CITIZENS for Sanctuary

Citizens for Sanctuary Newsletter Sprin/Summer 2011

2011-11-04T09:34:00.001Z

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Citizens for Sanctuary Newsletter - Winter - 2010/2011

2011-08-11T13:23:00.000+01:00

http://www.citizensuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Newsletter-Winter-2010-20111.pdf

Glasgow CITIZENS for Sanctuary celebrate a positive first meeting with UKBA Regional Director for Scotland

2011-01-17T15:19:00.000Z

An alliance of faith, community, trade union and refugee groups in Glasgow celebrated a milestone on Monday in their campaign to make the UK Border Agency in Scotland more accountable.

Glasgow Citizens for Sanctuary, which includes members from Church of Scotland, Justice and Peace Scotland, Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Action of Churches Together in Scotland and Quaker Meeting House Glasgow, met for the first time with the Regional Director of the UK Border Agency in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Phil Taylor to set up a series of meetings to review their concerns with the asylum system.

Citizens for Sanctuary aims to build a fair, effective, humane and transparent system for those who seek sanctuary in the UK, based on the recommendations of Independent Asylum Commission, a comprehensive review of the whole asylum system that concluded in summer 2008.

In their first meeting, delegates from Glasgow Citizens for Sanctuary won a commitment from Mr Taylor to attend a meeting to discuss their practical proposals for reform and heard his interest in finding constructive solutions to existing concerns. “I’m the man responsible if anything goes wrong in Scotland”, Mr Taylor explained. “If there’s something we can do, we’re very happy to do it”.

The next meeting will be held outside the UK Border Agency offices to ensure that those who are going through the asylum system can attend and share their stories.“This has been a sticking point,” explained Pol Yates, who has been coordinating the group. “We were originally meant to meet in March last year, but the meeting was cancelled. Since then we’ve been trying to get Phil Taylor to a meeting outside of Brand Street. We’re glad he’s now said he’s very happy to meet us outside”.

Glasgow Citizens for Sanctuary first wrote to Phil Taylor at the end of 2009, following their Which?-style monitoring of a new payment card (‘Azure’), which was introduced for those on Section 4 support. From their findings the team produced a report with several recommendations to improve the system. Monday’s meeting was set up in December 2010 after the intervention of high-profile supporters, including the Archbishop of Glasgow, Bishop-President of the Justice and Peace Commission, the Convenor of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Refugees and MP Ian Murray.

Glasgow Citizens for Sanctuary will meet again with Mr Taylor in the next couple of weeks to discuss the group’s practical proposals for improving the Azure card. This includes broadening the card so it can be used in charity shops so that people can buy big items like winter coats on a budget of £5 a day.”That’s something I’d be very happy to work on”, said Mr Taylor, “and I know there are other issues you have raised.”

“I’m feeling positive”, Rev David McLachlan, Minster of Langside Church and member of Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, who chaired the meeting said. “We made a good start.” A member of the group, who fled violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, agreed, “I’m happy after that meeting because I now believe Mr Taylor will give us what we want. I didn’t expect such a welcome or such a positive meeting.”

CITIZENS for Sanctuary take on cowboy legal advisors.

2011-01-12T17:49:00.001Z

CITIZENS for Sanctuary made the headlines before Christmas with our citizen action to root out the cowboy lawyers who are exploiting people seeking sanctuary. The piece, featuring Barbara Nalumu, a leader in the Ugandan community and with South London CITIZENS, went out on ITV London News and you can watch it here: http://www.itv.com/london/immigration-scam55229/

The issue of poor legal advice was raised repeatedly during the Independent Asylum Commission and came up at several our immigration workshops where CITIZENS worked with local trusted lawyers to provide a workshop for good advice and training. We want to identify the cowboy lawyers and, with the power of citizen action, we want to root out the lawyers and advisors taking advantage of people trapped in the immigration. Already, we have heard some horrifying stories about fake visas, incorrect advice and advisors charging extortionate sums of money to the most vulnerable members of our community.

