In the aftermath of the fire at the Napier barracks in Kent, asylum seekers’ unsanitary and unsafe appalling living conditions were revealed once again. The overcrowding and poor hygiene made it impossible for people to remain safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Similar conditions were earlier found by Red Cross at Penally barracks, Wales, where 200 asylum seekers were housed. Medical care was also lacking in both places. Asylum seekers have protested repeatedly and some went on hunger strike, to no avail.
The housing of asylum seekers in overcrowded and poorly-facilitated barracks and hostels by profit-making contractors is the trademark of anti-asylum, anti-migrant policies seen across Britain and Europe. Brexit or not, Britain has a lot in common with the continent in terms of hostility to “outsiders”.
Europe’s colonial legacy ensures the lasting racial arrangement of space: people from former colonies are being allocated living space segregated from society in postcolonial Europe.
