Month: June 2022

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Briefing: the real state of the UK asylum system

Freemovement: Briefing: the real state of the UK asylum system

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The United Kingdom’s asylum system has been described by the current Home Secretary as “broken”. There is some truth in that statement. In many ways, the asylum system is now in a parlous state. What the Home Secretary does not say is that it was she who broke it.

[…] The picture the data presents is of a system that has been overwhelmed. Not by new arrivals but by mismanagement. The people arriving to claim asylum are overwhelmingly refugees and they will, eventually, build new lives for themselves in this country. But they must endure bureaucratic purgatory first, seemingly to cleanse them of the supposed sin of irregular arrival. Waiting times for a decision run to years, during which time these refugees are forbidden from work, and forced to endure destitution-level support and temporary accommodation. As well as being bad for the refugees, it is causes an unnecessary charge on the public purse. And then, at the end of the process, despite all the tough posturing by the Home Secretary, almost no-one is removed anyway.

Read more here: https://freemovement.org.uk/briefing-the-sorry-state-of-the-uk-asylum-system/

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Changing the Conversation on Asylum in the UK

Woodbrooke/QARN event: ‘Changing the Conversation on Asylum in the UK’ held by zoom on 16 June 2022

Below you will find a video of presentations: the speakers agreed to be recorded and you can see the video of presentations by Mariam Yusuf, Rogelio Braga, and Moses Mbano

Loraine Masiya Mponela’s poem and the transcript, which was written for this event.

and a toolkit which can be downloaded

Changing the Conversation on Asylum
CREDIT: ERFAN ALAEI – THE PAINTING ILLUSTRATES HIS FEARS, HOPES AND CONCERNS. HE HAS EXPERIENCE OF THE UK ASYLUM SYSTEM

This evening event, coming just before Refugee Week, offers a chance to hear from those in the asylum system working to change the conversation on asylum through art, poetry and activism.

Loraine Masiya Mponela pre-recorded her poem ‘There is plenty room for those wanting to do the right thing’ for this event, because she was speaking elsewhere.

You can watch her recording here

There is plenty room for those wanting to do the right thing

Continue reading “Changing the Conversation on Asylum in the UK”
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Would Little Amal go to Rwanda this year?

Quakers in Britain: Fred Ashmore discusses the harshening hostile environment for refugees and asylum seekers and shares what a response rooted in love and justice could look like.

Last year, many British Quakers took part in or witnessed a series of events throughout Britain in which a 3m tall puppet, Little Amal, journeyed from the Syrian border via Dover to Manchester, joining in events and rallies during her journey. Amal symbolised the search for a new life of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers. The events were inspiring and full of hope.

Little Amal’s journey ended in late 2021. Since then, the UK government has passed the Nationality and Borders Act – legislation which changes the potential outcomes for those who come here full of hope. This year, 2022, Amal would be identified as a criminal because she didn’t travel by one of the government’s approved routes. A real life Amal could well be rejected from applying for asylum in the UK and could even be deported to Rwanda under the government’s scheme.

Continue reading “Would Little Amal go to Rwanda this year?”
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Home Affairs Committee interviews David Neal, ICIBI – Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

15 June 2022: Home Affairs Committee Oral evidence:  Migration and asylum, HC 197 on 8 June 2022. The witness is David Neal, ICIBI – Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration:

Members present: Dame Diana Johnson (Chair); Ms Diane Abbott; Paula Barker; Tim Loughton; Stuart C McDonald; Matt Vickers

Read the transcript: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/10372/html/

Watch the meeting

This interview raises many interesting issues about the relationship between ICIBI, Priti Patel and Home Office Ministers; about David Neal’s use of his role; and about the limitations of the system in keeping the system to account.

Continue reading “Home Affairs Committee interviews David Neal, ICIBI – Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration”
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Little Amal – The Walk: Hope. Too BIG to ignore.

Start with Hope, change will follow …

Updated 5 June 2022: Amal is back on the road in UK 19 – 27 June 2022

She will be visiting Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cheltenham, Bristol, Stonehenge, London, Canterbury, and ending on the beach at Folkestone where she arrived last year: https://www.walkwithamal.org/events/

Continue reading “Little Amal – The Walk: Hope. Too BIG to ignore.”