So, at the South London CITIZENS Assembly, we launched our response to the testimonies of leaders who had suffered at the hands of cowboy immigration advisors. We are working name and shame poor legal advisors and work to build a positive relationship with those providing a good service. Not only do we want to take these unscrupulous advisors head on, we also want to train our leaders to be better at spotting issues and sign-posting people through the complicated immigration system.

Every good organizing action is judged on the reaction and we are seeing this campaign start to cause ripples through the sector. We are developing a relationship with the Office for Immigration Services and met last week with the Commissioner, Suzanne McCarthy. But we have also had the backing of Immigration Minister, Damian Green, who said "I am glad that London Citizens are going to play a part on driving the con artists out of the system." You can see the full interview here: http://www.itv.com/london/fullprogramme/

Nick Clegg's message to CITIZENS UK

2010-12-14T13:26:00.001Z

Over the past year, you have all been working extremely hard to end the detention of children and families for immigration purposes. Many of you were with us at the historic event of May 3rd, when the party leaders pledged to us to end this cruel practice. The Coalition Government then announced its commitment to end the detention of children.

In July, Immigration Minister Damian Green MP confirmed their commitment to us, by stating that there would be no child in detention by Christmas.

Ending this practice not only needed a change in policy, but also a massive shift in culture. Something that needed time, and patience!

You will also be aware that back in August, CITIZENS UK established a Taskforce that would look at safe, sustainable and humane alternatives to Child Detention. Although originally set up to look at the most difficult of cases, those families who refused to comply, the Taskforce put forward recommendations for the whole ensured return route. Please click here to download a copy of the report.

Last week, the recommendations of the Taskforce were submitted to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office.

The Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg was due at our South London CITIZENS Assembly on December 2nd at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Unfortunately, at the last minute he was called out of the Country. Luckily, he was able to send us a video message which stated that they would be making an announcement before Christmas as to how and when Child Detention would end for good. Please see here for the video message… http://www.citizensuk.org/2010/12/nick-cleggs-message-to-citizens-uk-on-ending-child-detention/

There was also massive recognition for CITIZEN UK and all those who had been involved in the Sanctuary Pledge. We were also blessed with the presence of Sarah Teather MP Minister for Children, who confirmed that there will be an announcement before Christmas.

Last Thursday’s Guardian carried an article which gives more background to the process: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/dec/01/nick-clegg-announce-timetable-ending-child-detentions

The next step is for the Deputy Prime Minister to announce how and when they will end Child Detention. We are expecting this to happen next week, and will keep you informed as to how and when.

CITIZENS for Sanctuary Away Day

2010-10-14T09:19:00.003+01:00

Dear all,

On Saturday, CITIZENS for Sanctuary held an away day for leaders to help decide the priorities for the next 12 months and to start conversations about how CITIZENS for Sanctuary will function after the initial funding runs out at the end of 2011.

It was a productive afternoon and we are grateful for the leaders who joined us from the Tees Valley, West Midlands, Solent, Tyne and Wear, Plymouth, Greater Manchester and Nottingham Regional Campaign Action Teams as well as members from across London CITIZENS and the New Citizen Academy. However, we are aware that not everyone could be there and so this email briefly outlines some of the decisions and strategies that came out of Saturday’s event.

As with all Community Organising, we started with a discussion of power. How can CITIZENS for Sanctuary build its power to make us more effective at bringing about the change that we want? Each RCAT and chapter of London CITIZENS needs to consider this at a local level – whether the team needs to be more diverse, build relationships with the local media, recruit more volunteers or have their organizer run more training with them.

We also considered what issues we should be prioritised over the next 12 months. Each RCAT and team should be setting its own agenda but it was agreed that pooling our power makes us more effective and that having a joined up strategy around the problem of legal advice should be a top priority going forward this year. Leaders also considered issues around the transition period for people once they have been granted status and how the cuts will impact us locally, for instance in West Midlands the Council have decided to withdraw its provision of housing for people seeking sanctuary.

