Hello 
This article was published today in the Yorkshire Post -  
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion?articleid=2918443 <http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion?articleid=2918443> 
It's by John Packer, the Bishop of Leeds and Ripon, and is about the Still Human Still Here coalition of groups supporting asylum seekers. The article mentions the recent Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust report into destitution among asylum seekers in Leeds. For that report follow the link from the JRCT homepage: http://www.jrct.org.uk/
The YP article was forwarded by Richard Byrne, Refugee Council (thanks).
James
*****
 

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion?articleid=2918443 <http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion?articleid=2918443> 

Hi, see below v good article in Yorkshire Post today by Bishop John Packer, which mentions the JRCT inquiry and Still Human Still here. If anyone wants to write letters in support would be a good idea

Richard


*       Published Date: 31 May 2007 

*       Location: Yorkshire 

John Packer: We have a human duty to help asylum seekers

STILL Human, Still Here, is a coalition of refugee, asylum and church organisations. It highlights the needs of asylum seekers forced into destitution by our current policies. 

It is a coalition based around the concept of hospitality. This is at the heart of the Christian gospel, and also of the ethic of many people of all faiths and none. As human beings, we have a duty to one another to ensure dignity and the provision of basic needs.

That applies to our treatment of the elderly, for example. It applies, too, to our help for asylum seekers. This includes those who have been refused permission to stay in this country, but who cannot be deported to their homeland.

There is debate about many elements of our asylum system, including legal representation, conditions in detention centres and deportation of children to unsafe countries.

On one issue, however, those who believe we should be more open to asylum seekers, and the tough-minded defenders of Britain's borders ought to be able to agree. The destitution currently being experienced by hundreds in Leeds alone fails the standards of human decency. It also fails those who want to repatriate asylum seekers swiftly and effectively.

Organisations in Leeds such as PAFRAS (Positive Action For Refugees and Asylum Seekers) or St George's Crypt, provide food for the hungry and advice for the destitute.

The recent report of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Moving on from Destitution to Contribution, tells of the bind in which refused asylum seekers in Leeds find themselves. They cannot return to their country of origin because it is not safe - many come from Eritrea, Sudan or Iran. They have no access to public funds or services and they are forbidden to work.

The result is destitution. The report speaks of the evidence of homelessness and fear. "I sleep parks or any place to protect from coldness - bus station, train station. If you sleep in town, people can make trouble," says one refused asylum seeker.

Another comments: "At night, I can't sleep. I see my life is in danger..... I do not have any feeling in my body. When I see the past, I see death. When I see the present, I see no hope. If I kill myself, everything will finish."

Health care is often unavailable. Suicide is often contemplated.

Nor is this destitution confined to adults. Families with children are being made destitute in a society which claims that "every child matters".

The research of Hannah Lewis, for the Rowntree Trust, quickly discovered three families who had been destitute for more than a year. They will be the tip of an iceberg, and Leeds City Council has repeatedly expressed its concern at suffering by the children of asylum seekers.

Much is being done by charities in our major cities to provide support for people caught up in this impossible situation. However, that cannot be the solution. At present, many people disappear altogether from the asylum system. No-one knows where they are. They are living a limbo existence which contributes nothing to either their own lives or that of society.

In her introduction to the Rowntree report, Kate Adie, who chaired the inquiry, argues that "absolutely no-one gains from the present state of affairs. Neither government, community, taxpayer nor refused asylum seeker. Reform would be for the greater good of all".

That reform would involve, first of all, the right and duty of asylum seekers to contribute through working, both while their claim is being processed and after a claim is refused, but before return can take place. A licence to work would depend on keeping contact with the authorities. This would not mean that people 

from the host community would lose their jobs - the temporary posts which asylum seekers would take are widely available and not filled.

Secondly, those who cannot work should have a reasonable level of assistance to give access to the basic needs of food, shelter and health care. There should be no circumstances in which people are not entitled to this basic provision.

These two reforms would help the economy, our communities and asylum seekers themselves. They would disadvantage no-one.

There also needs to be a better asylum process, with good quality decision-making and a far more effective system of voluntary repatriation where that is safe.

A new system will take time. Meanwhile, the two simple provisions of a right to seek a job and reasonable assistance for those who cannot work would benefit us all.


John Packer is the Bishop of Leeds and Ripon. 

Last Updated: 31 May 2007

Richard Byrne

Regional Media Officer

Refugee Council 

0113  386 2235/ 07776 203404

 

 

 

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