When the Black Woman's Rape Action Project sent out an alert, that Janipher had contacted them from Yarl's Wood and told them her babies had been removed, they emailed the local La Leche League group for breastfeeding support advice.
The local leader, sent it on to me, as last time I'd been asked to drive baby supplies up to Yarl's Wood, by them, for a mother who'd arrived with no clothes, I said I'd set up a support group for pregnant women and nursign mothers in asylum, to get things like sanitary pads and breast pads.
Well, I got half way into setting the support group up - Nursing Matters - and my computer blew up and we never all got back to finishing it and getting up and running.
So she emailed me, to alert me, and see if I could help. As I'm four miles from Yarl's Wood,a nd home all day takign care fo my disabled husband and my two year old... I just ended up being the local contact point.
So it went from an email, to takign over my life, in the past week.
And the thigns I've seen and heard abut in the last week.... I'm ashamed to be British.
There was a women taken for deportation a few weeks back, and the guards stripped her naked and beat her to make her let go of doors. They threw her in the back fo the van,a nd turned up at the airport, with her still naked and bleeding. The pilot of the plane, refused to take her on board, without clothes. So they threw her back i the van - still naked, and drove her back to Yarl's Wood. Where it took them three hours to call a Dr, for her cuts and bruises were 'superficial'.
No, I'm not making it up. :-(
I'm just so ashamed.... I knew things were difficult for asylum women... I had no idea... I'm just so ashamed...
Morgan