Finally, looking ahead to the next two years, the group considered the future of CITIZENS for Sanctuary. It was overwhelming felt that CITIZENS for Sanctuary should not fold at the end of this current funding stream (end of 2011) because of the effective work we have done so far, from a new reporting centre in Tees Valley to housing action in Manchester and of course ending the detention of children and families at the national level. However, leaders recognised the need for CITIZENS for Sanctuary to be learning and evolving. So, the plans for the future will consider the need to be more regionalised, to expand RCATS (some teams want to develop sponsoring committees for future broad-based organisations like London CITIZENS), to build more relationships between RCATS and chapters of CITIZENS UK and to find more nationalised action that has an over-arching target but that can be carried out at the local level.

We hope this is a helpful update. If you have any additional thoughts please email us. We have interesting times ahead so it’s important that teams are looking to develop their own unique plans for the work of CITIZENS for Sanctuary in each region. We need to build on the many successes of last 18 months and make sure we continue to develop new leaders and take on more action.

Best wishes,

Sophie

Damian Green: As of 19th July there were no children in detention

2010-07-30T17:17:00.006+01:00

CITIZENS UK, the nation's largest civil society alliance which hosts the CITIZENS for Sanctuary campaign, welcomes the statement by the Immigration Minister in the Home Affairs Select Committee Meeting on Tuesday 20th July of progress towards ending the detention of children for immigration purposes.The issue was raised by Dr Julian Huppert MP and Alun Michael MP, who both signed the Sanctuary Pledge under pressure from local CITIZENS for Sanctuary teams.

Damian Green, Minister for Immigration explained to the Home Affairs Select Committee,

“[CITIZENS UK] said that last year they had sent Father Christmas to parade outside Yarl’s Wood to make the point that there were children in there. I made the possibly rash commitment that if anyone had to do it this year I would dress up as Father Christmas... I am confident that we will have this sorted well before Christmas.”

He added,

“We have already stopped overnight detention of children at one of the two places where it happened...Dungavel in Scotland. The numbers at Yarl’s Wood are markedly down. I believe that...as of yesterday there were no children in detention.”

On 22nd July Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that the family unit at Yarl's Wood Detention Centre would close, confirming Damian Green's commitment that there would be no children in detention by Christmas.

Nick Clegg and David Cameron committed to ending the detention of children at the CITIZENS UK Assembly on May 3rd.

Since the election, CITIZENS UK has played a key role in the working group coordinated by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to help implement the commitment in the coalition agreement to "end the detention of children for immigration purposes" and advise on alternatives to child detention.

The statements conclude the review that was set up by the government to make good on its May 3rd commitment.

Neil Jameson, Executive Director of CITIZENS UK said:

“This is a victory for civil society and democracy – proving that ordinary citizens working together can persuade the government to make its policies more decent and humane at a national level. We are one step closer to ending the shame of locking up innocent children."We recognise that the government needs to be able to find safe and sustainable ways of removing families who have had a fair hearing and do not have protection needs. There are no easy answers here, and we need to draw on expertise and experience from civil society help solve this problem. That is why we are putting together a Taskforce to advise the government on appropriate alternatives to the detention of families that ensure that the welfare of children is paramount.”

Note: Neither witnesses nor Members have had the opportunity to correct the record of the Home Affairs Select Committee Meeting. The transcript is not yet an approved formal record of these proceedings.

Transport for London on board for CITIZENS for Sanctuary campaign

2010-07-29T15:06:00.005+01:00

Two years ago, the Independent Asylum Commission recommended that people seeking sanctuary who are required to report regularly to the UK Border Agency should be provided with cash or a travel card to pay for public transport. At present, there are 322 people in London whose claims have been refused but who are unable to return home, and who live on £35 a week on an ‘Azure’ card – a form of payment currently unrecognized by London’s transport providers. Some are forced to walk for miles across the capital to report.

