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Refugees and Asylum seekers The Justice and Peace Commission has been working locally on Refugee and Asylum Issues since 1999. Since the Millennium we have seen several Bills come before Parliament on how to deal with Asylum Seekers. There has been much negative publicity and inaccurate reporting in the media which has led to an almost national frenzy and fear of being swamped by those seeking asylum. These people are often termed ‘bogus asylum seekers’,‘illegal immigrants’ or even worse – ‘terrorists'. The real situation tells a different story, one that is hardly ever reported in the media. It is a story of the suffering and desperation of individuals and families who have had to flee their homes and countries because of war and religious and political persecution, very often with their lives threatened. They come to the UK in order to seek protection from these intolerable situations. How they are treated when they arrive in this country is another matter, the UK is no longer a safe haven from persecution. Because of current Government legislation many asylum seekers are now destitute and living on the streets. The Commission works in Leeds and other areas of the diocese to offer support and well-being to asylum seekers and refugees in need. Is This UK Justice? Shocking Revelations Refugee families in Leeds have provided shocking revelations of their asylum experience. They have lived with uncertainty for up to five years, waiting for leave to remain despite some who's suffering has required the services of The Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture. There is a widespread belief, unfair in their opinion, that they have prior knowledge of the asylum system. They have no understanding of the Legal Services Commission or their entitlements regarding representation and do not know that seeking asylum is a legal concept. Some solicitors do not appear to be fully knowledgeable. A common complaint was of solicitors dropping their case just before appeal. This leaves no time to find alternative representation and often results in withdrawal of NASS support. There were the usual stories of misrepresentation by Home Office interpreters but most shocking of all was the assertion that some solicitors were offering services to women in exchange for sex. Sex for Visas At Lunar House, Croydon Immigration Office, a sex for visas scandal has emerged. Former employees there have blown the whistle on a regime of staff offering visas in return for sexual favours. Unacceptable Conditions at Yarl's Wood Research by Legal Action for Women has revealed that the experience of women detained in Yarl's Wood Removal Centre contradicts Home Office claims that: Detaining traumatised women ignores the Home Office's own guidelines. These advise against detention of 'those suffering from serious medical conditions or the mentally ill; those where there is independent evidence that they have been tortured....' Conditions compound the trauma from which victims of torture suffer. The research demonstrates that most of those deemed 'bogus' have never had a chance to present their case. The women detained have suffered rape or other sexual violence, torture, trafficking, physical disabilities as a result of the violence they fled. Many have no legal representation, have had solicitors demand money before they will represent them, have been subject to illegal attempts to deport them, suffered injuries during violent removal attempts, been subjected to racism from staff (including being called 'black monkeys') and sexual intimidation from guards (One woman reported male staff walking into her room unannounced when she was naked.) At least five women have tried to commit suicide in detention. Half have not received appropriate medical attention. Some exhibited symptoms of tuberculosis. Three underage girls were being held because the Home Office disputes their age. For a Self-Help Guide against detention & deportation, contact: Legal Action for Women at Crossroads Women's Centre, PO Box 287 , London NW6 5QU. Tel: 020 7482 2496 or email law@crossroadswomen.net Children The Children's Commissioner for England visited child refugees receiving treatment at the Medical Foundation and heard accounts of detention, racism, attempts by officials to classify young teenagers as adults, and the pervasive fear of many of the youngsters of being sent back to the countries they had fled. "They are not... being listened to or believed. No one has. .. told them what they are entitled to and what their rights are. No one has told them what is likely to happen to them.. ..Some were overcome with emotion when speaking to me." The Commissioner has criticised the detention of children and the conditions in which they are being held and called for the repeal of Section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 as well as demanding improved age assessment to avoid children being wrongly categorised as adults, which deprives them of the support needed by under 18's. He is outraged at the way children of asylum-seekers are taken into detention prior to removal from the country without adequate explanation of what is happening to them. A young refugee from Uganda who was put in detention when he first arrived in Britain said: 'Detaining families is child abuse. When the authorities put young people in detention they don't know what the kids have already been through. Some may have been imprisoned in their country of origin. When they are locked up, their mind goes back to those earlier experiences. When they are released, they are never the same.' Living Ghosts Last December, Church Action on Poverty organised a 'Living Ghosts' pilgrimage in Leeds. Several hundred came along to show solidarity and campaign to change Government policies that make people seeking asylum destitute. Reverend Canon Kathryn Fitzsimons said: 'Our society believes that everyone within our borders who can work should be able to, and there is security for those that can't. We call on the Government to uphold these values....' For more on Living Ghosts - Church Action on Poverty All Opposed to Section 9 The Local Government Association (LGA) met on 7 November 2005 to discuss alternatives to Section 9. It suggests that the New Asylum Model should incorporate legal representation, a transparent, understandable decision making process and the opportunity for the applicant to have a voice. The LGA suggests that families be required to co-operate from initial claim stage or else receive reduced benefits and that these measures would be more successful in securing voluntary removals. Feedback from Local Authorities including West Yorkshire is that