RESIDENTS from the Penally Military Training Camp which is being used to house asylum seekers has been subject to yet another protest today (Nov 11). But this time it is the camp residents themselves who have donned placards and vented their anger – they say they are being held in ‘prison like conditions’.
In a statement issued today the residents of the camp said: “We are camp residents; we live in very difficult conditions in very cold weather.
“The camp is very old and dilapidated and not intended for asylum seekers and refugees.
“The large number of asylum seekers inside the camp prevent us from social distancing and avoiding coronavirus.
“There are six to eight people in a small room without any privacy. Facilities like showers and toilets are far away and we need to walk long distances in the rain and stormy weather to
reach them.
“We wait for a long time in line to get meals in the rain and there is a lack of access to health care.
“The problem was exacerbated by the recent lockdown. We demand that we be moved to housing.
“Refugees should not be placed in old military camps.
The statement added: “Thanks to everyone who attended the protest today, and to all those who support it.
“It was a beautiful day that expresses the freedom of the visionary and the rejection of racism.
“We hope that our voice will reach the decision-makers and humanity. This is the first day and not the last.”
Stand Up To Racism, West Wales who helped organise the demonstration said: “We stand in full support and solidarity with the Penally asylum seekers demands.
“The ex-military camp at Penally Pembrokeshire, now housing up to 240 male asylum seekers, is a completely unsuitable home for vulnerable people fleeing war and oppression.
“Although the men can leave the camp in small numbers between 10am and 10pm, the camp is effectively being used as a detention centre or, as the men call it, a prison.
“We believe this to be completely unacceptable and we call on the Home Office to close the camp and transfer the men to comfortable and suitable homes.
“The conditions in the camp are appalling and are an immediate threat to both physical and mental health.
“It is not acceptable for the far-right to attempt to exploit the suffering of refugees for their own racist agenda, and we condemn their presence at Penally Camp, nor is it acceptable for Wales, as a nation of Sanctuary, to be used by the UK Home Office as a site for inhumane and unacceptable accommodation for asylum seekers.
“We will work to ensure that Wales remains a Nation of Sanctuary, and that refugees are welcome in Wales.
The group added a plea for support, stating: “Please attend our Welcome Event at Penally in support of the Refugees on Saturday 14 November at 12pm.”
