Citizens for Sanctuary call for campaign champions

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Greece asylum law and practice not compliant – CECHR

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New Tribunal Rules and Procedures

I’ve been working on new training notes and having fun (noooooo!) deleting all of the references to the unlamented Asylum and Immigration Tribunal for the next edition of the HJT Immigration Manual. I thought I would share some of the fruits of my labours with you all. I’ll be delivering training for HJT on 25th February covering an analysis of the changes, so what follows are links to the relevant documents, collected into one place for ease of reference.

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Yarl’s Wood: Detained children face ‘extreme distress’

The Guardian – Children held at an immigration detention centre face “extremely distressing” arrest and transportation procedures, and are subjected to prolonged and sometimes repeated periods of detention, according to a damning report by the Children’s Commissioner.

In a report that prompted an angry response from the UK Border Agency (UKBA), Sir Al Aynsley-Green highlighted concerns over “significant areas” of healthcare for the 1,000 children held in the Yarl’s Wood centre every year.

They include a failure to assess “even at an elementary level” the general psychological wellbeing of a child on arrival and a failure to recognise psychological harm when faced with dramatic changes in a child’s behaviour. The report highlighted the cases of one four-year-old boy who appeared withdrawn, wetting when previously dry, and an eight-year-old previously happy boy who had become sad, skipped school, lost his appetite, slept poorly and screamed in the night.

Aynsley-Green concluded that the poor care and unacceptable delays in the case of a three-year-old child with a fractured arm was symptomatic of a failure to provide a standard of NHS care that any British citizen could expect. The child had been examined by a nurse hours after a fall, but was not seen by a doctor until 15 hours later and, five hours after that, was taken to hospital. The report also highlighted an allegation, disputed by the UKBA, that a 10-year-old girl had her head banged against the wall by an officer to wake her up and then attempted self-harm by swallowing shower gel.

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My Experience as a lone Parent on Asylum

Nehanda Radio – My name is Tapiwa. I am a single father of two daughters and we arrived in the UK in August 2003. I had no idea that I would be prohibited from working for the upkeep of my family. It seemed so strange I was told that I would be given money from the state every week, instead of being allowed to work.

After a few weeks of this money, it became clear to me that the amount of money I was receiving was calculated to allow me to simply stay alive while the Home secretary decided whether or not to grant us leave to remain. I called it “Breathing Money”. It was enough to keep us breathing and not much else.

It was hard living on NASS support with two children, seeing we had to pay for most other things just like anyone else. We had to buy school uniforms, shoes, clothes and pay for school trips among other things.

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Yarl’s Wood Women on Hunger Strike ‘Locked up’

The Guardian - An immigration removal centre was reported to be in a state of chaos yesterday, as at least 50 women entered the fourth day of a hunger strike in protest against their detention and conditions, with ­several reportedly fainting in corridors and almost 20 locked outdoors wearing few clothes.

Yarl’s Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire, which houses 405 women and children, was in lockdown, leaving women in communal spaces without food, water or toilet facilities.

Several women who tried to escape through a window were then locked outside, according to one detainee, including one whose finger was almost severed as she escaped but who had not received medical treatment.

“We have been on hunger strike since Friday protesting about the length of time we have spent in detention here,” said Aisha, who has been in Yarl’s Wood for three months. “We have been locked in the hallway all day – five ladies have fainted because they have not eaten since Friday. No one has come to give them any medical attention.

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Gathering Evidence Effectively Guide

There has been a greater interest in asylum issues in the media, particurlarly the national newspapers. Although there is some reporting which is sympathetic to the plight of asylum seekers and refugees and recognises the contributions they can make, many stories highlight the presence of what are commonly termed ‘bogus asylum seekers’ who, it is argued, claim asylum even though they have not suffered persecution, in order to seek ‘a better life’.

The language of sections of the press can be mainly or frequently unbalanced, negative and in some respects potentially alarming.The press have the right to raise issues of interest to their readers but it is important to balance this against the need to respect human rights and the safety and cohesion of communities.

