A hunger strike in Castle Peak Immigration Centre (CIC) has now entered its 100th day. A group of detained people, whether asylum seekers or those who may have infringed immigration laws, have undertaken the longest strike in the 15 years history of CIC.
The strike is in protest of inhumane conditions in CIC - No definite detention period given, No medicine besides panadol, no space of movement and laundry etc. At least 7 are still continuing a hunger strike out of an initial 30+, some inmates have recorded a 25kg weight loss and severe issues.
A vigil in support of them held tonight records dozens of participants, including migrants and South East Asians to cheer on their friends inside.
The calls of protestors and supporters are simple – for the Immigration Department to improve the situation in CIC, which is said to be even worse than the old Refugees Camp, and five detained people given a definite time of detainment or, expelled from #Hongkong
From far away, one could still hear the detained persons desperate call of help “Freedom Now!” and various forms of percussion, probably from plastic chairs or water basins, answering supporters call from the car park road.
The call was answered by lawmaker Siu Ka-Chun and Fernando Cheung as they vowed to improved the situation of those detained and prison inmates. “We hear you. We call on the immigration department to end this.”
Amy Ip of CIC Detainees' Rights Concern Group, also a freelance journalist, told HK Frontline Media that the story begins with her friend Yuli, an Indonesian migrant worker who wrote poems and won literature awards. She was one day thrown into CIC and expelled from HK after publishing words supporting #HongKongProtests
Yuli’s employer was in great support of her while immigration refused to take their guarantee of providing job and place to live for Yuli. Before she left, she wrote about the maltreatment and inhumane conditions in CIC to call for the public to notice there’s a “Black jail” in Hong Kong.
Extended reading in Chinese: “Think of us like humans” - A feature on two hunger strikers in CIC.
#hongkong #hungerstrike #refugeeshk #cic