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A group of migrants were transferred to Rwanda from a remote UK territory by the British government over a year ago. They say they feel isolated and unsafe - with one describing the African country as an “open prison”.
With political parties divided over the government’s controversial plan to send asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, the BBC has travelled to the African state to speak to four of the migrants already there - albeit under a separate agreement - about their experience in the country.
The small group arrived from Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. They say their complex medical needs, in some cases as the result of past rape and torture, are not being met in Rwanda.
Each of them receives the equivalent of $50 (£39) a week for food and other essentials, but under the terms of their stay - agreed by the UK and Rwandan governments - they are not permitted to work.
All four say they have faced harassment and unwanted sexual advances on the street. They say they are, in effect, “self-imprisoned” - too scared to go out - while they wait for the UK to find somewhere permanent for them to live.
The group - all Sri Lankan Tamils - were transferred to Rwanda for urgent medical care after suicide attempts. They are now out of military hospital and living in two flats on the outskirts of the capital, Kigali, paid for by British authorities
With political parties divided over the government’s controversial plan to send asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, the BBC has travelled to the African state to speak to four of the migrants already there - albeit under a separate agreement - about their experience in the country.
The small group arrived from Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. They say their complex medical needs, in some cases as the result of past rape and torture, are not being met in Rwanda.
Each of them receives the equivalent of $50 (£39) a week for food and other essentials, but under the terms of their stay - agreed by the UK and Rwandan governments - they are not permitted to work.
All four say they have faced harassment and unwanted sexual advances on the street. They say they are, in effect, “self-imprisoned” - too scared to go out - while they wait for the UK to find somewhere permanent for them to live.
The group - all Sri Lankan Tamils - were transferred to Rwanda for urgent medical care after suicide attempts. They are now out of military hospital and living in two flats on the outskirts of the capital, Kigali, paid for by British authorities
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