Mavis Harrison in Manchester at the “Week of action against the Hostile Environment” event.

The “Week of action against the Hostile Environment!” called by the Solidarity Knows No Border Network which, in Manchester comprises Right to Remain’s These Walls Must Fall Campaign, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), Women Seeking Asylum Together (WAST), Manchester No Borders and Safety4Sisters is running from 13^th – 19^th June 2022 in most cities and towns right across the UK.

It is taking place in a week where the first batch of asylum seekers in the UK were supposed to be flown to remote Rwanda as part of an opaque deal cut between the UK government  and that of Rwanda whereby the UK government would off-shore some of its asylum seekers to the African country for processing. If the affected asylum seekers’ applications are successful, they would not be returned to the UK but would be settled in Rwanda.

In Manchester, the Week of action against the Hostile Environment event is taking place on Saturday 18^th June 2022 from 1pm to 4pm at Methodist Central Hall, Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ.

Speakers will be drawn from These Walls Must Fall Campaign, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), Women Seeking Asylum Together (WAST), Manchester No Borders and Safety4Sisters.

One of the key speakers at the Manchester event is local human rights campaigner, Mavis Harrison.

Mavis is a campaigner with These Walls Must Fall in Manchester, and a human rights activist with Restoration Of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe.  She is passionate about human rights, including those for women in Zimbabwe, and universally.

Also billed to speak at the event is Agnes Tanoh, a resolute fighter for human rights and social justice who, like Mavis also experienced detention and all the ills that go with the UK government’s deliberate hostile environment, first hand and has lived to tell the story.

By dint of fate Mavis Harrison and Agnes Tanoh met 10 years ago in Yarl's Wood detention centre, right at the official start of the UK government's "hostile environment". Ever since that day, Mavis has been campaigning for justice.

For ten long years, Mavis and Agnes have not given up the struggle. Last month, the two were reunited in Durham, at the national demonstration against the new Hassockfield/Derwentside detention centre for women.

After the event, Mavis said:
“It was an emotional day for me, meeting Agnes Tohah who was one of the speakers. I was detained with Agnes ten years ago in Yarl's Wood. To this day I have not healed and I am still seeking counselling. When I saw her, I remembered the trauma we both went through and ten years later we are here in Durham fighting for other women who are inside Hassockfield detention centre and many other detention centres. It is just inhumane and disgusting.”

The date of Mavis and Agnes meeting in Durham after ten years was 14^th May 2022.

In advance of the Week of action against the Hostile Environment gathering in Manchester scheduled for Saturday 18^th June 2022, Mavis had this message for people....”All it takes for injustice to prevail is for society to turn a blind eye to it. We need to unite and speak with one strong voice when injustice takes place. It should not matter whether one is directly affected by the injustice or not because all human beings are connected in one way or another”

Over the years Mavis has grown from strength to strength in her campaigning and activism. She has

shown unfathomable resilience in the face of all the challenges militating against her and remains resolute in fighting for other women even though she herself went through misfortune in Zimbabwe. her country of origin and here in the UK, her host country where she experienced the horrors of detention first hand. She has not allowed circumstances to define her or imprison her mind.

Her message to everyone who is having to endure injustice is to be strong and be the voice of the voiceless. She asks the British community to stand up in solidarity and fight for defenceless women whose feelings are ignored, disgraced and treated with zero dignity.

By Information & Publicity Department
Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe