Last Day In London, First Day In Dungeon

In this repost from his blog Carry On, Abdelhay Tali reflects on his experience of being arrested under Immigration Act powers in London, UK, and his transport to Dover Immigration Removal Centre. You can follow Abdelhay on Twitter @TaliAbdelhay and like Carry On on Facebook.

I do not remember many details about the day I was arrested in, but I remember well when I got into the van, I also have a clear picture of the glass barrier that separated between me and immigration men, the barrier that made me realize that I’m not considered as a normal person, not anymore.

 

 

In the van; many thoughts and questions went through my mind, I had absolutely no idea what is going to happened to me? at the same time, I was still in shock. I surprisingly remember a yellow sticker on the side of the window that says they are recording video and audio in the van for my safety.

I spent five hours in one of London’s centers, then someone entered the room and told me that they have decided to take me to Dover Removal Center, again, I had to get into one of those vans as I hate to do so, suddenly I remembered that I left my Quran book in my bag, so I asked a woman to get it for me, she said I can go outside the van and get it myself because she would not touch it because of her respect for religious differences, such a simple and respectful deed got stuck in my memory, we do not forget when we are humiliated, then we should not forget when someone, anyone, treats us with respect. Wherever she is now, I would like to say thank you to her.

I got into the van and we left London.

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How to cite this blog post (Harvard style):

Tali A (2014) Last Day In London, First Day In Dungeon. Available at: http://bordercriminologies.law.ox.ac.uk/last-day-in-london/ (Accessed [date]).