Reading the news of a death at Brook House (Man dies in detention at immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport, 28 October), I couldn’t help but think of the many people I met while I was detained there who had no voice or support, and were fading into oblivion. So many lives have been destroyed by detention.
My time spent in Brook House was a nightmare. The conditions were horrendous in every aspect of the word. People were swallowing razor blades in front of me in desperation. I became desensitised to the violence I saw every day and the constant suicide attempts that I witnessed, which became normalised throughout the day. Someone I played dominoes with tried to hang themselves above me while I was eating breakfast.
People are lost and confused, and some clearly do not have the mental capacity to navigate the system. It’s like blurred faces – the system makes you feel like no one, like you have lost everything. I feel sad and privileged to be writing this outside of detention while many are still suffering and some will never make it out. That’s the sad truth. I can’t believe I survived it.
Name and address supplied
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
