Transcript Document

Leicester
Working to create a culture of welcome in
the City and County of Leicester
Registered charity no 1138017
www.cityofsanctuary.org/leicester
What does Leicester City of
Sanctuary do?
We try to tell people about what it is really like to be an
asylum seeker.
•We give talks and hold workshops for schools and other organisations.
•We offer free training to employers and the voluntary sector
We also try to make life better for asylum seekers and
refugees in our community by:
•Running a drop-in centre.
•Arranging outings and social activities.
•Providing classes and workshops.
•Helping them learn English.
•Organising NEST – a scheme which helps asylum seekers find new evidence to support their
claims.
•Running a ‘hosting’ scheme for people who are temporarily homeless.
•Maintaining a small ‘hardship fund’ for people in crisis.
•Helping people find items they need that they cannot afford to buy
Case Study
Abdul fled his village when the Taliban tried
to recruit him when he was 15. As a
member of the Hazaran ethnic group he
faced persecution. His family had already
been killed and he arrived in the UK alone
after a terrifying journey of 6 months. He
was treated as an adult although he was
still a minor. His asylum claim failed due to
poor legal representation and an
interpreter who did not speak his dialect.
He missed his appeal hearing as he could
not read the letter and went
“underground” due to his fear of
deportation. He lived destitute in Leicester
for 6 years when he was found by the Red
Cross. Referred to Leicester City of
Sanctuary, Abdul was found a new solicitor
and was hosted by a couple in Rothley who
showed him kindness and support. Abdul
regularly attended City of Sanctuary English
classes and the Drop in Centre. He loved
his classes and learned to read and write in
English. He was not literate in his first
language as he never had the chance to go
to school. He was also seen be a specialist
for his medical condition.
He was arrested and detained before his
fresh claim was lodged. Abdul had made
many friends across Leicester and Rothley
and a campaign was launched by his
football friends to release him and
prevent his deportation. He is currently
free and awaiting further consideration of
his case.
Abdul says “All I want is to be safe. Thank
you so much to everyone who has
supported me.”
Our drop in centre
 Thursdays 1-4pm at St
Martins House by the
cathedral
 Provides free lunches
and bus fares
 Access to sewing
machines and laptops
 Games and activities,
cups of tea and a chat
 Opportunity to meet
new people and make
friends
Leicester City of Sanctuary
Outings
Skegness
Hunstanton
Leicester City of
Sanctuary Activities
Visit from Jon Ashworth
MP
Christmas party
Drop in Activities
What can you do to help?
 Tell your friends about us and challenge negative stereotypes
of asylum seekers.
 Donate (non-perishable) food items to the Red Cross or the
Welcome Project which help destitute asylum seekers.
 Become a supporter – you will receive our newsletter and
occasional requests for help.
 Become a volunteer. Leicester City of Sanctuary is entirely run
by volunteers.
 Encourage your organisation – workplace, club, religious
organisation or other group – to invite one of our speakers and
sign up to support Leicester City of Sanctuary.
 Offer a spare room in your home from one night to two months
to someone who is temporarily homeless.
What can you do to help?
 Make a donation or raise money for us. We do not
receive any ‘official’ funding – all our money comes
from donations, charitable trusts and our own fundraising efforts. With more money we can help more
asylum seekers – for example, it costs £200 a
session to run the drop-in centre, £25 a week to
support a destitute asylum seeker in our hosting
scheme or £2 to provide a lunch for one person at
our centre.
 Become a Friend of Leicester City of Sanctuary and
covenant a small monthly sum (as little as £5) to
support our work.
 Donate via Just TextGiving 70070 LCOS £1 to £5 or
£10
Asylum seekers get an
unfair press
Inaccurate media reports
have given asylum
seekers a bad name but
this is unfair since asylum
seekers are less likely to
commit a crime through
Comments such as “Every asylum
fear. A constant stream
seeker in Britain should be treated as an
of inflammatory media
illegal and deported”
encourages us to pair
have been made in letters to the
words like bogus and
Leicester Mercury but this is against
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of
illegal or crime with
Human Rights (1948)
asylum.
Who are asylum seekers and
why do they need our help?
People seek asylum because they
have suffered persecution at
home – even torture and
imprisonment – simply for
o
supporting the ‘wrong’
political party
o
speaking out against
corruption
o
for being gay or marrying
the ‘wrong’ person
o
for belonging to the ‘wrong’
ethnic group or practising
the ‘wrong’ religion
These are things we simply cannot
imagine in the UK - so many people
don’t believe them.
Asylum seekers get an
unfair press
Inaccurate media reports
have given asylum
seekers a bad name but
this is unfair since asylum
seekers are less likely to
commit a crime through
Comments such as “Every asylum
fear. A constant stream
seeker in Britain should be treated as an
of inflammatory media
illegal and deported”
encourages us to pair
have been made in letters to the
words like bogus and
Leicester Mercury but this is against
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of
illegal or crime with
Human Rights (1948)
asylum.
Asylum seekers get an
unfair press
Inaccurate media reports
have given asylum
seekers a bad name but
this is unfair since asylum
seekers are less likely to
commit a crime through
Comments such as “Every asylum
fear. A constant stream
seeker in Britain should be treated as an
of inflammatory media
illegal and deported”
encourages us to pair
have been made in letters to the
words like bogus and
Leicester Mercury but this is against
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of
illegal or crime with
Human Rights (1948)
asylum.
What happens to asylum seekers
when they come to the UK?
On arrival, asylum seekers have to
report to the UK Border Agency.
