London: Thirteen refugees have committed suicide in the UK in the past two and a half years, while 24 more have attempted suicide in the same period.
A report in The Times found that this included children, such as a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who threw herself from a building and suffered severe head injuries.
Of the 13 who died, all bar one was awaiting a decision on an asylum application, and the other was rejected. They ranged in age from 19 to 45 and included a 21-year-old Russian woman who took her own life by a London canal.
A further 32 cases of serious self-harm by refugees were also recorded by the Home Office during the period in question, with the youngest aged 17 and the oldest aged 48. Among the nationalities represented in the self-harm data were men. Iran, Syria, Libya, South Africa and Turkey.
A Yemeni doctor who claimed asylum in the UK in 2023 told The Times that conditions for refugees in the UK were unsuitable, blaming them for the number of people who self-harmed or attempted suicide.
“The staff members treat you like a kind of criminal – it feels like a prison. You can't get out except at certain hours (and) it's not easy”, she said.
“Many asylum seekers say we are treated like beggars, when many asylum seekers come from high-achieving professions. Overnight you are treated like that – and your life is like this, you don't know how long. Every day for basic human needs or basic rights I never thought I would have to fight.
The length of time and uncertainty surrounding asylum applications in the UK is believed to play a major role in the mental health conditions of asylum seekers in the UK, with more than two-thirds of the 161,000 asylum seekers awaiting initial decisions on their status. Waiting six months for Spring 2023 results.
A Namibian nurse and former UN employee told The Times that she had applied for asylum in the UK in February 2020 but had not received a rejection until August 2023.
During that time, she said, she was “taken out of a safe environment” and moved to a hotel in Glasgow, where six people were stabbed by a Sudanese refugee in June 2022 while she was a resident there.
She said she and others were not offered mental health support after the attack.
“Everything seems like we can't ask questions,” she told the Times. “It's something I've never thought of in Britain. I've never thought in my life that I'd be scared in Britain.
Head of Asylum and Asylum Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Prof. Cornelius Katona told The Times: “People who have been displaced and are seeking refuge and safety may have experienced violence, danger or exploitation and lost loved ones. These can be deeply traumatic experiences and can increase someone's risk of developing mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Asylum seekers face significant housing, employment and economic uncertainty upon arrival in the UK, as well as experiencing difficulty accessing healthcare. All these factors can exacerbate existing mental illness and potentially increase suicide or self-harm.
Although the Home Office provides staff with training to deal with issues including PTSD and suicidal tendencies, questions have also been raised about the suitability of dedicated holding centres, including the former Royal Air Force base at Wethersfield, Essex, where emergency services were called on 38. Separate opportunities in the first five months of 2024.
Medecins Sans Frontieres claims that 41 percent of people on the site have used its medical services citing suicidal thoughts or behavior.
The charity told The Times: “Although there is a clear distinction between hotels and containment sites, often poor living conditions, security failures and extended delays cause people varying levels of suffering and mental health problems.”
A lawsuit brought by four former residents about the site is currently being heard at the High Court in London. There are also allegations that the vessel, the Bibi Stockholm barge, due to be scrapped in January 2025, was unfit for housing refugees after an Albanian man died in December 2023 due to a suspected suicide.
A Home Office spokesman told The Times: “We take the health and well-being of refugees seriously and will try to ensure that all needs and vulnerabilities are identified and considered at every stage of the process, including mental health and related issues. Trauma. We ensure that where a serious incident occurs As reported, we take necessary action to ensure that our safety standards remain at the highest level.”
