'Your case has been dismissed so you are being detained. I began to scream'

Published on Monday 23 November 2009 21:58

TOO traumatised to speak about being held at Dungavel earlier this year, Precious later committed the experience to paper …

D-Day, by Precious Mhango, age 10.

Thursday 30 July: We went to sign and we never came back home. After signing we were told to wait because someone wanted to speak to us. My heart started racing.

We were taken to a room, where I saw 5 or 6 giant men officers in blue jackets, black trousers and white shirts. They were so scary and they were staring at us. It was like we were in the court and had been found guilty of killing someone and now we were being handed over to prison guards.

We were locked into the room, my whole body was numb. A woman came in reading a pile of papers.

"Your case has been dismissed, today you're being detained," she said.

Blah blah blah, as she continued talking, I couldn't even listen to her. I started screaming "please, I don't want to go".

My mum too was screaming. The woman carried on reading, I kept screaming. She offered me some tissues and a drink. I said "no thanks".

The others were just watching us.

Shortly we were locked in the van going to Dungavel detention centre.

I was very upset. I couldn't stop thinking about my best friend ever, Maria.

I started thinking about school. I was so excited to go back and start Primary 6 as the summer holiday was about to finish.

After about one hour and a half, we were in Dungavel. It's a horrible place. No friends, no good fun and no smiles from my mum.

I called my friend to tell her the worst news and she screamed like someone was dead. I couldn't carry on talking to her, instead I gave the phone to my mum to calm her down. It was like a funeral inside the room.

Two days later we were taken to Yarls Wood (removal centre in Bedfordshire]. That's the worst place in my life. I lost hope that we were going to go back to Glasgow. There was no more happiness in my life. I never stopped praying.

I was sick in detention, my tonsils and my stomach were sore and I had a headache.

The day I was taken to the airport I was very weak but there was no mercy. At the last minute, we were told that the flight was stopped.

I prayed to be released so I could go back to Glasgow. I missed good food, like ice cream, McDonald's and KFC.

In the morning I went to the dining hall for breakfast and an officer asked me to go with her.

She told me that today we were going back to Glasgow.

When I arrived in Glasgow I couldn't wait to go and see Maria. When she saw me she hugged me for a while. She cried, she was so excited. I said to her "I missed you a million times" and she said she missed me too. We had lots of fun together, we played in her garden, we put on make-up, we went to the park and when we came back we made smoothies.

Although I am out of detention I am so scared of the Home Office because it's haunting me at night.

I hate Wednesdays because it's the day I have to go and sign. The Home Office says there is no excuse, whether I like it or not I have to go to sign. I can't escape.

I feel like I'm living in the darkness, I don't know when I'm going to see the light. A million thanks to people who are helping us while we are in hard times. It's hard times for me and my mum.