Migrant complains about bloody fights at British asylum center

The place has already earned a bad reputation

In the British refugee center Wethersfield in the north of Essex, something terrible is happening: every night fights break out between migrants of different nationalities. The complaint comes after asylum seekers staged a protest over the centre’s “prison-like conditions”. People simply do not have warm clothes and bed linen, and there is also a lack of qualified medical care.

The anonymous asylum seeker said there were “many, many problems” at the center on a former military base, adding that “nobody in the camp feels safe.” The fact is that in the center of Wethersfield almost every night fights break out between migrants of different nationalities.

One video obtained by the Daily Mail shows chairs scattered and the face of one person involved in the confrontation covered in blood.

These facts began to be recorded after migrants housed in the center staged a recent protest against the “prison” conditions. About 40 men demonstrated, complaining they had no access to doctors, were freezing and could not contact their families.

During the protest, they loudly chanted: “Wrong plan, wrong place” and “It’s like a prison.”

A UK Home Office spokesman said: “Fighting and any form of vandalism in Wethersfield is completely unacceptable.” A government source said the number of incidents was small.

But the statements are at odds with reality. An asylum seeker, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC: “Almost every night there are fights with other nationalities because there are so many people there.”

Several minibuses carrying migrants to the nearby centers of Colchester, Braintree and Chelmsford allegedly had their windows broken and damaged at the base.

The country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs promised to “continue close cooperation with our provider to ensure appropriate behavior of people on site”: “The safety of people remains our top priority.”

The notorious center began housing asylum seekers in July. Braintree District Council has failed to stop the Home Office from using a former military base to house up to 1,700 men seeking asylum.

Residents fiercely opposed the plan and Braintree District Council challenged the site in court, arguing it was unsuitable.

Earlier last month, the High Court said it would defer its decision to a later date after a two-day hearing.

Local resident and campaigner David Price, who is leading the protest in Wethersfield, told the BBC of one center resident’s complaint: “It’s too cold. We can’t live there. We have nothing, we don’t have the Internet.”

The man was unable to speak to his family for four months, he said, adding that many of the protesters had rashes on their bodies.