Last week, a diverse delegation of CITIZENS for Sanctuary leaders - including faith leaders from the Jewish and Roman Catholic community, a trustee of CITIZENS UK, the director of the Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum and leaders from the refugee community who are issued the Azure card - met Mr Shashi Verma, representative of Transport for London. The negotiation brought the IAC’s recommendation a step closer to reality. Not only did Mr Verma agree to look at the possibilities of allowing those who currently live without cash to use London transport – either by signing TfL up to the Azure scheme, or by initiating a ‘Freedom Pass’-style system – he also agreed to accompany CITIZENS for Sanctuary to their next meeting with the UKBA.

One member of the negotiating team, Father Thomas O’Brien, remarked that ‘It was encouraging to come to a meeting in which the person with whom we sought to make a relationship... was both open and excellently prepared’, and that Mr Verma will be a ‘valuable ally’ in fighting this cause. Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, who chaired the meeting, explained, “he was willing to listen to us and share the benefits of his experience and insight – I look forward to being able to continue to work together”.

CITIZENS for Sanctuary are delighted to have begun building a relationship with TfL, and believe that together they can help ensure that London transport is for all Londoners – including those forced to live without cash.

UPDATE: four leaders from different refugee communities who use the Azure card ran a successful negotiation with Jenny Jones, London Assembly Member yesterday. The women shared powerful stories of how their experiences of persecution, sex trafficking and violence led them to the UK, before outlining the many difficulties of living without cash: such as being unable to buy phone cards to call family members in danger back home or to use the bus.

The testimony had a great affect on Jenny Jones, “We need to get your voice out there”, she said. “As a Green Party member I care about not just the environment but people and social justice. I’ve been in a position where I haven’t been able to afford the bus, so I understand a fraction of what you are going through – but I can’t imagine how you cope”.

Polly, who chaired the meeting, explained, “We had a very successful meeting – Jenny Jones needed to hear those issues and will be a powerful ally. She agreed to ask the Mayor, Boris Johnson, what he has done to fulfill his commitments to providing travel expenses for people seeking sanctuary in London and will put pressure on Transport for London. She invited us to City Hall to hear Boris Johnson’s reaction”.

'Local reporting for local people'

2010-07-26T10:20:00.004+01:00

A Campaign which started with a Walk of Justice in July 2009 has achieved an important milestone in the campaign to promote justice for vulnerable people seeking sanctuary in our local area.

It is now a year since Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary – an alliance of faith, refugee and citizen groups - met with UKBA North East Director, Jeremy Oppenheim to call on him to put an end to people having to walk up to 12 miles to Stockton Police Station in order to comply with UK Border Agency reporting requirements. Following that meeting, travel expenses were provided for those receiving asylum support, and a pledge given that an alternative venue in Middlesbrough would be secured. During the year various venues had been explored but none was forthcoming.

Following a constructive meeting with Katherine Hierons, UKBA Assistant Director for Teesside on Tuesday, an assurance was given that the system for reporting in Middlesbrough aims to be up and running for the week beginning Oct. 4th.
Katherine Hierons also agreed that she would continue to work with Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary to resolve this and other issues. During the meeting, issues were raised concerning the process of detention and removal of vulnerable families.

Barbara Hungin, a Leader from Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary, said:
We are encouraged by our recent meeting with Katherine Hierons, and delighted that a year's campaigning has had a positive result. We look forward to future meetings so that we may continue to campaign on behalf of some of the most vulnerable in our community.

Nick Clegg announces end of detention for families at Yarl's Wood

2010-07-22T12:01:00.004+01:00

Yesterday at Prime Minister's Questions, Nick Clegg announced the end of child detention at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre.

This is fantastic news - and a major step forward towards ending child detention altogether. Mr Clegg promised a fuller statement in the near future which would offer more details.

It is less than a year since Canon Jim Rosenthal and Canon Nick Sagovsky were infamously turned away from Yarl's Wood when trying to deliver gifts for the kids dressed as St Nicholas. Now it seems likely that this Christmas there will be no children locked up in Yarl's Wood, or anywhere else for that matter.

