On Saturday 18 October, nearly 200 of us gathered outside Derwentside IRC in County Durham, to mark the National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention 2025. One of the most visible symbols of the cruelty and violence of the Hostile Environment, Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre – formally known as Hassockfield – is the only center in the UK to house women for an indefinite period of time. Situated in a remote area within a Reform UK stronghold, the location was a powerful setting for our demo, intended to shine a light on the centre as well as all other immigration detention centres across the UK and raise public awareness of the injustices it represents.

Partnering once more with the No to Hassockfield campaign group (N2H) – who have held monthly demonstrations outside Derwentside for five consecutive years – we knew we were in experienced hands. Co-facilitating with the N2H team, and with support from Solidarity Knows No Borders Merseyside, and our own These Walls Must Fall campaigners, we took over the small patch of green outside the gates of Derwentside to call for the end of detention and an end to the hostile environment. 

This year’s demonstration carried a profound personal meaning; on 2 October, a much-loved member of our Liverpool community, Arjeta, was detained and moved to Derwentside, a few weeks after she attended our Solidarity Session in Liverpool. She came to the UK after surviving modern-day slavery in Albania, and was snatched from her community at a routine reporting appointment. This was her second time being held at Derwentside; the last time she was there, she was detained during one of No to Hassockfield’s monthly demonstrations. She had shared that knowing people were just outside the walls, hearing their support and calling for her release, gave her the strength to keep going.

Not only this, but we were joined at the demo by our sister Fatou, who had also previously been detained at Derwentside just months before. After a large and public campaign for her release, which saw her removal stopped three times before she was set free, she returned to the site only this time on the other side of the wall, calling for the release of all women detained. Her strength and courage was incredibly moving. 

We welcomed five coaches full of supporters, one each from Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle and Durham, but were also joined by many more who had made their own arrangements to travel to the centre – not an easy feat for such a remote location. This included supporters from as far away as Cardiff, London and Oxford!

Outside the high fences and grey concrete of the detention centre, colour, movement and music broke through. We brought our own flags which say ‘No One Is Illegal’ and ‘Solidarity Knows No Borders’ – the flags that we are proud of and live by. They flew high in the sky. We wore the signature orange colour – warm, alive and uncontainable – showing our defiance against the bleakness of the October grey skies. As more people arrived we danced with our bright placards emblazoned with messages of strength and solidarity. We danced not to minimize the suffering and pain on the other side of the wall, but as a way to remember that our bodies belong to us, that we refuse to be small and silent. In the remote isolation of Derwentside, where stories, suffering and violence are deliberately hidden from view, our noise and colour became resistance. The government may try to bury these places in silence, but we gathered in community, loud, bright, and unafraid, making sure that even here, joy could not be contained.

After a rousing intro from our very own Maggy Moyo, we first heard from Ven, long-time These Walls Must Fall member with direct experience of detention. He spoke passionately about the lasting and damaging effects detention has on people’s mental health – how now, years on, even hearing the jingle of keys evokes painful trauma and fear. He called for the release of all people detained and a total system change, where migrants are not scapegoated, and instead treated with dignity.

We heard next from Marcia, a young asylum-seeking mother who has tragically lost her 19-year-old son, Theo, a few months ago. Theo died under horrific circumstances after falling from a balcony during contact with the police. She spoke about battling with her grief, while living under the constant fear of detention or deportation, and how the government and media misrepresents migrants as threats rather than human beings, stripping them of their dignity. She went on “there is nothing enticing about this country. It is a mental health prison”. 

Bethany, local musician who has been active in N2H’s previous demos, led the choir in a rendition of Bob Marley’s Get Up Stand Up, while we danced and sang, shouted, and shook our instruments, to make sure Arjeta and the women detained knew we were there for them. 

Often, the speeches broke into loud chants of ‘Set Her Free’. A particularly emotive part of the day was when we were able to hear from Arjeta herself through the phone, and as her voice carried through the crowd, it was a powerful reminder of the humanity behind the campaign.

