Refugees evicted from St Peter’s Square this morning have relocated to Albert Square – just moments away from where they were before.
The homeless “red tent camp” was this morning evicted by Manchester City Council and has now moved around the base of the William Gladstone statue in Albert Square.
A possession order was issued on February 11 and at 6:45 this morning bailiffs began to remove the tents, in some cases bodily moving the refugees and throwing away belongings.
After temporarily relocating to the Midland hotel, many of the tents have now moved to Albert Square.
A refugee from Sudan and resident of the camp said: “We haven’t been offered any housing.”
When asked if they would stay here he said: “We have no other choice.”
Ethiopian refugee Temesgn Pedros, 45, said of the council: “There was no responding, no nothing. Just everyday giving us warnings.”
In a statement this morning Manchester City Council said: “We have conducted homelessness assessments for people camping there and offered temporary accommodation to everyone who we owed a statutory duty – anyone classed as vulnerable and in priority need.
“Others on site who were not classed as vulnerable were still offered advice and support, including a personal housing plan, to help them secure accommodation for themselves.”
Homeless people and refugees were passed from the council to Mustard Tree, a charity that creates “opportunities to help improve economic wellbeing and find settled homes”.
The charity RAPAR has been working with the refugees for months and wrote to the judge asking for the possession order to be reconsidered last week.
RAPAR volunteer Emma Layla said: “A tent is not a choice, it is necessity.
“None of these homeless peoples’ circumstances have been assessed properly, nor have they been given correct advice or services. Everyone at the Drop In had already presented themselves at Mustard Tree charity where they have been told they cannot bid on any accommodation that becomes available.
“I hope that the judge who received our letter last Friday reconsiders and realises that this is a breach of duty of care that must be addressed immediately.”
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