community, not in isolated military barracks.’
A few of the minibuses transporting the migrants to the nearby centres of Colchester, Braintree and Chelmsford have allegedly had their windows smashed and damaged on the base.
Simon Tyler, Doctors of the World UK Executive Director, said: ‘A consequence of the broken asylum system is that we are now seeing people forced into containment sites that operate like open prisons.
‘These camps are not a sustainable solution for anyone there stuck in limbo, or the local communities.
‘But an efficient and safe process can exist to allow people to rebuild, be active, and look after their own health.
‘Our medical team on the ground is supporting those affected access medical care as needed, with the welcomed collaboration of MSF.’
In November, about 40 men demonstrated outside MDP Wethersfield in Essex, complaining they didn’t have access to doctors, were freezing and unable to contact their families.
They noisily chanted ‘Wrong plan, wrong place’ and ‘It’s like a prison’ during the protest.
Around 650 asylum seekers are housed in the refurbished barracks and portable buildings at the former RAF base – a fraction of the 1,700 the government wants to place there
Last month about 40 men demonstrated outside MDP Wethersfield in Essex over their living conditions
An asylum seeker has previously said the centre on the former military base ‘has many, many problems’, adding that ‘no one on the camp is feeling safe’
Care4Calais has instructed lawyers at Duncan Lewis Solicitors to take legal action against the Home Office and accused it of unlawfully segregating asylum seeker at the Wethersfield base, which it describes as a ‘prison camp’.
The charity has raised £32,517 towards a £50,000 target to pay for legal costs.
Braintree District Council did not manage to stop the Home Office from using the former military base to house up to 1,700 single male asylum seekers.
The plan was furiously opposed by residents and the council challenged the site at a judicial review, arguing it is not suitable.
The High Court said it was reserving its judgement until a later date, following a two-day hearing.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We continue to meet our legal obligations and provide accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
‘The accommodation provided meets all relevant housing and health and safety standards.
‘All residents at Wethersfield have access to medical support, including mental health support, and a 24/7 helpline provided by Migrant Help is available to raise any concerns.’
Asylum seekers started being housed on the large Wethersfield site in July.