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Transcript of Refugee Action – Basis Project Refugee community organisations – roles, potential and challenges...
![Page 1: Refugee Action – Basis Project Refugee community organisations – roles, potential and challenges SE Funders Forum 10 Dec 09.](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022032707/56649e535503460f94b49ba8/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Refugee Action – Basis Project
Refugee community organisations – roles,
potential and challenges
SE Funders Forum 10 Dec 09
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Refugee Action
Definitions
The asylum process
The role and challenges of RCOs in the South East
start
Today’s programme
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Refugee Action• Reception, advice, information
• Informing, influencing and campaigning
• Access to employment and main stream services
• Developing refugee communities
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The Basis Project• Partnership Refugee Action – Refugee
Council offering:
• Capacity building for RCOs- Training, 1:1 support- Peer-to-peer
• Awareness raising (funders, second tier orgs, RCOs)
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“ In Britain, half a million ___________ find their home. They are never persecuted and in many respects they are given favoured treatment here. But now... they are overrunning the country.”
Q1: Who said this, about whom and when?
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“In Britain, half a million Jews find their home. They are never persecuted and in many respects they are given favoured treatment here. But now... they are overrunning the country.”
1938, Sunday Express
Q1. Who said this, when?
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Refugee vs. Asylum Seeker
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Refugees vs. asylum seekers• Asylum seeker- A person who has
left their country of origin, has applied for recognition as a refugee in another country, and is awaiting a decision on their asylum claim
• Refugee - A person who, following their claim for asylum in the UK, has met the criteria laid out in Article 1 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
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• Refused asylum seeker- A person who hasn’t been able to
prove that they would face persecution back home, has had their application turned down, is told to leave the country after the authorities have said ‘no, you can’t stay here’
There is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker!
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• Economic migrant - A person who has moved to another country to work, could be legal or illegal.
• Illegal immigrant - A person that arrives in a country and has no legal permission to be in that country. Has either not made themselves known to the authorities or has stayed longer than they were authorised to.
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To qualify as a refugee a person must have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their:
- Race- Religion- Political opinion or
membership of a social group- Nationality
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Percentage of world’s refugees living in UK?
a) 11%b)23%c) 3%
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• The UK hosts 3% of the world’s refugees.
• At the end of 2008, the UN estimated that there were 292,100 refugees living in the UK, that is 0.5% of the UK’s population
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a) Iran
b) China
c) Afghanistan
d) Iraq
e) Eritrea
Where do refugees and asylum seekers come from?
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Country producing largest no. of asylum seekers?
1. Afghanistan (790)
2. Iran (540)3. Zimbabwe (525)4. Eritrea (385)5. China (300)6. Pakistan (280)7. Somalia (230)8. Sri Lanka (225)9. Iraq (175)
Figures from Sep-Oct-Nov 2009 Home Office
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1. Afghanistan 2. Zimbabwe3. Eritrea4. Iran5. Iraq6. Sri Lankan
2008 applications to the UK
19% of all applications in 2008 were granted refugee status (3,725 of 19,400)
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Number of refugees in the SE?
Hard to tell:- Refugee Action – 3,700 face-to-face per
year, and 5036 telephone contacts (yearly figures)
*New refugees (RIES) : 255 (Oct 08-Sep 09)
- Dover Detainees Visitor’s group: 80 released clients
- Kent Refugee Help : 13 a year released on bail or after review
- Kent unaccompanied asylum seekers: 300
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• Refugee status
• Humanitarian Protection
• Discretionary Leave to Remain (minors up to 18th )
• Indefinite Leave to Remain
Immigration status (after decision)
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Characteristics of asylum process
• high number of Home Office refusals before the appeal stage
• limited access to legal representation
• no choice accommodation dispersal
• below poverty levels of asylum support
• destitution of refused asylum seekers
• limited educational and training opportunities
• general isolation and social exclusion
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Why people come to the UK?
•Little choice about where to flee
•Reliance on agents
For those that can choose, reasons include:
•friends or family•believing UK is safe and democratic•previous links between their own country and the UK, including colonialism•speaking English or wishing to learn it
(Source: Robinson and Segrott 2002; Koser and Pinkerton 2002)
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Weekly support for asylum seekers?
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A single asylum seeker receives
Asylum seekers:
•Single over 18 £35.13
Job seekers:
Single over 25 £64.30*
Income support:
Single £64.30*
*These are general weekly amounts, they vary according to specific cases or circumstances
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How do asylum seekers spend their money?
MYTH:1. Gold teeth2.Drugs3. Weapons4. Leather
jackets
REALITY:
1.Phone calls
2.Bus fares
3.Food
4.Soap
(Source: Mobiles, money and mayhem: the facts and fibs about asylum. www.refugee-action.org.uk)
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Step in the shoes of the others
• What does it feel like to become a refugee? • What are the barriers to integration?
• How are refugees and asylum seekers perceived in the UK?
• Can experiences be different because of cultural expectations and gender roles?
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Things to consider….• Asylum seekers and refugees are not
economic migrants, they are fleeing persecution
• Refugees can work and set-up businesses - depending on their immigration status
• In general asylum seekers cannot work or set-up businesses
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Things to consider…• Refugees face a complex set of
restrictions on their ability to integrate
• Employment and business set-up is key to integration
• Asylum legislation is complicated and changes frequently impacting on the experiences of refugees and those working with them
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Refugees’ contributionsA recent national survey of asylum seekers
found:
• 54% qualified to NVQ3 or above• 80% employed, self-employed or studying
before UK• 30% self-employed before UK• 97% under 50 years of age• 51% spoke two or more languages other
than English
Waddington, S. Valuing skills and supporting integration (NIACE 2005) and Department for Work and Pensions (2006)
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• Meet immediate needs of refugees and asylum seekers – the shock absorber
• Providing cultural and emotional support
• A bridge to and between cultures
• Raising awareness and understanding about refugees in the community
• Contribution to community cohesion within own communities and externally
The role of RCOs
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Where RCOs are
54
Source: Refugee Community Organisations in England- Realising Potential- Report by Refugee Action and Refugee Council July 2007. The numbers for SE are organisations in RA’s current database of RCOs
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RCOs’ income
Source: Refugee Community Organisations in England- Realising Potential- Report by Refugee Action and Refugee Council. July 2007
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RCO diversity
Refugee Community Organisations in England- Realising Potential- Report by Refugee Action and Refugee Council. July 2007
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RCO services
Most frequent in SE:
-Social/language Groups
-Self-help groups
-Asylum and immigration advice/signposting
-Awareness raising
Less frequent:
-Gay and lesbian
-Disabled support
-Domestic violence
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Challenges faced by RCOs
•Complexity of community needs – reflecting individual needs and situations
•Understanding of environment and isolation from debates
•Funding – recession beginning to hit home
•Relying on volunteers
•Language and cultural barriers
•Their role is not well understood by funders, policy makers and local authorities – eg resurgence of single group funding
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Barriers to accessing funding
RCOs:• Communication and language• Lack of knowledge of funding
criteria• Lack of independent referees• No access communication
facilities
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Barriers to accessing funding
Funders:• Decision-making panel know
little about refugees and asylum seekers
• The support RCOs have or not
• Staff knowledge (grants officers)
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Kent Refugee Help
-People in detention
-Legal advice
-Sureties or bail when possible
-After release support
-In 2009 13 successful cases, including 2 indefinite leave to remains
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Oromo Community of Brighton
-Gateway refugees from Ethiopia
- Social events
-Self-help group
-Language classes for children and adults