Section 9 has not succeeded in removing failed asylum seeking families but has compounded confusion and increased absconding. Research by Barnardo's charity found that 35 of the 116 families in the Section 9 pilot have gone into hiding to avoid deportation and predict that if rolled out nationally this problem would be amplified. A Home Office report, due imminently, will determine what the future holds for these families. It is not expected that there will be attempts to detain or remove families in Leeds until the results of the pilot evaluation are known. Missing the Point In November last year, 450 Kurds and Iraqis receiving Section 4 support were threatened with eviction as the Home Office had deemed a safe route to exist back to Iraq and those refugees who refused to return voluntarily would have their support withdrawn. Following the intervention of Leeds City Council and others, NASS agreed to suspend the eviction notices but this did not happen before many had already been evicted. £3,000 Enhanced Assistance Home Office enhanced assistance for voluntary returnees (VARRP) co-ordinated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has now been introduced. This applies to all failed asylum seekers who: agree to return; have ongoing judicial review; have a fresh asylum or humanitarian grounds claim; or are too ill to return. Individuals receive £500 cash as a relocation grant and the remainder will be given as a £2,000 tailored reintegration package for starting up a business, training or education. It is available to those who agree to leave the UK between 1 January and 30 June 2006 but not if they have applied for asylum after 31 December 2005. Evictions NASS, through IOM, is making a concerted effort to persuade all Iraqis receiving section 4 support, of the benefits of VARRP, to try and get more to sign up. After six weeks, the eviction process will be restarted for those who have not signed up for it. This temporary stay in evictions applies to Leeds only. Those who have already received discontinuation letters but have not yet been evicted will continue to receive support rather than be evicted. Those already evicted will remain so and must re-apply and fully satisfy the criteria if they wish to receive section 4 support again. Travel Arrangements IOM do not have expertise, only 'partners' based in Amman, Jordan, in Iraq and no direct contact with their agents south of Baghdad. 1,370 have already left the UK , mostly travelling to Arbil using EU travel documents. For those returning to Baghdad or the south, there are flights to Amman. The lOM's agents in Arbil help with onwards transportation and accommodation. five hunfred and forty one have applied to return already, mostly Kurds. If travelling south you have to contact the Arbil agents yourself. It may take three months to get a flight so it is important to act quickly if you want to take up the offer. The Home Office has already written to around 50,000 asylum seekers with details. The cost of a forced deportation is around £11,000 per person. Let them Work Many refugees are in limbo, forbidden to work, some in detention, desperate enough to commit suicide. Kate Hoey is amongst sixty two MPs who have signed Early Day Motion 1293 to get the Government to grant failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers the right to work. Everyone in this situation, regardless of nationality, could benefit. The Motion: 'That this House accepts that Zimbabweans refused asylum in the UK cannot be returned to Zimbabwe because of conditions prevailing in that country; is concerned that their ineligibility for state benefits renders many destitute; and calls on the Home Secretary to grant them the right to work so they can support themselves financially and make a contribution to society during their time in the UK while developing their professional and technical skills in order to contribute to the rebuilding of Zimbabwe once political change renders it safe for them to return.' The Truth About DR Congo Last Autumn, Jenny Cuffe of the BBC went to the Congo to find out if asylum seekers' claims that it is not safe to return is true. In Kinshasa , a member of the Congolese secret services said 'we are actually targeting asylum seekers who have been abroad....' His job is to interrogate returning asylum seekers. Those who 'have problems with the government' are detained. 'We have to arrest them and show them what they did was not good.' He identifies asylum seekers with connections to Congo 's enemies and hands them over to the authorities. 'I cannot say more' he said. An asylum seeker removed from the UK in 2002 and who's statement was ignored by the Home Office said 'We were beaten on a daily basis by soldiers.... They accused us of being traitors. I was raped by the guards on at least six occasions'. Another told the BBC that on his return he was interrogated for 48 hours, whipped and taken in a jeep to Makala prison where he was subject to continued beatings. The United Nations has described the regime in Congo 's prisons as one of rape and torture. It reports that If prisoners do not have relatives to bring them food, they may eventually die of starvation. A human rights lawyer found two prisoners in Makala to be former asylum seekers who have been there for more than five years without charge. The UK does not monitor the safety of returned asylum seekers. Last year the British Ambassador to Kinshasa wrote: 'We have no evidence that returned failed asylum seekers are singled out for adverse treatment'. The Family Amnesty Saga A year has passed since the deadline for applications under the Home Office 'Family Amnesty' and many have yet to hear the outcome. Challenges to their qualifying criteria are currently under Judicial Review. They may accept late applications where justified, depending on the outcome of these reviews. An application should be submitted, regardless of refugee status, via a solicitor if: the family has only a minor criminal conviction; the youngest child turned 18 before 24 Oct 2003 (previously 2 October 2000 ); or the applicant is an Unaccompanied Minor (previously excluded). People subject to removal to a safe third country do not meet the criteria. So far, 17,000 families have benefited from the amnesty. The Home Office should grant ILR to all family members if the criteria are met. The family's advisor should request, by recorder delivery, a 'Family Exercise' form and state briefly why they qualify. Send to: ILR Concession, Home Office, PO Box 1541 , Croydon CR9 2YS. If you hear nothing after six weeks, the solicitor should contact the ILR Helpline on 020 8760 4779. For more information see:
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