It is now five years since the Rev Alan Gibson suggested that a group be formed to visit detainees at the Immigration Removal Centre at Dungavel House. Since then visitors from our congregation have travelled weekly to Dungavel to spend an hour or so chatting with de-tainees. We are privileged to meet people from many countries and back-grounds. There is no “typical” detainee: some are highly educated and articulate, some dream of completing elementary education. Many are Muslim, many are Christian, some are deeply faithful to their religion, some would not describe themselves as religious; most are young men, but there are many women, older people and, controversially, there exists a family unit which can house children. Many detainees have been in our prison system - they don’t always tell us why, but some have been involved in drug-related offences, theft, social security fraud, and no doubt other crimes. Many detain-ees’ offence has been to arrive in the UK with a false passport and papers. Some have fled from conflict - in Central Africa, Somalia, Af-ghanistan or Kashmir for example; others have come in search of work and economic improvement. Some are very phlegmatic about their situation, some are happy to be going home and look forward to deportation, some are frightened, some are desperate not to return to their homeland, some are un-doubtedly clinically depressed.
My most striking image of the last five years is of a young woman, tears running freely off her chin, as she recounted being assaulted by a militia group, largely because she was the child of a mixed marriage (one parent Hutu, the other Tutsi). Having arrived in the UK she sought political asylum, but was immediately detained. However, many detainees are content, even happy, given their diffi-cult situation. Most of the West Africans we meet (from Ghana or Ni-geria) seem to have a permanent smile and many have a vibrant Christian faith.
Ours is a ministry of being alongside people, listening, offering en-couragement and a hand of friendship. Very often we only see de-tainees once, and we have no idea what happens to them. Just oc-casionally we have been contacted by a minister from London or Bir-mingham or elsewhere, thanking us for meeting with someone from their congregation. This is a ministry with few obvious rewards or results, and yet all of us on the visiting team feel we are enriched by the time we spend with the detainees, and in a small way we are responding to the Gos-pel: “When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you? “ The King will reply, “ Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matt. 25: 39-40).
If you would like to know more of this outreach work please speak to me.
Alison Muntz
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