David Herd

‘Merely Circulating’: The Movement of Persons and the Politics of Abandonment

As I write this essay, in October 2010, a story bearing on its subject matter has just broken. A man from Angola, resident in Britain for over fourteen years, and until recently held in the Dover Immigration Removal Centre, has died on a plane during the process of his removal from the United Kingdom to his ‘country of origin’. At the time of writing not all the details of the event are established. It is known that the man was being removed against his will and also that the process was being conducted by a private security firm. There are reports that witnesses heard the man state that he was having difficulty breathing. There are suggestions, not substantiated, that he was subjected to an excessive use of force. What is known is that the man had sought asylum in Britain. At the time of writing the government is reviewing its policy on forced repatriation.