Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group

Trustee

“I wanted to be a trustee to be able to empower other people who are going through difficulty in their lives now, as far as detention is concerned. I want to encourage them to hold on.”

Visitor

“When my friend told me about people being in detention in the UK, I thought I would visit and tell people: I went through this experience and it gets better.”

Senior Advocacy Co-ordinator

“I remember one man. His case seemed black and white. He was clearly a victim of torture, and was from a minority ethnic group and we knew there was an issue there and his life would be in danger but still his case was refused. Each time he was taken to the airport in a van not knowing what would happen but expecting to die if he was taken back to his country. He was eventually released from detention. His experience showed the way people are relentlessly and constantly ground down.”

Writer and Comedian, Supporter of GDWG

“When I see people being deported for no other reason than the colour of their skin, the fact that they are poor and without influence or agency, I ache for what is happening to them, but I also hate what we are allowing ourselves to become when we allow it to happen as we watch. We need to do better, as humans, as society; in our neighbourhoods, in our nation, in our world.”

“Over 25 years, the work of the Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group has required much empathy, experience and patience in assisting those whose lives have been shattered by appalling circumstances… For those who have often been deeply traumatised, who may have lost all trust and witnessed systemic failings, GDWG shines out as a beacon of hope in a troubled world.”