Kamila Shamsie, Jeanette Winterson, Gillian Slovo, Hanif Kureishi, Ian Rankin and Nick Hornby among dozens of leading writers calling for child detention to end – Petition shoots past 1,500 – 81 MPs join call to end child detention
In today’s Guardian leading writers urge government halt to child detention:
We have been disturbed by Guardian reports (Children made ‘sick with fear’ in UK immigration detention centres, 13 October) about the government’s detention of asylum-seeking children. Doctors’ findings that children at Yarl’s Wood suffered from confusion, fear, sleep problems, headaches, abdominal pain, severe emotional and behavioural problems, illuminate the deceit in UK Border Agency claims that: “Treating children with care and compassion is a priority.” Locking up innocent children in conditions known to harm their mental health is neither caring nor compassionate. Nor is it necessary. Families with children are the very least likely to abscond. Other countries have found more humane arrangements allowing families to stay together in the community while their cases are being considered, or before their return. Asylum-seeking children are already among the most vulnerable members of our society. Detention wrecks young lives. It must stop, now.
Kamila Shamsie, Jeanette Winterson, Gillian Slovo, Ian Rankin, Nick Hornby, Ali Smith, Hanif Kureishi, David Mitchell, Andrea Levy, Hari Kunzru, Joanne Harris, Mohsin Hamid, Liz Jensen, Nadeem Aslam, Chris Cleave, Esther Freud, Patrick McGrath, Louise Doughty,Tash Aw, Hisham Matar, Tahmima Anam,Toby Litt, Nikita Lalwani,Charles Palliser,Pankaj Mishra, Lisa Appignanesi, Peter Hobbs,Rachel Holmes, Alice Albinia, James Runcie, Amanda Craig, Aamer Hussein, Christina Koning,Robyn Scott,Sathnam Sanghera,Marie Phillips,Leon Arden,Yasmin Hai, Richard Hamblyn, Julia Williams,Helen Smith. John Hands,Lorna Gibb, Imran Ahmad,Sue Reid,Michael Newton,Lisa Gee,Clare Sambrook.
In less than a month since its list launch the No10 petition has signed more than 1,500 names (1,557 at time of posting), which is a tremendous achievement. In the meantime 81 MPs have now signed the Mullin and Bottomley early day motion with more names appearing every day, thanks in part to the tremendous media coverage this campaign has so far achieved. There are of course many more MPs who haven’t signed including some who think that detaining children is justified. We need to persuade them that detaining children is never justified under any circumstances – so if your MP says that locking up children is fine by him or her please 1) tell us (our contact details are on the menu column) and 2) write to your local paper, or contact your local radio to say how outraged you are and why you won’t be voting for them at the next election.