Don't forget that you and people like you made this happen: ordinary citizens who persuaded your prospective parliamentary candidates to sign the Sanctuary Pledge, and who won the commitment to end child detention from Nick Clegg, and to set up a working group to advise on alternatives from David Cameron, at the CITIZENS UK Assembly on May 3rd. That was evident in the fact that the MP who asked the question at PMQs, Dr Julian Huppert, was one of sixty MPs who signed the Sanctuary Pledge. He was convinced to do so by a hard-working CITIZENS for Sanctuary team in Cambridge.

Since then leaders from CITIZENS UK have played a key role in the working group set up to advise on alternatives, and have helped to ensure that the coalition government sticks to its promise to end the detention of children for immigration purposes.

Much of the hard work of finding humane and robust alternatives to child detention is still to be done, but thank you for supporting the Sanctuary Pledge campaign thus far. And for now let's celebrate this important step, tell our friends the story of how organised citizens made this happen, and count our blessings that the Immigration Minister will not have to dress up as St Nick this year!

Things start to move at Becket House reporting Centre

2010-06-16T17:52:00.002+01:00

A diverse alliance of faith, refugee and civic groups have been working extremely hard over the past 8 months to improve reporting conditions at Becket House reporting Centre, and it is starting to pay off.

What was an hour and half queue on a Monday morning has now been reduced to 20 minutes as many peoples reporting arrangements have been reduced. Also, to mark Refugee Week, Becket House are hosting the “Saving Sanctuary” photography exhibition which tells the story of the Independent Asylum Commission along side stories of those who have fled persecution and British Citizens and where they find sanctuary to escape the hecticness of everyday life.

In September 2009 a group of leaders carried out a listening campaign which identified the issues which could be acted upon. A report was then presented to Tony Smith the then Regional Director for South East London for UKBA and CITIZENS for Sanctuary entered into a dialogue around reporting issues. Since January 2010 the team, have been meeting with Becket House to look at how they can work together to improve reporting conditions as well as working with members of staff to introduce a more relational culture at Becket House.

One of the biggest wins for the team, was to see peoples reporting frequency reduced. The team heard stories from people reporting up to three times a week. This has now been changed, with many people reporting just once a week. The team was also concerned about those waiting in line for up to an hour and half on Monday mornings come rain or sun. Because people are now reporting less frequently, the queue is considerably shorter and 20 minutes is the longest waiting time that people are experiencing.

Becket House also agreed to provide umbrellas so individuals no longer have to wait in the rain, and agreed for Friends of Becket House to serve free tea to the queue every Monday.

Lucky from DRC, who has been reporting at Becket House for many years is one of the volunteers who serves free tea said that “We serve about 70 cups of tea every Monday. It is very popular and the people are very grateful. It has also started people talking to each other in the queue. People tell me that no one ever looks out for them, so they are glad that we are taking small steps to change their experience of Becket House”.

CITIZENS for Sanctuary has also been working with Becket House to provide a more relational culture in the reporting centre. Regular “friends” events will take place, which will encourage members of staff to meet with those who report and members of the local community to ask questions about Becket House and the role that they carry out.

For more information that is being done with other reporting centre’s around the UK please contact carina.crawford-rolt@cof.org.uk

Immigration Minister Damian Green recognizes Citizens for Sanctuary as one of the most effective lobbying organisations ever.

2010-06-16T16:57:00.009+01:00

Speaking at CITIZENS for Sanctuary Garden Party Minister Damian Green gave massive recognition to the work of CITIZENS for Sanctuary at the same time stating that there would be no more children and families detained by the end of summer and certainly not by Christmas 2010.

The event was organized to celebrate the successes of CITIZENS for Sanctuary over the past year and half and to pay tribute to the leaders and partners who have worked together over the past 6 months to bring about an end to detaining children and families for Immigration Reasons.