The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK (ICAR) yesterday(09/12/09) published a document which is a rough guide to assist those seeking knowledge about UK asylum seekers and refugees to navigate secondary sources of data and information.

Many postgraduate students have chosen to focus their research on analysis of media coverage of asylum issues. Most local and national newspapers have their own websites. Some only have their
articles of the day online, others have free or pay-to-access online archives. A Google search will reveal most newspapers’ website details. A number of newspapers and broadcasters, such as the BBC and the Guardian, have dedicated sections on asylum and immigration issues.

A number of organisations and projects dedicated to interrogating the nature of media
representation of asylum issues (including HAT News – see page 35 of the guide)have also been established and these are a useful source for research reports and secondary analysis and commentary.

The guide, Gathering Evidence Effectively has been organised by type of information provider. The sections are as follows:
1. Government and statutory sector
2. Academia
3. Legal bodies
4. Voluntary sector
5. Inter-governmental organisations
6. Media
7. Think tanks
8. Professional bodies
9. Private research companies
10. Portals and information hubs
11. Archives of raw data for secondary analysis
12. Listservs

To read click Gathering Evidence Effectively

For more information visit the ICAR website.

Immigration and Asylum Law

By Gazala Rashid

Asylum law is nothing new and tracks its roots all the way back to the middle ages. Asylum law is a law that outlines situations for an individual or group that is under persecution by their home country, for political or spiritual beliefs, or is considered not safe in their own country and is thus looking to migrate to a different one for protection. This takes place all over the world, and if you’re considering entering the U.S. or the U.K. under these circumstances, it would be very important for you to contact a U.S. or U.K. immigration lawyer first, to see if you are eligible.

Asylum law is not quite refugee law and there is a large difference. Asylum law concerns the right of asylum, as opposed to refugee law, which concerns huge groups of people fleeing from a country. Most of the time, the seekers for asylum are often considered rebels or dissidents in their own countries and are not physically safe. Therefore, they seek asylum in a friendly country, consistent with their beliefs and values. In return, this country offers them asylum and protection. It is important to note, however, that in some cases these laws do sometimes overlap, as refugees sometimes demand to be treated as asylum cases, or vice versa.

Asylum has general legal stipulations surrounding it, as in any other case, and is usually treated on a case by case basis. However, asylum is different in each nation, and some may be generally stricter than others. In fact, many countries take extremely different viewpoints on what asylum law is, and what it should be which can create confusion. International law also states that a country does not have to surrender the asylum seekers, who are often considered criminals in their home country, if they don’t want to. This can make the complicated process even more complex, if the two countries are not working together.

Making the process even more complicated is the recent advent of the Extradition treaty which has given more power back to the government instead of the asylum seeker. Extradition treaties are treaties that give the home country of the asylum seeker the right to demand their return, and under international law, they would have no choice but to oblige. However, not every nation has signed this treaty, and if they have not signed they are under the international law to obey it. This happens all the time in asylum cases where asylum seekers go to countries that are friendly to their beliefs, and do not have an extradition treaty with the person’s home country. If you are seeking asylum in another country or feel that you may qualify for asylum, it is best to talk to an immigration lawyer so he can tell you exactly what you need to look out for when dealing with this complicated area of international law.

Gazala Rashid has been an immigration lawyer in the UK since 1999. She has great expertise in all aspects of UK immigration, asylum and nationality law, and you may view her articles on these topics in her blog at www.ukmigrationlawyers.co.uk/blog

Detaining Justice:Theater Review

Source: www.variety.com

A Tricycle Theater presentation of a play in one act by Bola Agbaje. Directed by Indhu Rubasingham.

Mr Cole – Karl Collins
Chi Chi – Rebecca Scroggs
Justice – Aml Ameen
Grace – Sharon Duncan-Brewster
Pra – Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Abeni – Cecilia Noble

The Tricycle Theater’s three-play series, “Not Black and White,” comes to a lively — if not particularly groundbreaking — end with Bola Agbaje’s agitprop take on the U.K.’s immigration system, “Detaining Justice.” While oppression, inhumane bureaucracy and xenophobia are always worth fighting against, their existence in Western nations is hardly news: there is a naive edge to the indignation that fuels the 28-year-old playwright’s writing.

