Shehab is a poet from Yemen who spent time in Napier Barracks, Folkeston in the UK. It’s one of two military sites the UK government send asylum seekers. Residents describe it as worse than a prison. Where nobody knows how long they’ll be kept there.
There’s been several court cases to try and close the place down, citing poor sanitation, lack of access to adequate medical care and legal advice, and severe overcrowding. The mental health strain on the people forced to stay there is particularly inhumane as many of these people are already dealing with the fallout from war, torture and displacement.
Shehab reads two of his poems, the first a love poem, and the second, a letter poem he wrote while living in Napier.
Huge thanks to Shehab for sharing his poetry with us. If you want to find out more about the situation in the camps in the UK, go to closethecamps.uk – they’ve a link on there to a petition you can sign as well from Freedom From Torture.
