"In the U.K, an asylum seeker has reportedly died on the Bibby Stockholm barge, according to someone living on the boat, which the government has established as accommodation for migrants.
A person onboard said the asylum seeker was found dead this morning.
It comes as MPs prepare to debate another anti-immigration policy, the plan to send asylum seekers - some who may have been housed on the barge - thousands of miles away to Rwanda."
https://www.itv.com/news/2023-12-12/asylum-seeker-dies-on-bibby-stockholm-barge?
Asylum Seeker found dead on Bibby Stockholm barge, Portland, U.K.
"We don't know cause of death yet, but we do know that every year people seeking asylum die in Home Office placements because of the damage caused to their mental health. Any MP voting for the Rwanda Bill today is voting to make this even worse."
Daniel Sohege,
U.K.
In the U.K., the asylum seeker found dead on the Bibby Stockholm barge is now believed to be suicide.
"The UK government must take responsibility for this human tragedy. They have wilfully ignored the trauma they are inflicting on people who are sent to the Bibby Stockholm.
“This can no longer continue. Asylum seekers are human beings. It’s time our political leaders treated them as human beings, listened to the trauma they have experienced and offered them sanctuary. The government’s proxy war against refugees is costing lives.”
Steve Smith,
Care 4 Calais.
Flowers laid at the Bibby Stockholm in barge in memory of the asylum seeker found dead this morning in a suspected suicide in Portland, U.K.
"So very sad that one of our friends from a distant land has died today. May you rest in peace.
Portland Friendship Group."
There were warnings.
So many warnings.
"This death has not come as a surprise to any of us. People taking their lives is a predictable result of the Home Office’s policy of putting people on the barge.
The longer they keep us here, the more I can see everyone’s mental health deteriorating."
"Resident"
Bibby Stockholm,
Portland,
U.K.
“The message is loud and clear. These men should never be housed on a secluded boat off the coast, they are vulnerable and mentally damaged people who need our care.”
Giovanna Lewis,
Portland Councillor,
U.K.
"Those onboard the Bibby Stockholm brave enough to speak out have said they feel like “victims of a game” played by politicians. It is a game that has appalling human consequences. We should never forget that."
Enver Solomon,
Refugee Council,
UK.
In the U.K.an asylum seeker living on the Bibby Stockholm barge said everyone was "furious" about the incident of a suspected suicide, even more so because management has failed to give any information on the situation.
The man - who remained anonymous - said he and others came to the UK to be free.
"But the reality is we are in the most restricted situation that any asylum seeker could face or experience in the world."
In the U.K, while some rumours are circulating, the name of the asylum seeker who is thought to have committed suicide on the Bibby Stockholm has not yet been confirmed. It was earlier reported that he was a doctor from Cameroon, but this has been denied, and the media reports retracted.
The police and the Home Office do know their identity, and the manner in which they died, yet they won't release that information.
What kind of country is this?
"Mickael Essouma, the asylum seeker I named, was not the individual who sadly died.
“I had been informed by many of the asylum seekers that he had been screaming for help, and that they were sure it was him (it’s now emerged he actually moved rooms).
“If anything it just highlights how many people are really struggling emotionally on the Bibby Stockholm and how inappropriate it is that people are housed there!”
Heather Joans,
Portland Global Friendship Group,
U.K.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/23986298.doctor-cameroon-named-man-died-bibby-stockholm-barge/
"If you are putting people in places like the Bibby Stockholm, which is wholly unsuitable for housing people on a long-term basis, some of the responsibility obviously does lie with the government.
"If you can shake your magic money tree and produce millions of pounds for a monstrosity like Bibby Stockholm, you can shake your magic money tree and use that money to invest in the asylum and immigration system."
Carralyn Parkes,
Mayor of Portland,
U.K.
A prominent human rights activist who has been warned that he may be moved to the Bibby Stockholm barge has said he would prefer to die on the streets than go there.
Yao Hui Charles Yeo, 33 – a lawyer, activist and opposition politician in Singapore – claimed asylum in the UK after being persecuted and imprisoned in his home country. He has Aspergers, a degenerative disc condition, which causes back pain and suffers from trauma as a result of a previous near drowning incident.
"My UK doctor has written to the Home Office to say the Bibby Stockholm is not a suitable place for me due to my Asperger’s, my back problem and my near drowning experience. When I got the letter telling me I was going to the barge I panicked. I would rather die on the street than go to the barge.”
Yao Hui Charles Yeo,
Singaporean Lawyer, Activist, Opposition Politician, U.K. Asylum Seeker and Bibby Stockholm candidate.
“I have made a friend, a fellow migrant. He is the most productive, capable, intelligent person I have ever met and it’s so sad to see his potential squandered because he is not allowed to do anything. It’s killing his spirit and it’s terrible to watch.”
"Resident"
Bibby Stockholm,
U.K.
Growing despair onboard Bubby Stockholm.
“The conditions are getting worse and worse. We are terrified they will unlock the boat and sail it away to Rwanda.”
"Resident"
Bibby Stockholm,
Portland,
U.K.
The U.K. government still haven't released the name of the asylum seeker who committed suicide on board the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland.
They say they are following 'protocol'. What 'protocol' is this?
Is it the 'protocol' of refusing to give a name so we can put a face on the person that the government has driven to suicide with their inhumane treatment?
Is it the 'protocol' of refusing to allow us to humanise those which they are so desperate to dehumanise?
"Dear brother, we are so sorry to lose you."
Portland residents respond to Bibby Stockholm death.
#BibbyStockholm
#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes
"Campaigners are set to host a vigil outside Portland Port to remember an asylum seeker who died on the Bibby Stockholm. Floral tributes and messages have already been laid in memory of the man who died on the barge.
A vigil has been called by Stand Up to Racism Dorset and Cate4Calais for 11.30am on Friday morning (December 15). A minute's silence will be held for the unnamed man to pay tribute to him and the struggles he faced in his life."
Heather of Portland Friendship Group told BBC that this should be the "nail in the coffin" for the Bibby Stockholm.
"We cannot afford to lose more lives. We know the faces and the people behind this policy and I want to reiterate that they are human beings who had a life and lives that mattered. Really mattered."
Charities demand the closure of the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge in Portland, U.K.
"Following the suspected suicide of a person seeking asylum on the Bibby Stockholm on Tuesday, we are calling for the immediate closure of the barge.
It is also vital that the government launches an independent inquiry into the death so that lessons are learned and those responsible are held accountable.
This country must never again house those who come to our shores seeking safety in such an inappropriate and inhumane place."
U.K. charities letter to government.
This Saga of the Bibby Stockholm is never ending. I can't wait for the last verse where it is closed, and then burnt, and then sunk, and then it is no more. The Bibby Stockholm cannot be allowed to darken anybody's shore.
#BibbyStockholm
#UKAsylumPolicy
#RefugeesWelcome
#SafeRoutes
Maybe it can go back to what it was built for, hosting workers from oil rigs, I think.
Or at least workers from another industry, it was fine for that as the accommodation was 1 room 1 person.
