Hannah

senior advocacy coordinator @gatdetainees

queer reader/social history enthusiast

tweeting in a personal capacity (she/her)

[Hannah @Hannah_aec]

@nehagohil24 Hey Neha, Is it possible to follow back so I can DM you?

[ellie schnitt @holy_schnitt]

when vampire weekend was like “who gives a fuck about the oxford comma” it’s just like… well, me! and frankly you should, too. if you’re not using oxford commas you’re messy and you’re chaotic and I don’t trust you

[Saul Staniforth @SaulStaniforth]

Brendan is a carer and was on a call taking care of someone when his car was destroyed.

[Nadia Whittome MP @NadiaWhittomeMP]

Imane Khelif was assigned female at birth. She’s spoken about being initially banned from boxing by her dad who said it wasn’t for girls.

The attacks on her show that transphobia doesn’t only hurt trans people, but also other women who don’t fit conventional ideas of femininity.

[Caroline Renard @carolinerenard_]

Not only are run clubs a thing but I’ve seen a resurgence in book clubs and dinner parties and game nights, etc. More of my friends are playing tennis and golf. People genuinely just want community back and also hobbies that have nothing to do with trying to get rich.

[Medical Justice UK @Medical_Justice]

Both acting as clinician in assessing patient’s mental capacity and having some immigration enforcement role, raises concern clinicians can be drawn into sanctioning actions that may transpire to have serious adverse consequences to their patient’s health.
https://t.co/Hf3FMSgSPI

[Jacqueline (Jacqui) Mckenzie @JacquiMckenzie6]

A few years ago I was in one of those ramshackle hair salons in South London having my hair braided. The salon was run by a fabulous woman of African heritage & to pay the high rent, she rented out corners of the shop to people who provided other services including nails, false eye lashes, eyebrow threading etc. I didn't always appreciate the place as it was noisy & untidy. But there was always something equally enjoyable about the experience; the gossip, the unsolicited advice about improving my appearance or relationship, the craziness, the music, the people trying to sell you pretend Gucci bags, & the children running around if you went at the weekend. It was a place of escape & one where I felt safe.

I happened to be there one day when immigration enforcement turned up. Everyone froze, including me, as the operation is one of true terror; it could easily have been an armed robbery such was the menacing command to stay where we were. I noticed a customer returning from the bathroom make down a side corridor which I knew led to a back exit; I've seen the movies & thought I didn't fancy her chances as they'd have had that covered. They hadn't & I never saw her again.

The immigration officers went straight for the nail person who was of Vietnamese heritage. She had all the right papers. They then turned to the African heritage staff who were all British citizens. The owner was made to go to her flat above the business to retrieve evidence of her British status.

None of us customers were questioned. One burly red-faced officer said something that sounded like false intelligence, but I can't be sure. I watched on curiously but angry, promising myself that I'd only intervene if necessary. Immigration enforcement came & immigration enforcement left after about an hour of questioning & checking.

When they'd driven off, the only white member of staff, doing the eye lashes, looked ashen! I looked quizzically at her. She was unsure of her immigration status as her father had told her he'd sorted it but she was unsure. She was Albanian. She was the only person working in the place not to be questioned which was not lost on any of us including white customers waiting for nails and eye lashes.

The workers all laughed, & it was business as usual but not for the owner who said that that was the third time & she was fed up of it. She felt targeted & harassed. She wanted to close shop. She did though I don't know if this was the reason.

In the next few weeks, the Home Office will mount similar operations across countless businesses. There are issues in some of these industries, sure. I've long worried about some of the women in the nail shops. I also know that a large number of them have regularised their stay in the UK & if they started off as trafficked victims, have managed to escape this evil & live their lives on their own terms. This is not an easy feat but it happens. Others won't be so lucky. But the exercise afoot is not concerned with whether people have been trafficked, or of their working conditions.

What will happen is that British people, settled people, people with leave to remain, mainly Black & Brown people, will be harassed & terrorised in front of petrified & suspicious customers, thereby causing much harm to legitimate businesses.

And like the #HostileEnvironment, the exercise will impact more on people legitimately in the UK, like the experiences of the #Windrush victims, than it will to curb illegal migration as the National Audit Office reported of said policy. This will be all the more the case that the operation was announced ahead of time.

[Comma Press🍉 #CeasefireNow @commapress]

📣It's publication day for the fifth volume of @RefugeeTales. This important collection creates a space where the stories of those who have been indefinitely detained in the UK can be safely heard. All proceeds go to @GatDetainees and Kent Refugee Help.

[Hannah @Hannah_aec]

Hard to summarise the feelings of @RefugeeTales, but this video comes close!

https://t.co/NkhPzLckrQ

[natasha nicole roffe @natwhatyou’dexpect @NRoffe]

⁦@RefugeeTales⁩ @gdwg in support and solidarity. Walking to raise awareness for indefinite detention. Talk and klezmer dancing ⁦@Davidmitchelldr⁩ .. everyone has a story

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Inspectors have described the "worst conditions they have ever seen in immigration detention" inside a centre near Heathrow in west London.

Read more 🔗 https://t.co/RYpZJXn6A3

[Hannah @Hannah_aec]

@_michaxla I might ironically send you guys a card for this 😭😭

[The Refugee Tales @RefugeeTales]

Day two done with more rain than we planned! Smiles undimmed, solidarity stronger and here’s to the next stage of our walk with more music and more tales all the way to Westminster!

[Ramsey Kilani 🌐🔰 @Ramsey_Kilani]

Not having a driver’s license as someone in your 20s or 30s is climate change activism. Asking your friend for a ride is creating community, reinvigorating the global village. Be proud of yourself.

[Hannah @Hannah_aec]

ah yes

[Hugo Gye @HugoGye]

Iain Duncan Smith tells News Agents: "They say it is Armageddon, but I Armageddon on with it here in this constituency."

[Laura Knetzger @LauraKnetzger]

There was a tweet a while back that was like "People want to be in communities but keep finding themselves in audiences" that I think about a lot and feel like there's a connected experience of being born to make art but forced to make products

[The Refugee Tales @RefugeeTales]

Not long now 👣✊🏾Just over 2 weeks until you can be walking in solidarity for a future without detention or coming along to one of our free evening events! 🌟Book at https://t.co/VIoBD43kfq Thanks to Ridy for this video!