23. Napier Barracks: Life inside Britain's first refugee camp

Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration

Do you think of refugee camps as only existing in countries far away? Today’s episode of The Worldwide Tribe podcast is about one right here in the UK: Napier Barracks.

Up on a hill in the seaside town of Folkestone in Kent, lies a disused army barracks built in 1794. It’s red-brick buildings, surrounded by 10-ft fences topped with barbed wire, were actually due for demolition in 2021, until our Home Secretary, Priti Patel, made the decision to repurpose the barracks as accommodation for asylum seekers.

Since September 2020, Napier Barracks has become home to 400 people who have recently arrived to the UK in the hope of finding safety. Instead, they find themselves living in conditions described as inhumane and deeply concerning by the many bodies of experts, groups and individuals who call for the camp’s immediate closure.

Something disturbing is unfolding in this coastal town right now and I believe this should be at the forefront of our attention.

In this episode I talk to two people: one of Napier’s first residents, a poet from Yemen who I will refer to as ‘S’ in order to protect his identity, and Maddie, founder of Humans for Rights Network, who has been collecting testimonials and evidence from Napier’s residents in the hope of getting their voices heard and their basic human needs met.

Napier is one of two ex-army barracks being used in this way. Sign the petition to close Napier Barracks and Penally Barracks here:

https://action.freedomfromtorture.org/close-the-barracks?utm_campaign=21DC011&utm_source=fftinsta&utm_medium=

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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