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Asylum seekers face being made destitute  The
case of asylum seeker Radmila Vujnovic highlighted in last week’s
Irish Post is far from an isolated incident. PAUL DONOVAN says something
must be done to change the system.
THOUSANDS of asylum seekers have been forced into destitution across
Britain living on hand-outs from churches and charities due to an inhumane
government policy.
The story carried in last week’s Irish Post of Serbian asylum seeker
Radmila Vujnovic who had been working on a voluntary basis for the past
six years at the London Irish Centre provided a reminder of how so many
asylum seekers are misused when all many desire is to be allowed to work
while in the country.
Radmila came to Britain in 1999 fleeing her home in Croatia where war
had broken-out. She applied for asylum at Heathrow Airport but as with
so many cases was turned-down.
She appealed on humanitarian grounds but this was denied.
In the meantime she has contributed to the British economy by working
at the Irish Centre — though its manager Peter Hammond he has been
unable to pay her.
Radmilla’s case is not unusual. In fact, according to the National
Audit Office there are between 155,000 and 283,500 rejected asylum seekers
awaiting deportation from the country.
Reacting to right-wing tabloid newspaper headlines Ministers ruled some
years ago that once asylum seekers exhausted the appeal process or lacked
the resources to go any further (onto appeal) all support should be removed.
The result has seen thousands turning to churches and charities for support
to keep them from destitution.
Amazingly in this the fourth richest economy in the world the Red Cross
works in a number of cities, including Manchester, handing-out food parcels
to many of these desperate individuals.
A growing number of individuals and organisations have been calling for
asylum seekers to be allowed to work or receive benefits for the duration
of their stay in this country.
Such a policy would make perfect sense as if asylum seekers were working
not only would they be contributing to the economy but the immigration
services could keep tabs on exactly where they were.
The present policy literally forces desperate individuals to disappear
into the black economy in order to survive.
Allowing asylum seekers to work provides the added bonus that many send
money home to support their families.
This has been found to be one of the most effective ways of providing
aid to developing countries.
Other plus points of such a policy would be the additional taxes that
the asylum seekers would produce to the exchequer.
It is also important to remember that many of those making it as far as
these shores are among the more educated and capable in their populations.
So they can often be skilled people like doctors, nurses and teachers,
who with the requisite training could fill skills shortages in this country.
There does now appear to be growing popular support amongst the public
for allowing asylum seekers to work for the duration of their stay in
the country with a poll conducted by ORB for the Citizens Organising Foundation
finding that 66 per cent supporting the notion.
Among the growing number of voices calling for this right to work to be
granted are many Catholic and Anglican Bishops, Church Action on Poverty,
the Refugee Council and Amnesty International.
The asylum system generally though seems to be in a permanent state of
disarray.
Statistics show that 78.6 per cent of 20,960 applicants for asylum in
2006 had their cases turned down at first instance. There was then a 23
per cent success rate on appeal.
“The figures indicate that initial decision making has been poor,”
said Hannah Ward, press officer at the Refugee Council. “I’ve
met many women who have undergone rape or torture and been turned down,
even on appeal.
“The consequences of this poor decision making can be appalling
for the people concerned. There needs to be better decision making at
the first instance so that the cases don’t have to go to appeal.”
There have been efforts made over the past 12 months to change the system,
introducing the New Asylum Model (NAM). The NAM saw an upgrading of the
staff at the Border and Immigration Agency (BAI).
A case worker is now appointed at the start of the process and stays with
the asylum seeker till the end. Asylum seekers are also now granted greater
access to legal help at an early stage. Legal aid funding has helped this
process.
Asylum seeker support organisations, though, have found a culture of refusal
remains at first instance (ie prior to appeal). In one case a Sudanese
lawyer had been raped, tortured in detention and forced to sign a document
denouncing her religion.
She had a five hour interview, during which she was asked 300 questions,
none of which touched on her allegation of rape. She was given a male
interpreter, despite being in a traumatised state. Her claim was denied
on the basis that it was believed her claim of having established a non-governmental
organisation was not true.
The immigration judge on appeal upheld her application.
A number of moves need to be made if the present asylum crisis is to be
resolved. A number of the rudiments of the NAM point in the right direction
but there clearly needs to be a change of culture among those dealing
with claims at the first instance.
Once in the country, asylum seekers need to be allowed to work. In addition
there should be an amnesty for the hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers
who remain in a state of limbo here.
An amnesty would clear the backlog and remove a potential source of exploitable
labour.
These are all simple moves that could easily be undertaken to bring about
a more humane asylum system for all concerned. A new start needs to be
made. |