Around 80 leaders, partners and funders gathered at Westminster Abbey to celebrate and to meet other leaders from around the country. A number of MPs who had signed the pledge were also present as well as Sharon Flannery, Director for London and South East region for UKBA.

Amongst the celebration, there was still politics to be done. CITIZENS wanted to hear when the new coalition government would stop detaining children and families.

Minister Damian Green stated “It was not just a duty but a pleasure to end the practice. This will be a better country when we don't detain children for immigration purposes", he said, adding: "There is no getting away from the fact that if you are a civilised decent human being the sight of young children locked up behind bars should make you feel profoundly uneasy."

Referring to widespread press coverage at Christmas last year over the refusal by Yarl's Wood to allow CITIZENS for Sanctuary leaders to give Christmas presents to the children locked inside, Neil Jameson, Citizens UK executive director), asked Mr Green if he could confirm there would be no children there by next Christmas.

Mr Green also congratulated CITIZENS for Sanctuary campaigners for securing a more humane reception centre at the immigration processing centre at Lunar House in Croydon."I'm pleased to say that when I went there last week it now looks like an entry point for human beings rather than cattle. So that's one significant thing you chalked up even before the issue of children in detention," he told the gathering at Westminster Abbey.

Jeff Sango, leader with CITIZENS for Sanctuary said that “The build up of the campaign against child detention by CITIZENS for Sanctuary , the pre-election debates at the CitizensUK party leaders accountability assembly on 3^rd May 2010 and an immediate action to stop child detention by the new coalition government ,through the personal commitment by Minister Damien Green , shows how the power of organising communities by CitizensUK can bring about effective policy changes in government. As a Zimbabwean community leader, I am very excited and encouraged by Minister Damien Green`s immediate response and a call to action by the new coalition government. There can be no better route to good government than constructive engagement between the governed and those who govern them.”

CITIZENS for Sanctuary welcomes commitment to end child detention in Queen's Speech

2010-05-25T13:48:00.005+01:00

2010 Queen’s Speech: “My Government will …end the detention of children for immigration purposes.”

CITIZENS UK and the leaders of the Sanctuary Pledge campaign, having secured the commitment by David Cameron to end child detention, are now looking forward to helping the government to put in place alternatives.

Three days before the election, David Cameron told the 2,500-strong CITIZENS UK General Election Assembly:
“It is not acceptable what happens at the moment [child detention], not acceptable at all. We will look at it closely and I will make sure that CITIZENS UK is part of that process.”

Cameron’s pledge came after a meeting between CITIZENS UK leaders and the Conservative Party leader’s aides a few days before. This followed the year long Sanctuary Pledge campaign, supported by eighteen faith and civil society institutions, which convinced local prospective parliamentary candidates to support policies to end the detention of children and families for immigration purposes.

The Liberal Democrats, who also pledged to end child detention at the CITIZENS UK assembly, were persuaded to include this commitment in their manifesto by a delegation of leaders from CITIZENS UK and the Sanctuary Pledge campaign at their party conference in 2009.

The Immigration Minister, Damian Green MP, recently promised to end the detention of children within months and has announced a wide-ranging review.

Jonathan Cox, Lead Organiser of CITIZENS for Sanctuary and the Sanctuary Pledge campaign, said:

“We are delighted that the coalition government is fulfilling the promise that David Cameron made to us on May 3rd. We look forward to working with the government as part of its working party to ensure that the new policy is family-friendly and results, as swiftly as possible, in the release of captive children. There are many alternatives to child detention. The important thing is that the solution matches the different circumstances of each family. What we need to avoid is a bureaucratic ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer which would create new problems.”

Time to end the detention of children for immigration purposes

2010-04-21T01:25:00.003+01:00

By Dr Austen Ivereigh

Each year the UK Border Agency (UKBA) detains around 1,000 children in immigration removal centres (IRCs). The reason: their parent or parents have been identified for forced removal from the UK.

