Administrative detention, An awful reality!

and what will be their future?

special centre Schiphol Oost

administrative detention, what ?

• border detention. art. 6 of the Dutch aliens law, entrance in the Netherlands refused

• people who should return, not allowed to stay in the Netherlands. art. 59, and who did not leave the country within 28 days.– illegal stay is no crime– special detention centres– no special regime!

Locations in the Netherlands

• Schiphol Oost ( Art. 6)

• Uitzetcentrum Zestienhoven

• Alphen aan de Rijn

• Boat in Dordrecht

• Boat in Zaandam

• Zeist

Zeist

numbers of detainees

• 200512.485

• 200612480

• 2007 9.595

• 2008 8.585

unaccompanied minors

• In detention to be expelled, and to be protected for disappearing ( trafficking)

• About 180 minors in 2008.

• Special unit in a youth detention centre with special programmes for boys

• Girls are spread over the common detention centres.

data 2008

• detained persons 8.585

• detained time– < 3 month 72% 6181 persons– 3-6 month 12% 1030 persons– 6-9 month 9% 773 persons– 9-12month 5% 427 persons– 12-18nonth 2% 171 persons

data 2008

• 45% of the detained persons mob, this means administrative gone ( illegal and detained again?)

• 220 persons got a permit to stay of them 80 got a regular asylum status.

• 22.000 times a detained person was seen by a judge ( monthly event) in 2300 cases the detention was (no longer) allowed by the judge

Top 5 nationalities detained migrants in 2008

• art.59• unknown 1490• Iraq 520• China

500• Morocco 480• Turkey

430

• art. 6• Surinam 160• China 80• Nigeria 70• Unknown 60• Brazil 20

regime

• Same, but more sober regime as in the centres for criminals ( costs 165 Euro a day)

• Cells open 8.00 -17.00h, midday 1hour locked

• visit 2 hours, library1 or 2 times, on the air 7 hours, some creative hours, chaplain once or twice a week.

Regime

• Microwave food

• 7.50 Euro pocked money pro week

• once or twice a week shops

• second hand cloths

• only organisations who work with return programmes are allowed to come in

• cells of 2 or 4 persons

remarkable

• a lot mental disease• activities to trace victims of trafficking• visitors names are mentioned to the

police, they come and question visitors about the identity of the detained migrant

• Isolation used as punishment• No answers of directors of prisons.• No right to speak about what happens in

the centres for volunteers and workers.

Feelings of the detained migrant

• The detainees spend the day hanging in front of the television. All day long and even at night, they are looking out through the small windows. It is also very noisy indoors, so that sleeping quietly is out of the question. “A trauma, those days,” he says.

• The detainees get ready-made meals for the microwave. Much food ends up in the bin, but he eats the meals, because he has not got any money, and he does not want to get ill.

Feelings of the detained migrants

• . Two times he was put into the isolation cell by order of the doctor for a couple of days, which looked like months. In the daytime there was a mattress in the cell, at night he got a pillow and a blanket, which were removed again in the morning.

• He only saw people who brought him his food and medicines. Once a day he was allowed a quarter-of-an-hour airing, and for the rest of the time he stayed in a cell, where the lamp was burning night and day. He is still emotional when he speaks about it.

Feelings of the detained migrant

activities of the churches

• Successful campaign “No children behind bars”.

• Second hand books in all kind of languages.

• Music instruments.

• Empowerment training

• volunteers church groups

activities of churches

• Protest ceremonies at each centre every month

• volunteers visitor group to the chaplains• awareness campaigns by publicity of the

stories detained persons tell.• funding for a special phone line for

complaints about migrant detention• lobby and advocacy at parliament and

government ( examples)

Protest Cermony