We heard from Manuchehr from SYMAAG, as well as Boucka and Eve from Voice of Voiceless Immigration Detainees Yorkshire (VVIDY), who paid tribute to Pious, a long established and distinguished comrade in the migration justice movement, who passed away in August. Pious was one of the early These Walls Must Fall campaigners, leading our fight against the violence and harm of the hostile asylum and immigration system. 

Read reflections of the day below, first by These Walls Must Fall Campainger Ven, and secondly by our own Maggy Moyo:

On Saturday 18 October 2025, I joined fellow campaigners, community members, and human rights defenders at a powerful protest against immigration detention at Derwentside Detention Centre. Together, we raised our voices to say what should be obvious; no one should be locked up for seeking safety. For many of us who fled persecution, imprisonment, or violence in our home countries, detention is not just a policy – it’s a re-traumatisation. People who have already survived torture, conflict, and fear find themselves once again behind bars, this time in a country they hoped would offer protection. The indefinite nature of immigration detention in the UK deepens this trauma, stripping away hope, dignity, and the very sense of belonging that every human being deserves. As we stood outside the fence, chanting and holding banners, I thought about those inside – mothers, fathers, friends, whose only “crime” is seeking refuge. Detention destroys lives quietly, it separates families, erodes mental health, and isolates people from their communities. Our call is simple but urgent: end immigration detention. Replace cruelty with compassion. Create systems rooted in justice and humanity, where no one is punished for seeking Sanctuary”. By Vengai Mutsawu – Human Rights Activist, ROHR Zimbabwe; These Walls Must Fall Campaigner.

I am so proud and happy to have organised this national demonstration together with our These Walls Must Fall campaigners, SYMAAG Sheffield, Merseyside SKNB and all those with lived experience of the immigration system who stood beside us, whether or not they are part of our campaign. Each person carried their own story, their own pain, and their own strength, and together we created something truly powerful.

Many people travelled from across the UK to show solidarity, while others who couldn’t travel still sent heartfelt messages of support. Despite the cold weather, the heavy emotions, and the fear that comes with standing outside a detention centre, our speakers, all people with lived experience, spoke with fire, courage, and dignity. They refused to be silenced.

Friends who have been detained before brought the crowd to tears as they shared the horrific treatment they experienced inside detention centres. Even with detention officers standing behind the fences watching, we held our ground and raised our flags high  #NoOneIsIllegal and #SolidarityKnowsNoBorders, proud symbols of peace, unity, and hope in contrast to the hate flags we’ve seen across the country.

Working alongside the No to Hassockfield campaign reminded us what true allyship looks like, people using their privilege to create safety and amplify our voices. While they focus on research, logistics, and advocacy, we bring the real stories, the lived truth, the human cost, and the determination that fuel this movement.

Every speech was emotional, and when we heard Arjeta’s voice through the microphone from inside detention, everyone fell silent. That moment reminded us why we do this work. If she could hear us, and we could hear her cries, then our mission was accomplished, to make sure no one inside feels forgotten.

As migrant families and campaigners, we showed each other love, unity, and resilience, and our allies showed us welcome, empathy, and solidarity. Together, we proved that hope is stronger than hate, that courage is louder than fear, and that we will keep going, until every detention centre is closed because these walls must fall”. By Maggy Moyo, These Walls Must Fall Organiser.

Our community and solidarity also reaches far beyond the site of the demo. We gathered knowing that across the UK, communities were also taking action holding events, creative actions, and gatherings in their own towns and cities. Each local act was part of a shared effort to challenge detention, to stay connected, and to show that resistance does not begin or end at the fences. The hostile environment reaches into every part of daily life, but so does our resistance: in how we show up for one another, share knowledge and build care and power across distance. The day was a true celebration of solidarity across the UK, and we were proud to be part of it. 

Did you attend the demo, or organise a local action in your area? We are holding a public debriefing meeting, online, on Friday 31 October. Register below.

Together, we are building a movement that refuses to accept disappearance, isolation, or despair as normal. Even in bleak times, we hold on to hope – not as optimism, but as action: a practice of showing up, again and again, for a future where no one is detained.

One more ask: we continue to fight for the release of our sister Arjeta, who now has a removal date of 29 October. We are urgently seeking donations for her legal fees, and asking our community to sign the petition for her release. 

In solidarity as always, 

Right to Remain team