December 7th 2011 – telephone interview from the 127bis detention centre
Listen to the interview (FR) :
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Tell me, since how long have you been in detention centres?
Since August 29th.
Did you arrive in Belgium that day?
Yes, I arrived to the airport and I applied for asylum. I was brought to the 127bis centre. I stayed there for almost 3 weeks. Then I was given a negative answer. They had foreseen a date for my departure, it was going to be September 23rd. I went to the airport but I refused to be repatriated. Then they sent me to the centre in Bruges where I stayed one month. Then they planned another expulsion. It was on October 20th.
When I arrived to the airport, I explained to them that I had invoked new elements, that my lawyer had sent everything to the social assistant but that she had not forwarded it to the office. How could they repatriate me under such circumstances?
They told me that it was not their problem, that it was the decision of the office, and that I had to leave. As they wanted to expel me, a policeman beat me and I fell on the floor. They tied my feet. They also wanted to tie my hands but since I resisted a policeman beat me in the neck. My head hit the floor and two of my teeth got broken.
They said: “If that’s how it is, we’ll call the airport doctor, he’ll give you an injection, you’ll not understand anything anymore and we’ll take you away like this”.
When the doctor arrived, I refused the injection because I had heard what the sold… sorry, the policemen had said. Hence the doctor did not give me the injection, he asked me to stay calm and he said that the car of the centre was going to come and pick me up.
I went back to the centre in Bruges. It was on a Sunday, there was no doctor so I stayed like that, bleeding…
The day after, the doctor only gave me some pills and a medical certificate. I was put in a cell separated from the group because I had broken teeth, and on the Tuesday they put me in another centre.
Now I’m here in the 127bis.
Which country do you come from?
I am of Congolese origin but I took a plane from Angola.
Did they want to send you back to Angola?
Yes they did.
And did you have your wounds seen by the doctor?
Yes I did, he gave me a certificate.
What are you expecting now? Will you be expelled again?
My lawyer asked for conditional release because of my health. My head hurts and I cannot stay in a detention centre in such a state. The court accepted the release but the foreign office appealed against the decision. I don’t know… I think I will have to stay here in this detention centre.
And how is it in that centre?
For me it is very difficult because I can feel the pain and I can hardly sleep. During the day I’m more or less fine but at night my head gets hot and it beats very hard, and it hurts so much where the teeth are entering the flesh!
Didn’t they make any X-ray?
No they didn’t. The doctor just took note of my wounds.
Do you get any medicine?
They only give me pills for headaches and also sleeping pills. But I can not sleep. All I do is cry.
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