FOR an eight-week period at the start of this year, a local man, a friend of mine in North Devon, was detained at a short term immigration holding centre by the UK Borders Agency having been first arrested by the police, acting on their behalf.

Let us be clear, he was put into a prison, but I believe he had committed no crime.

He came to this country from Bangladesh to seek asylum and begin a new and hopefully fulfilling life because of severe personal circumstances, which among other difficulties, rendered him a stateless person in the country of his birth.

My friend has had an exemplary record of contributing to this society since arriving in the UK several years ago. Since moving to North Devon he has involved himself with voluntary work in the community. He has been a mentor to many people who have emigrated to Britain and who have settled in North Devon.

Refugees and asylum seekers are among this group. Some have been granted short-term leave to remain and are required to sign at the police station to prove they're not absconding. My friend falls into this category. He has made a weekly trip to a police station for approximately five years, fearing each time that he would be arrested. Imagine if that were you — the worry, the mental pain.

Before his arrest at the beginning of the year my friend had already spent time in 'detention' in another detention centre for four weeks back in 2009.

He was released, without warning, under the same conditions ie reporting to the police on a weekly basis.

His recent release from the immigration prison has been the trigger for much relief and joy to all those who know, love and care about him. We have asked ourselves though why it was necessary for him to be treated in this manner, by being put in prison with others, who like him have committed no crime and who are treated appallingly, as his phone calls and texts will testify.

Much of the trauma and distress of those in detention centres has now been recognised and revealed in the Baroness O'Loan report on these immigration prisons and also by Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons.

Shamefully, it is unlikely any changes will be made to these barbaric conditions, which include the imprisoning of more than 400 children. What happened to the rights of the child, which all nations are supposed to observe?

My friend's experience in the detention centre was horrible and frightening.

Shamefully, himself and others who have migrated to Britain have been let down by the authorities and politicians who pander to the daily ravings of tabloid press by competing, with whom I consider to be, equally odious political opponents in the mainstream parties to show who is hardest on 'immigrants'.

The xenophobia knows no bounds, as the myths around immigration are peddled, creating a climate of fear. I believe the worst bile is reserved for Muslims who appear to be berated daily for not being good citizens, or who are seen as dubious characters, especially when travelling, fitting stereotypes attributed to 'terrorists'. It is an image, which I do not believe is being exaggerated. For example, government-sponsored training is being presented to school governing bodies around the UK via its 'Prevent' programme. In my opinion its purpose seems to be to identify potential 'terrorists' among school students. Dob in your students, it's great for a trusting teacher-student relationship! Teachers are not the police and should not act like them.

This somewhat grim picture of 21st Century Britain is mediated, however, by the knowledge and experience, which tells me that such racist misrepresentations are being challenged, particularly in schools where the febrile climate of fear created by the media and some politicians is replaced by rational calm, where issues can be raised and discussed and where the idea of 'tolerance', so beloved of liberals in this country, can be challenged.

The poet, writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe rejected the term 'tolerance'. He said: "To merely tolerate is to insult; true liberalism means acceptance."

The highly acclaimed conductor Daniel Barenboim adds that true acceptance means "to acknowledge the difference and dignity of the other". This is where the hope for the future lies.

Youngsters have a fierce sense of injustice. They know that those who impose such conditions on children and adults are merely bullies who create laws to prevent others from sharing the earth's resources.

Young people do not build walls between themselves and others, metaphorical or real. They are wiling to listen across the barricades with a view to dismantling them.

One example of such cooperation from elsewhere is the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Workshop which Daniel Barenboim, a Jew, and the Palestinian writer Edward Said created in 1999 to begin a dialogue between young people from Palestine, the occupied territories, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel through the medium of classical music. It cannot achieve peace but as Barenboim said: "It can create the conditions for understanding without which it is impossible even to speak of peace."

Gerard Winstanley, who was the leader of the group known as the Diggers, said in 1649: "The world is a common treasury for everyone to share."

Is it such an unreasonable thought that all of us, including those such as my friend, are able to move wherever they wish on this planet, without the fetters of national borders and the attendant horrors of exclusion and imprisonment?

It is a condition currently enjoyed only by the rich and powerful, whose money and influence know no borders. It needs to be challenged. We could start by insisting that refugees and asylum seekers are welcome here.