When I found that ‘illegal immigrant’ means brother in Christ

Amid heated political debate over “illegal immigrants” in the UK, writer Angie Jones steps inside Wethersfield Immigration Camp to meet the people behind the headlines. What she finds are not statistics or soundbites, but men with names, stories, and unshakable faith.

Some months ago I volunteered to help at the Conversational English classes  at The Wethersfield Immigration Camp. It’s a huge site behind high fences topped with rolled - up barbed wire. You need identity documents to get past the gates. Security guards escort you to the classroom where we meet asylum seekers.

You sit at a table, eager faces stare at you, hoping you can help them to learn the language. I say hello and tell them my name. I ask them to pass round a whiteboard and marker and each write their name and country of origin. Muslims, Christians, Hindus herded together.