They range in age from babies to older teenagers, but are mostly in the age range of 10-12 years. Most have spent many years in the UK while their parents’ case for asylum has been processed, and speak with British accents after being educated at British schools.

They have committed no crime. Yet suddenly they are arrested and imprisoned – for weeks at a time, out of sight of the press and the courts. Some spend only a few days in detention at Yarl’s Wood in Bedfordshire, the main IRC with family facilities; others many weeks, or even months. The average is 15 days – described as “unacceptable” by the children’s commissioner for England, Sir Al Aynsley-Green. When they are released, less than half of them are put on a plane back to their parents’ country; most go back to where they were before they were detained. Many are detained more than once.

Mark Easton, the BBC home affairs editor, wrote in April 2009: “What sort of country sends a dozen uniformed officers to haul innocent sleeping children out of their beds; gives them just a few minutes to pack what belongings they can grab; pushes them into stinking caged vans; drives them for hours while refusing them the chance to go to the lavatory so that they wet themselves and locks them up sometimes for weeks or months without the prospect of release and without adequate health services? My country, apparently.”

Almost every child who is detained suffers some injury to their health, physical and mental. Being arrested, transported and locked up is, in itself, traumatic: they recall with horror being woken early in the morning by uniformed officers breaking down the front door, told they have just minutes to pack their most essential belongings, then watching their parents being handcuffed. “Children, even the youngest, are deeply affected and traumatised by these events,” Sir Al reported in 2008. “Many of them have recurring nightmares about them, and they often demonstrate changes in behaviour. They can become persistently withdrawn, cling to their parents, refuse food or wet the bed. Children's best interests appear to me to be entirely invisible during the arrest and escorting process.” Many of these children have put down roots in Britain after many years, and are torn from their friends and belongings. “I speak to these children in places like Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre,” Sir Al wrote, “and they answer my questions in regional British accents acquired over many years of integration into our communities and schools. It seems positively cruel to rip up the hopes and aspirations of these young people, who have become settled and enjoy close ties with friends, teachers and neighbours, due to the historic problems of managing the asylum system inefficiently.”

The children’s commissioner wrote a report on Yarl’s Wood in 2009, noting certain improvements but calling for the practice of child detention to end. “We stand by our contention that arrest and detention are inherently damaging to children, and that Yarl’s Wood is no place for a child”.

The health profession has been queueing up in recent years to denounce the practice. A coalition of royal medical colleges said in a joint report in December 2009 that mental health problems, self-harm and even suicide are some of the consequences of detaining children. They say that the practice exposes children to “significant harm”, a term used to trigger child protection policies.

The Guardian, New Statesman and the Observer have long called for the practice to end. Petitions have been signed and parliamentary motions tabled. Faith and civic leaders and many NGOs have called for an end to the detention of children, which is incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and is at odds with the Government’s own statutory commitment to safeguarding the welfare of children.

There is a consensus that the practice must end.

The Government says that it doesn’t want to lock up children but sees no alternative. "If people refuse to go home then detention becomes a necessity,” the immigration minister, Phil Woolas, told the BBC last year. “We don't want to split up families, so we hold children with their parents.”But this assumes that families who have reached the end of their claim process do “refuse to go home”. On the whole, they don’t.

The real purpose of locking up families is to make the removals process more efficient. Bureaucratic considerations are being put before human dignity. Sweden and Australia are among the countries which have now put an end to the practice without in any way undermining the removals process. (Swedish law retains the right to detain children, but for a maximum of three days). In Canada and Australia, schemes in place make detention very unusual - -and compliance with removals are around 90%. When a group of MPs looked into the matter in 2006, they found no evidence that families with children would be less likely to allow themselves to be removed, and concluded that “the most obvious alternative to detention is simply not to detain”. There is a strong case that children who have spent many years in the UK and have been educated in British schools should be given the right to remain in the UK. In August 2004, the Home Office made Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) available to families who had at least one child under 18 in the UK on 2 October 2000 or 24 October 2003, and whose principal applicant had lodged their asylum claim before 2 October 2000. The rationale driving the one-off exercise was both moral and pragmatic: where families have been in the UK for a substantial period of time, their children are likely to have integrated into UK society, may have little or no meaningful links with their country of origin and removal would have a significant impact on their well-being. Claims are now processed much faster and people returned to their countries more quickly. But many of those children who are detained are part of an administrative backlog, the product of the breakdown in the Home Office’s ability to process claims around 2001-2003. They should be given ILR on a similar basis to the 2004 initiative.

