The rocky past of the European barge Bibby Stockholm

The British government decided to house asylum seekers on this barge, and began on Monday with the transfer of about 50 people. Fears of overcrowding led the Fire Union of Great Britain to warn that the ship would be a “potential death trap”. Know her story.

The Bibby Stockholm has grabbed a lot of headlines in recent months.

ADVERTISING

Attention is focused on the British government’s decision to accommodate asylum seekers on the huge barge, which began on Monday with the transfer on board of about 50 people.

Conservatives say it offers affordable accommodation amid a record backlog of asylum cases. However, the measure has been widely condemned as dangerous, inhumane and unprofitable.

But this is only the latest chapter in Bibby’s checkered story.

The Bibby Stockholm has been used at various times in Europe to house the homeless, as a floating detention center and was even the subject of a bomb threat.

Built in 1976 by the Dutch company Nederlandse Scheepsbouw, the ship was converted to an accommodation barge in 1992.

Its current owners, Bibby Lane – which has “well-proven historical links” to the slave trade, according to the UK Refugee Council – claim it can accommodate more than 500 people in “every luxury”, but was originally fitted out to house only 222.

Fears of overcrowding led Britain’s Fire Union to warn that the 47-year-old ship would be a “potential death trap” for anyone staying on it.

In the late 1990s, Bibby provided 52 overnight beds for the homeless in Hamburg, Germany.

The German authorities resorted to the ship as an emergency measure to ensure that during “the winter no one would have to sleep on the street”, as the then Senator for Social Affairs from Hamburg, Helgrit Fischer-Menzel, declared at the time.

Identity checks, crime and the size of the rooms kept many rough sleepers away from the barge, the left-wing German outlet Taz reported in 1994.

Only 65% ​​of the beds were used, and the homeless were moving away from the barge.

ADVERTISING

The gigantic 90m long and 27m wide boat was then used to detain asylum seekers in Rotterdam in 2005.

A Dutch watchdog called Bibby an “oppressive environment” though it has apparently reformed since then.

In February 2008, an Algerian asylum seeker, Rachid Abdelsalam, died of heart failure on board.

Fellow detainees say that although they warned guards of Rachid’s deteriorating health, the door to his cell was not opened until two hours after his death, the watchdog organization State Watch reported in 2012.

The prison ships were notorious for offering poor-quality healthcare and appalling services, prompting repeated hunger strikes and riots by detainees, State Watch added.

ADVERTISING

Dutch journalist Robert van de Griend, posing as a security guard, documented the appalling treatment of inmates.

Rotterdam subsequently closed the Bibby and the other detention centers, following the creation of new facilities.

Construction workers were next to be housed in this nearly 11,000-ton monster.

In 2013, Petrofac used Bibby to house workers at the Scottish Shetland gas plant in the North Sea.

A disgruntled former offshore worker tipped off emergency services in 2015 that bombs had been planted on the barge along with another accommodation ship docked in Lerwick harbor in the Shetland Islands.

ADVERTISING

A six-month restraining order was imposed on him after admitting to his threatening and abusive behaviour.

Bibby, the last ‘flotel’, was towed out of Lerwick in 2017, after being unoccupied – save for a single security guard – for over a year.

The Shetland Times quoted the port authority as saying the ship had brought a good income to the remote archipelago, although now they wanted to free up berthing space.

Months later, the Irish Times reported that the possibility of using the Bibby as floating accommodation for university students in Galway, Ireland, was being discussed.

However, the plans were soon abandoned as the piers were deemed unsuitable and questions were raised over planning permission.

Authorities in this western Irish town said the student housing crisis needed to be dealt with differently.

In April the UK government announced it would use the barge to house asylum seekers as the country grapples with a record backlog of 166,000 asylum cases.

Plans to start accommodating people on the 500-capacity ship have been repeatedly delayed, reportedly costing the British taxpayer €3.5m in delays.

Ministers say Bibby will help reduce the €6.5m daily bill taxpayers pay for hosting asylum seekers in hotels, with existing facilities packed to the brim. However, it is disputed that the ship is a more cost-effective alternative.

Critics say the hotels are only needed because the Conservative government has degraded the asylum system and failed to process claims quickly, with two-thirds of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision, the Institute’s figures show. for Government.

“As a survivor of torture, I am deeply disturbed that the government is going ahead with its cruel plan to crowd refugees onto a barge that has been labeled a ‘potential death trap,'” he said. kolbassia Haoussou, Survivor Empowerment Director Freedom from Torturein a statement sent to Euronews.

“Instead of punishing people like me, who have already been through so much, survivors should be offered protection and support,” he added.

“It is time for this government to stop wasting time forcing refugees to live in unsafe and undignified accommodation, and focus its efforts on rebuilding an asylum system that treats people with humanity and compassion,” he concluded.

#rocky #European #barge #Bibby #Stockholm