April 2023

April 26, 2023April 26, 2023

The Illegal Migration Bill is “the Refugee Ban Bill” and why we must fight back

Scottish News: ‘Tayside Quaker’: In Our Name

Many people are rightly concerned about the proposals of the current UK government and the Home Secretary to introduce new immigration law. Just Right Scotland (https://www.justrightscotland.org.uk) and the Scottish Refugee Council have written a joint statement about this and Michael Hutchinson, Clerk, of General Meeting for Scotland has signed it on our behalf. Many of us will also be moved to undertake both joint and individual actions to make our views known.

‘The Illegal Migration Bill is “the Refugee Ban Bill” and why we must fight back

April 22, 2023May 17, 2023

22 April 2023: QARN at Yearly Meeting

These are notes from the Special Interest Meeting, and the Group Fair, sharing ideas for political and practical change

Brief introduction to QARN:

Started in 2006

Aims: To work to change the way that Refugees and Asylum Seekers (whether recognized under UN Convention on the Status of Refugees or not) are treated, to ensure that justice and compassion are the guiding principles.

Take up concerns, work with other organisations – faith-based and refugee based. Issues of particular concern include:

April 20, 2023April 22, 2023

Opening Hearts through Arts

See Life Seekers Aid:

Life Seekers Aid is a charity for asylum seekers and refugees, run by asylum seekers and refugees.

Founded in 2021, Life Seekers Aid is a successor to Camp Residents of Penally—CROP—an organisation established in 2020 by asylum seekers inside Penally Camp in Wales.

CROP worked for the welfare and rights of asylum seekers housed in this military camp during the pandemic, cooperating with local and national charities, legal and medical organisations, and official bodies.

Read more and see the artwork: https://www.lifeseekers.org/

Updated 16 July 2022: Stories of Hope and Home

“Home is where you feel you belong” We all need safe spaces to explore what it means to have, find or create a home … for those forced to flee and trying to build a new life this is perhaps particularly important, but this exploration offers all of us a space to find and share in our common humanity

https://storiesofhopeandhome.blogspot.com/

Updated 27 June 2022: ‘Adopt a Refugee’ – Loraine Masiya Mponela

April 13, 2023April 20, 2023

First Green Light given to EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

QCEA: First Green Light given to EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: What does this mean for people who seek protection in the EU?

On Tuesday 28 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted and agreed on four of the key files of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, first presented by the Commission in 2020 as a new EU common framework to respond and manage migration sustainably and in the long term.

Based on unofficial agreements seen by the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), problematic aspects in the initial proposal remain. The European Parliament’s agreement would entail the continuation of the hotspot approach, resulting in increased detention at borders (including for children above 12), accelerated border procedures, and swift returns. The shorter timelines will likely reduce the rights guarantees and result in increased use of derogations: exceptions from regular legal timelines during crisis situations. In essence the parties have agreed to create a system based on the expanded use of detention and quicker deportations to third countries (countries of origin or other). We elaborate further on some of the key concerns:

April 7, 2023April 7, 2023

New crackdown to prevent illegal migrants accessing bank accounts

From 6 April 2023: This is just mean and unnecessarily cruel to a destitute person: Gov.uk: New crackdown to prevent illegal migrants accessing bank accounts

Data sharing with the financial sector will begin today as the government cracks down on illegal migrants accessing banking services.

Making it more difficult for unlawful migrants to access financial services is an important tool to help deter illegal migration by preventing people from working illegally and profiting from services they are not entitled to.

Having access to a current account can assist those here unlawfully in obtaining work illegally and securing credit. It can help those without permission to be in the UK gain a foothold in society, regardless of their immigration status.

Identifying an unlawful migrant’s current account may also provide evidence of illegal working, helping identify and stamp this out.

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023

Understanding the roots of the UK’s immigration system

This post also includes examples of racism that are underpinned by the ongoing hostile environment

Updated 6 April 2023: Ethical Journalism Network: Structural racism in UK newsrooms: Research and fieldwork conducted by the EJN Jan – Jul 2022

In February 2021, the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) was awarded funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, through their Power and Accountability programme, to fund a project to identify and begin to address structural racism in UK journalism. The resulting policy report, published in March 2023, provides an overview of the challenges that Black journalists are facing in the British news media. Browse the report by chapter and download the report below.

The report, written by Dr Aida Al-Kaisy and based on 27 in-depth interviews with Black journalists and stakeholders who have or are currently working in national mainstream media newsrooms across print, online and broadcast media, provides an overview of the challenges that Black journalists are facing in the British news media.

Although the proportion of Black African and Caribbean journalists has increased in recent years, and there has been a heightened sense of the possibility for change since 2020 with the increased momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, Black journalists interviewed confirmed that newsroom processes continued to be exclusionary and racism was commonplace.