AN ASYLUM-SEEKER says he was driven close to suicide after being detained for three weeks at Manston in harrowing conditions. 

Hozan — not his real name — described being retraumatised by the overcrowded, repressive and dangerous conditions at the processing facility in Kent. 

The young asylum-seeker said he came to Britain in mid-October by small boat after fleeing his home country in the Middle East, where he had been held in military prison. 

After his arrival, he was taken to the Manston facility where he was forced to sleep on the floor of a cold, wet tent with over 130 people and prevented from showering, going outside and seeking medical help despite having a serious medical condition. 

Speaking to the Morning Star a few days after he was released from Manston, where he was held for 21 days, Hozan said the shock of being detained in such dire conditions in Britain made him lose the will to live. 

“If this is how I am treated in the UK, that means I don’t have a chance in my life,” he said. 

“I stayed inside the toilet and I tried to kill myself, but when I was thinking about my mother and my father, who I haven’t seen for seven years, so I can’t.”

The conditions of being detained triggered nightmares from his past, he says. 

He described being ignored by staff while in a state of extreme distress: “I was hitting my head, staying in the corner — I’m crying, crying, crying. It took one hour for medic to come. Two doctors for 5,000 people. It’s a bad situation.”

The young man, who asked for his real name and nationality not to be published, said he was regularly denied requests to see the doctor.

He has a condition which he takes medication for daily. 

Despite this, security would not allow him to go to the GP onsite to take his daily medication at the specific time required, instead making him wait hours to go, he said. 

Hozan claimed another detainee was taken to hospital after allegedly being denied access to his medication for epilepsy. 

Hozan told the Star that the staff would not allow the man to retrieve his medication from his confiscated belongings.

He then had two seizures and was taken to hospital, the asylum-seeker said. 

Medical Justice director Emma Ginn described reports of guards confiscating medication from detained people for epilepsy and delaying access as “most concerning.”

“Timing can be critical with epilepsy medication — it’s hard to imagine why people in detention are prevented from being able to access their epilepsy medication when they need it which risks them suffering avoidable seizures, hospitalisation and all the associated distress,” she said. 

The Home Office says 24/7 health facilities are provided at Manston, including trained medical staff and a doctor for all those on site and people are taken to hospital for further care if needed. The department was approached for further comment. 

The department has previously confirmed that cases of diphtheria have broken out at the facilities, while there have also been reports of scabies, Covid and MRSA. 

Asked about reports of diseases, Hozan said he saw people at Manston with scratchy rashes and sores that were bleeding. “I stayed in the corner [of the tent] — it’s cold but it’s safer. I was scared from this.”

The overcrowded facility, which has housed more than 4,000 people at a time in recent days, uses marquees for sleeping accommodation. 

The asylum-seeker said he stayed in two different tents on site; the first was “open” on all sides, he said, allowing the cold, and rain to enter. “Water was coming inside. I would sleep close to three guys to keep warm.” 

He was then moved to a more established tent on the other side of the facility which he said was closed to the elements and had heating — but did not have any ventilation, resulting in condensation collecting on the roof and dripping down on their heads.  

“When 120 people breathe, it’s making water, it’s so dirty water.”

Staff would not give out enough snacks for everyone, he added, leading to fights breaking out between detainees for food. 

Hozan also described a repressive environment where detainees’ movements were heavily restricted and staff often used force against them. 

People were ordered to be silent by security, he said, adding that he saw men being led away by guards for small incidents such as raising their voices — and did not come back. 

“When you don’t see your friend for one day, or two day, there’s something wrong, so you will be scared. Thinking OK, I don’t talk.”

People who asked for help would be met with “rude” replies, like: “This is not a hotel, why are you coming to me,” he said. 

“We don’t have rights.”