March 9th, 2010
I’m a social work student currently on placement at Refugee Action in Bristol, so I’m really interested to learn as much as possible about what people seeking asylum and refugees really experience here.
When I heard that Lou Perrett was giving a talk about her time as a UKBA case owner, I had to go – especially after reading the recent article in the Guardian about her revelations. The talk was organised by Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers and over 200 people packed the small community centre it was held in. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Esme Peach
Tags: Bristol, Lou Perret, UKBA, whistleblower
Posted in Events | 1 Comment »
March 4th, 2010
BBC script editor Sarah Barton talks to our communications team about her work on this week’s exciting TV drama Five Days. Five Days is a thriller series which tracks five 24-hour periods in a police investigation and is airing between 1 and 5 March 2010.
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Posted by Esme Peach
Tags: Afghanistan, BBC, Five Days
Posted in In depth | No Comments »
March 4th, 2010
One of Refugee Actions fantastic supporters is living on £5 a day (£35 a week) for Lent, in order to better understand how it is to live on asylum support.
She’s been writing a blog to document her daily experiences and struggles, with phone calls, launderettes and transport. Now on week two, it makes for very interesting reading.
http://fivequidaday.wordpress.com/
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Posted by Sara Ayech
Posted in In depth, asylum support cuts campaign | No Comments »
February 25th, 2010
By Ahmad Masood Wahed
Ahmad Masood Wahed
The sound of fire, the fear of being kidnapped, the unpaved streets, the naked structure of an empty class, the journey of an all-day work carrying the loads of masters on a pair of painful shoulders, the voice of innocent and hungry kids… is the sign of a new morning in Afghanistan. This is one of the thousands of typical journeys that have been passed by every single Afghan person during the last three decades.
During the decades of war and bloodshed, Afghanistan was abandoned and destroyed. People were not allowed and are still not allowed the freedom of expression. The control of the media by the government, the strict Islamic roles imposed by religious leaders, and the establishment of sharia law by the government and other incidents all led me to leave my homeland suddenly.
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Posted by Sara Ayech
Posted in In depth, Refugee voices | 1 Comment »
February 15th, 2010
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. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Sara Ayech
Posted in In depth, Refugee voices, asylum support cuts campaign | 1 Comment »
January 18th, 2010
Moving to Mars, the new film following a refugee family who are resettled in Sheffield, opens this Friday at the ICA in London with a Q&A from director-of-the-moment Mat Whitecross.
Rick Jones, who manages Refugee Action’s Gateway resettlement programme in Bolton, has seen the film:
Moving to Mars – a great documentary! I’ve seen the film three times now and I’m still hooked on the way it so neatly captures some of the issues faced by refugees as they resettle into unfamiliar places and cultures.
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Posted by Sara Ayech
Posted in In depth | 1 Comment »
December 22nd, 2009
Christmas lists to Santa, New Year’s resolutions, dreams and aspirations for the next decade… The festive season seems to be a time of Hopin’ and Wishin’ and Prayin’ for change.
So in the seasonal spirit of sharing, we thought we’d whisper our New Year’s wishes to you and give you a wee glimpse of what’s on our Christmas list this year. (We’ve been really good this year, Santa. Honest, we have).
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Posted by Esme Peach
Tags: asylum, asylum seekers, asylum support cuts, Christmas list, Refugee Week, Simple Acts campaign
Posted in In depth | No Comments »
December 11th, 2009
Written by Karolina Maroszek.
Refugee Action is calling for a more gender-sensitive treatment of women asylum seekers.
Women claiming asylum in the UK have often left behind them persecution experience quite different from that of asylum-seeking men. They may have been raped, forced into marriage, experienced domestic violence or ‘honour’ crimes. In the more conservative societies women have no social status or protection and therefore internal flight is not an option. Yet, the UK asylum system treats their cases on a par with those of male asylum-seekers and has no gender-specific provisions, which would apply in asylum determination, securing welfare or accommodation, during detention or in pregnancy.
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Posted by Sara Ayech
Posted in In depth | No Comments »
December 10th, 2009
Sixty-one years ago today, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, guaranteeing everyone the essential freedoms which most of us take for granted.
It provided a guide for people all around the world to help them understand what their rights are and how they can defend them.
Its message – that all human beings have the right to dignity and equality – is as relevant today as it was in 1948.
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Posted by Sandy Buchan
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
November 26th, 2009
Written by Gareth Hankinson – Youth Advocacy Worker, Refugee Action.
The Get Connected Project at Refugee Action has been running for a number of years and over that time has enabled unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeking children to exert their rights as protected by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Get Connected Project, supported by BBC Children in Need, works with those who are between 15 and 18 years of age, are claiming asylum and are without any one who has parental responsibility for them. Through the work of the project we have been able to uphold the rights of some of the most vulnerable young people as they go through a difficult process, were their immigration status sometimes comes before the fact that they are children.
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Posted by Sara Ayech
Posted in In depth | No Comments »
