Activists protest barge in the UK!
British authorities had another stock coming when protesters gathered in Cornwall to protest the Bibby Stockholm barge that is expected to be home to 500 male migrants.
Daily Mail reports that the Bibby Stockholm had arrived earlier in the month and is undergoing a refitting process before being re-berthed in Portland harbor where it will be used to house male asylum seekers.
However, local groups, including Cornwall Resists, Divest Borders Falex, Falmouth and Penryn Welcomes Refugees, Radical Pride and Reclaim the Sea combined to denounce the Home Office scheme. The groups had gathered outside the dry dock where the ship is being refitted waving banners carrying slogans like ”no floating prisons”, ”shame on Suella” and ”don’t work for torture corporations”.
A spokesperson for Cornwall Resists said ”We are so proud of all the groups coming together to oppose the Bibby Stockholm being refitted in our town, and to say loudly and clearly that Cornwall welcomes refugees.”
Another statement from Reclaim the Sea stated “Many asylum seekers and people on the move experienced the sea-related trauma on one or multiple occasions. To house them in a floating prison barge risks re-traumatising people who are already vulnerable and deserve our solidarity and support, not hate and hostility.”
According to the Home Office, the Bibby Stockholm will be used to provide basic and functional accommodation as well as healthcare and catering facilities for male asylum seekers when it berths in Portland.
The Government is promising to pay local councils up to 3,500 pounds per migrant to accept barges in their ports. But it still faces stiff local opposition
