Cambridgeshire Against Refugee Detention Refugees are not criminals. Liberty is a fundamental human right, like asylum. As a general rule, detention of asylum-seekers is not acceptable. The entrance to the Oakington detention centre.
Refugees are among the most vulnerable members of society.
Fleeing persecution, rape, torture and murder in their home countries, they are entitled by common decency and international law to be welcomed to a new, safer, home. Yet the British government's policy on immigration ensures that when refugees reach these shores, they run into a system designed to turn away as many asylum seekers as possible and to deter them from even attempting to claim asylum. Meanwhile they will be forced to live in housing of the government's choosing, with no opportunity to move closer to relatives in Britain or to similar ethnic communities. Opponents of refugee detention from across the country demonstrate against the Oakington detention centre. But perhaps most worrying is the increased use of forced detention to hold asylum seekers while their claims are processed.