British Airways is at it again. This time it's making money off the government's cruel deportations.
And it’s not just them: G4S is also getting in on these cosy government contracts.
While holiday-makers turn over their hard-earned cash in good faith, companies like BA and G4S are out there carrying out the bidding of Theresa May’s deportation-happy government.
You can help put an end to this.
These deportations have been shown up for what they are; inhumane profiteering off the back of human suffering. But more than ever, companies are responding to the demands of customers like you. If we act together, we can expose these corporations and force them to stop taking part in the government's callous deportations.
BA and G4S - stop providing ‘draconian’ deportation services!
While we might be looking forward to the sun, sea and sand, or spending quality time with friends and family when we get on a BA flight, people being deported are fearful of persecution for who they love, at risk from governments they've spoken out against, or being torn apart from their families here in the UK.
The government's use of chartered flights has been described by human rights groups as 'draconian'. A recent report by Corporate Watch says they're not only costly and ineffective, but dangerous too.
After being restrained by G4S security staff on a British Airways flight to Angola, Jimmy Mubenga died during his deportation in 2010. Former BA purser Louise Graham says she was ‘left in pieces’ after witnessing the incident on a flight from Heathrow. The on-board security -- who were later found to have racist text messages on their phones -- were cleared by a jury of any wrongdoing.
A Nigerian citizen who wished to stay anonymous, wrote on the Detained Voices project, 'If they take me back to Nigeria - what about my 3 month old baby? My partner is HIV positive, she is not working... because of her medical condition, she can not cope [with the baby]. She is crying everyday.'
As Home Secretary, Theresa May leaves behind a shameful legacy -- her racist vans telling people to 'go home' or face arrest were rightly met with outrage. As PM, she introduced controversial school census plan, asking parents to name their child's country of birth. Her policies continue to target vulnerable people in our society, while companies profit off their misery. We can't let this stand.
At our best, we are a humane, compassionate nation. Let's start acting like it: say no to these cruel and inhumane deportations.
A report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons reported brutal and unprofessional conditions onboard the flights: handcuffs being kept on people for much longer than necessary, detainees being denied privacy when using the toilet, and people being refused pillows, blankets and hot drinks during an overnight flight.
No matter what side of the immigration debate we fall on, negligence of this sort has no place in modern Britain. It's up to us to end these inhumane schemes.
30,000 SumOfUs members -- members like you and me -- came together to tell the Home Office to break its contract with Serco, after finding abuses at Yarl's Wood detention centre. On the 29th of March it took just 17 people to stop a deportation flight taking off. Time and time again, when we unite for justice, the powerful are forced stand up and pay attention.
End deportations for profit now
More information
End Deportations. 30 March 2017.
The Guardian. 30 March 2017.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. 7 November 2013.
Corporate Watch. 6 January 2017.