LONDON: Thirteen asylum seekers have taken their own lives in Britain in the past two-and-a-half years, with a further 24 attempting suicide in that period.
A report by The Times found that among them were children, such as a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was thrown from a building and suffered serious head injuries.
Of the 13 who died, all but one were awaiting a decision on their asylum applications, while the other was denied. They ranged in age from 19 to 45, including a 21-year-old Russian woman who died on the banks of a London canal.
A further 32 cases of serious self-harm by asylum seekers were also recorded by the Home Office during the period under review, with the youngest aged 17 and the oldest aged 48. Among the nationalities represented in the self-harm data were people from Iran, Syria, Libya, South Africa and Turkey.
A Yemeni doctor who claimed asylum in the UK in 2023 told The Times that conditions for asylum seekers in the UK were inadequate, blaming them for the number of people who self-harm or attempt suicide.
“Employees treat you like some kind of criminal – it feels like you're in prison. You don't get visitors except (at) certain hours (and) it's not easy to go out,” she said.
“Many asylum seekers continue to say we are treated like beggars, while many asylum seekers come from overly successful professions. In one night, you are treated like this – and your life is like this, you don't know how much. I never thought I would have to fight daily for basic human needs or basic rights.'
The length of time and uncertainty surrounding asylum claims in the UK is thought to play a major role in the mental health of UK asylum seekers, with more than two-thirds of the 161,000 asylum seekers awaiting an initial decision his status in the UK. spring 2023, waiting for the results for more than six months.
The Namibian nurse and former UN employee told The Times that she applied for asylum in the UK in February 2020 but was only rejected in August 2023.
During that time, she said, she was “taken out of a safe environment” and moved to a hotel in Glasgow where, in June 2022, while she was staying there, six people were stabbed by a Sudanese asylum seeker.
She said she and others were not offered mental health support after the attack.
“It feels like we can't ask questions,” she told The Times. “This is something I never expected in the UK. Never in my life did I expect to be scared in the UK.'
Professor Cornelius Katona, head of mental health for asylum seekers and refugees at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, told The Times: “People who have been displaced and are seeking asylum and protection may have faced violence, danger or exploitation and lost loved ones. It can be a deeply traumatic experience and increase the risk of developing a mental illness such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Asylum seekers also have to deal with significant housing, work and financial uncertainty when they arrive in the UK, as well as difficulty accessing healthcare. All of these factors can exacerbate existing mental illness and potentially lead to an increased tendency to commit suicide or self-harm.'
Although the Home Office trains staff to deal with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal tendencies, questions have been raised about the suitability of specialist detention centres, including the former Royal Air Force base at Wethersfield in Essex, where emergency services were called 38 in separate cases in the first five months of 2024.
Doctors Without Borders says 41 percent of people on the site have used medical services citing suicidal thoughts or behavior.
The charity told The Times: “While there are clear differences between hotels and detention facilities, the often poor living conditions, security failures and long delays people face lead to varying levels of distress and mental health problems.”
A case brought by four former residents over the site is currently being heard at the High Court in London. There were also claims that the barge Bibby Stockholm, a vessel due to be decommissioned in January 2025, was unfit to accommodate asylum seekers after an Albanian died in a suspected suicide in December 2023.
A Home Office spokesman told The Times: “We take the health and wellbeing of asylum seekers seriously and will aim at every stage of the process to ensure that all needs and vulnerabilities are identified and addressed, including mental health health and injury. We ensure that when a serious incident is reported, we take the necessary steps to ensure that our safety standards remain at the highest level.”