Many are traumatised. They
• are finger-printed and issued
with an identity card
•
have to report back at regular
intervals and can be locked up
at any time
• are not allowed to work and
receive minimal benefits which
are not always paid in cash
This means that some people can
never use public transport, buy a
cup of tea, shop in the market or a
charity shop, repair shoes or get a
hair cut.
They have no choice about where they
live and they can be moved to another
part of the country at 48 hours notice,
away from schools, friends and any life
they have made for themselves.
Please Support Us
To pledge your support, covenant donations
or for more information
 Visit
http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/Leicester
 Email: [email protected]
 Like us on
Facebook/com/leicestercityofsanctuary
 Follow us on Twitter.com/leicestercos
The facts about asylum
Who's who – Definitions
Refugee
“A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for
reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is
unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection
of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the
country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is
unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”
The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
In the UK, a person is officially a refugee when they have their claim for
asylum accepted by the government.
Asylum Seeker
A person who has left their country of origin and formally applied for
asylum in another country but whose application has not yet been
concluded.
The facts about asylum
Who's who – Definitions
Refused asylum seeker
A person whose asylum application has been unsuccessful
and who has no other claim for protection awaiting a
decision. Some refused asylum seekers voluntarily return
home, others are forcibly returned and for some it is not
safe or practical for them to return until conditions in their
country change.
‘Illegal’ immigrant
Someone whose entry into or presence in a country
contravenes immigration laws.
Economic migrant
Someone who has moved to another country to work.
Refugees are not economic migrants.
Getting leave to remain is very
complicated and can take a long time
 Many asylum seekers have no legal
representation
 Interpretation services are often poor
 Immigration officials are sometimes
inadequately trained and don’t know about
the country of origin
 Whilst waiting for a decision you live in
limbo and are unable to take paid work
There’s no guarantee you will
be granted status …
 Only 36% of cases are granted refugee
status at the first hearing
 Another 28% are granted status on appeal
 Where status is refused it is often because
of lack of evidence
 or lack of or poor legal representation
 or lack of information about the country of
origin
Asylum seekers and refugees do
not get large handouts from the
state
Asylum seekers do not come to the UK to claim
benefits – in fact most know nothing about the
welfare systems before arrival.
Most asylum seekers are living in poverty and
experience poor health and hunger.
Almost all asylum seekers are not allowed to
work and are forced to rely on state support –
usually £5 a day.
Asylum seekers have to live where they are told –
usually a room in hard to let housing.
Asylum seekers and refugees
are law-abiding citizens
 The vast majority of people seeking asylum
are law abiding people.
 Many destitute refused asylum seekers fear
approaching the police to report incidents
of sexual harassment and assaults, avoiding
contact for fear of being picked up, put in
detention and deported.
 Immigration officers have the power to
detain asylum seekers, even if they have
not committed any crime.
Refugees make a huge
contribution to the UK
 Immigrants, including refugees, pay more into
the public purse compared to their UK born
counterparts.
 An estimated 30,000 jobs have been
created in Leicester by Ugandan Asian
refugees since 1972.
 About 1,200 medically qualified refugees are
recorded on the British Medical Association’s
database It is estimated that it costs around
£25,000 to support a refugee doctor to
practise in the UK. Training a new doctor is
estimated to cost between £200,000 and
£250,000.
Asylum seekers are looking for a
place of safety
 The 1951 Refugee Convention guarantees
everybody the right to apply for asylum. It has
saved millions of lives. No country has ever withdrawn from it.
 There is no such thing as an ‘illegal’ or ‘bogus’
asylum seeker. Under international law, anyone has the right to
apply for asylum in any country that has signed the 1951 Convention and to
remain there until the authorities have assessed their claim.
 Many refugees and asylum seekers hope to
return home at some point in the future, if the
situation in their country has improved.
 The top ten refugee producing countries in
2011 all have poor human rights records or
ongoing conflict. Asylum seekers are fleeing from these conflicts
and abuses, looking for safety
Many refused asylum seekers are still
here because
Their countries are unsafe or unstable
Many of those who would once have qualified for protection today find themselves refused and destitute.
They can’t be removed
In practice it is extremely difficult to forcibly remove people to countries where there may be serious
safety issues, uncooperative governments, difficulties in obtaining travel documents or unreliable travel
routes.
They are afraid to go back
Many refused asylum seekers are too fearful to return voluntarily as they are from countries torn apart by
conflict or where human rights abuses are rife. While their countries remain volatile, they consider
destitution a safer option than returning to conflict and abuse
They believe they have a case Even if a person is fairly refused asylum, it does not automatically
follow that their claim for asylum is “bogus”. Even if the government accepts that you have been
persecuted, you may be refused asylum unless you can prove there is a significant risk it will happen again.
The government sometimes gets it wrong
Experts have long expressed concerns about whether some asylum seekers receive a full and fair hearing
of their claim. Decision making in relation to some nationalities is particularly poor. For example, in 2012,
53% of Eritreans, 47% of Sri Lankans, 34% of Zimbabweans and 30% of Iranians who appealed had their
refusals overturned. For every person who successfully overturns a poor decision, many more may be
falling through the net due to a lack of quality legal advice.
More facts and figures
 80% of refugees are hosted by developing
countries, only a small proportion travel to
developed countries in Europe and elsewhere
 Refugees only account for a tiny percentage of
overall immigration in the UK - 3% in 2011
 Most asylum applications are from countries
that have either recently experienced conflict
or have well-documented human rights abuses
 E.g. Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan,
Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, China, Sudan and
Zimbabwe.