Read full review here

What Value Refugees and Asylum Seekers.

Source: Adrian’s Blog

It is amazing how much we misunderstand the process of refugees and asylum seekers.

I work for a company called Phoenix Community Care, this is a not for profit company that works with people in need. So we work with young people age 16 and 17 years old who are in the UK but have no parents or guardians here. They actually come under the care system as looked after children, as you are considered by UK law as a child until you reach the age of 18 years, the problem for the care system was that in real terms most local authority agencies for foster care where overstretched before the wars in so many areas started supping refugees out all over the world. Places like Afghanistan, Kosovo, Darfur, Somalia, and Iraqi. On top of that there are localised wars like in Congo. Then on top of that there are internal wars in Sri Lanka. Add to those problems the problem of persecution which still excises in countries like Vietnam, and Cambodia.

If your life was threatened would you run away, would you try and protect your family and loved ones?

As a company we are housing young people from most of the above countries, we then have young people from China and Iran, why Iran, no war there, well no, but if you are a Christian or a Jehovah witness, then life is almost impossible. Then there are those from Ethiopia, why do they come, many say to me well my father speaks Amharic but my mother is from Eritrea and no one want you then.

I am sure there are bad apples, some few I have met, but most of the stories I hear would make you wonder why they are not mad, and some because of the extreme pressure actually are and need good psychiatric care.

Sadly I often hear from people, it is not fair, they are steeling our houses and jobs and being paid large amounts of money. I work in the sector and what I see does not fit those newspaper nonsense headlines, I see youngster’s just about surviving, roof, small amount of food money and some help with language. Many of these people are ambitious and keen to work and contribute to the country that has given them refuge; often the law doesn’t allow them to do that.

We are only a small Island, other countries should help!

Where do asylum seekers in Europe come from?
The four main countries of origin of asylum seekers in Europe in 2002 were Iraq with 50,058 applications, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with 32,656 applications, Turkey with 28,455 applications and Afghanistan with 25,470 applications UNHCR Asylum Applications Lodged in Industrialised Countries: Levels and Trends, 2000-2002).

And who does help, well of course the UK does and many think we are doing more than anyone else, but look at these statistics which is based on the population for the country, per 1,000 and who in Europe does take the most refugees per head of population, have a look:

Which European countries have the highest number of asylum applications?
When the number of asylum applications are compared with the total population of the state in which the applications are made (i.e. applications per 1000 inhabitants), in 2002, out of 25 European countries, Austria was the European country with the highest ratio of applications to population with 4.6 applications per 1000, followed by Norway (3.9), Sweden (3.7), Switzerland (3.7), Ireland (3.1) and Liechtenstein (2.8). Germany had 0.9 applications per 1000 inhabitants and the UK 1.9. (Source: Table 1 UNHCR Asylum Applications Lodged in Industrialised Countries: Levels and Trends, 2000-2002)
The thing is that the UK can use asylum seekers to the benefit of the country as well as help very needy people. The UK has ageing population, many who have paid into pensions, never mind the national pension. Pension funds rely on the working population paying into the fund, which then pays out to those who no longer are in work. Of course if the amount of people working falls to a smaller and smaller amount the ability to continue to pay those who are no longer in work becomes more difficult, hence in the UK the moves to increase the statutory retirement age.

The state pension age is set to increase to 68 by 2050 with anyone aged less than 47 facing a longer working life, the work and pension’s secretary, John Hutton, said.

Only those born before 1959 will be unaffected by plans to phase in a higher retirement age over three decades, outlined in the government’s white paper on pension reforms.

The interesting thing is that most refugees / asylum seekers coming to the UK are of working age. Maybe they will help your pension!
Asylum seekers and refugees will often when given the opportunity create jobs for others, become entrepreneur’s that will benefit the economy and indirectly benefit all of the current population. We need to open our eyes to the benefits as well as the perceived problems; Benefits in our hospitals, in our transport system and in our building programmes.

My view, well some of these young people with tragic stories and terrible life experience can be of great blessing to all of us, we need to see it and help them to do it.

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