From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Aug 31 2009 - 05:14:13 EDT
'I'm scared, Daddy - what are those policemen doing?'
* <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/karenmcveigh> Karen McVeigh
* <http://www.guardian.co.uk/> guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 August 2009
22.40 BST
Ibrahim Ssentongo, four, is watching cartoons in the living room of his
house in East Ham, London. It has been seven months since he was locked up
in Yarl's Wood detention centre, in Bedfordshire. But despite the best
attempt of his parents to ease the trauma of those 51 days from his mind, it
haunts him still.
Since his release, Ibrahim, who was born in the UK, has become quieter, more
prone to tears. Everyday trips, on the bus, to the shops, along the road,
can trigger fears he struggles to understand.
Ibrahim's father, Stephen Ssentongo, 35, from Uganda, says: "When he sees
people in uniforms of white shirts and black trousers, like bus drivers or
security guards in shopping centres, he thinks they are guards from
detention. He wants to hold your hand or to stand in front of you, so that
you will hold him. He is scared. He says: 'Daddy, the officers are here.'
"When we were there, he would say 'I'm scared, Daddy - what are those
policemen doing? Why do they bang the doors, bang the keys, why do they
shout?' He had very bad moods, he would cry a lot, and he missed his home."
"He is scared whenever he sees a van - he thinks it is the one which took us
to the airport to be deported. He says 'Are they coming for us?' We have
been trying to explain to him that he is OK, that these vans are not the
same van."
"This is why we bought him cartoon videos, to try and help him forget."
Ssentongo, who has lived in London for 11 years, says that both boys lost
weight but his youngest son, Imran, 16 months, lost so much in the centre
that medical staff had to prescribe special cereal for him. The family say
they were told to give the <http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/children>
children water, salt and sugar, instead of paracetamol when they were ill
and had fever and were twice given formula milk that was past its
sell-by-date for him.
Ssetongo says he fled to Britain after being tortured in Uganda where his
brother was killed for opposing the government.
His partner, Ibrahim's mother, Jalia Seremba Oryema, 24, breaks down as she
talks about Yarl's Wood. She said: "They would bang on the doors, shouting
'roll count, roll count' at 5 in the morning, at 12, at 5pm and at 9 at
night, and wake the kids up. If you could go there, you would see, it's
terrible."
The family, whose deportation was halted after they were granted a judicial
review of their case, are still awaiting the outcome.
Bethlehem Abate, 12, from Ethiopia was first taken to Yarl's Wood in
September last year. She says: "When we got inside, it felt as though we
were in prison for doing an awful crime. It was scary. I didn't feel safe.
There were loads of guards watching you everywhere you go. It was hard to do
what you wanted. I didn't sleep. There were loads of children, lots of
babies and it was hard seeing little children. It was hard for me but I
understand what is happening. They have no idea. They don't get the
attention they need and they would cry."
"I felt very angry about the roll counts. You're not going to go anywhere,
we can't go anywhere anyway and they are checking up on us every four hours.
It was very patronising."
"They don't need to lock us up. We have not done any crime."
Bethlehem and her mother, Elsa Temesgen Imbaye, 40, were released after four
days, but then sent back four months later, this time for 15 days.
She said that her experience brought into sharp focus the fate that lay
ahead if they were deported.
"I was afraid for because my mum is Eritrean and I am Ethiopian and she
would not be allowed to stay in Ethiopia. We would be separated and we know
the consequences of that. I would have no one to look after me because my
mum would not be allowed and as for my dad, I don't know where he is. My mum
would be in danger of being killed."
Originally from Eritrea, Temesgen says she had been subjected to violence by
her husband. She has had three unsuccessful asylum claims and is currently
awaiting the outcome of the forth.
Inside Yarl's Wood, Bukola, who was trafficked into the UK from Nigeria,
describes the difficulties of looking after her 11-month-old baby, Sarah.
"It's hard to be a good mother here. At home I play with her, sing to her,
take her out to the shops, to the park. I have a pram, but there's nowhere
to take her unless I want to go round and round the room. I cry most of the
time. I shout at her. I feel like I'm talking to someone older than she is."
"Next month, she is going to be one, it is her first birthday on September 7
and she is going to mark her first year here. That's what's killing me."
Bukola, who did not want to give her second name, has a birth certificate
that says she is 16, but the Home Office do not accept it. They do not
contested her version of events that she was trafficked here three years
ago. Her solicitor believes, because of her personal vulnerability, she has
reasonable grounds to be allowed to remain in the UK.