In those very rare cases where the Home Office could, hypothetically, demonstrate that there was a significant risk of absconding, there are still alternatives to detention: a bail scheme, for example, where the family seeking sanctuary might agree to live at a certain address, with friends agreeing to act as surety.

As a last resort, electronic tagging of the parents is at least preferable to detaining their children.

The time to end this shameful practice is NOW.

Success for Tyne and Wear CITIZENS for Sanctuary!

2010-04-07T17:26:00.001+01:00

An alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups have established a relationship with the UKBA Assistant Regional Director North East England, Mr Colin Flynn following a successful negotiation last week. Mr Colin Flynn responded positively to the call for improvements in reporting procedures in the Tyne and Wear region. Currently, individuals who live as far away as Sunderland are forced to report at Northumbria House, North Shields, which is approximately at 24mile round trip. The team gained a commitment from Mr Flynn to develop the prospect of a having a more central reporting centre as well as commitments on improving conditions at the current reporting centre.

Tyne and Wear CITIZENS for Sanctuary presented Colin Flynn with a report card based on findings from a listening campaign that they carried out in November 2009. The findings revealed that for the majority of people reporting at Northumbria House, the location of the reporting centre wasn’t the most convenient. Northumbria House is situated in North Shields, a residential area north of the River Tyne however, most people seeking sanctuary are accommodated in Newcastle or South Shields or even further afield in Sunderland. As the crow flies, South Shields is less than three miles from North Shields however; individuals must travel first into Newcastle before making the trip up to North Shields.

B, from Zimbabwe is due to start studying in September but says the 2 ½ hour round trip that he has to make, will disrupt his studies. B was able to present his story in the meeting with Colin Flynn, which resulted in Mr Flynn agreeing to set up a working group to explore buildings that could be used for a more local reporting centre. Mr Flynn agreed that 2 ½ hours is a disruption to someone’s day and agreed that a more central location would make more sense.

In the meeting, Mr Flynn also agreed to work towards improving conditions at Northumbria House ensuring those eligible for travel funds are aware that they are eligible. This will be done through introducing a more relational culture at Northumbria House encouraging staff to communicate more effectively with those who report.

Introducing a more relational culture, will also encourage staff to inform those with physical disabilities that there is a disabled entrance which previously was not used resulting in many individuals struggling with the steps at the entrance to the building.

Dr Paddy Harrigan leader from CITIZENS for Sanctuary Tyne and Wear said: “The team found Mr Flynn to be very welcoming to talk to us and the meeting was incredibly useful for local citizens and people seeking sanctuary in the area. We look forward to the progress that will be made at Northumbria House, but also to a healthy relationship with the UKBA North East. We now feel that we can do business with them.”

South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary enjoy second successful negotiation

2010-03-26T13:26:00.004Z

CITIZENS for Sanctuary in South Wales is a diverse alliance of churches, community groups, drop-in centres and refugee organisations. On Wednesday, a team of leaders from South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary held a meeting with Phillip Smith, UKBA Chief of Operations for Wales and South West England which was a great success.

Phillip Smith, who is also head of the Wales Local Immigration Teams, was met at Trinity Methodist Church in Cardiff by a team of seven including leaders from the church, the local Labour Party, the Tenavus charity and Displaced People in Action. The team of leaders had drawn up an agenda to follow-up on the first negotiation with Mr. Smith back in January but also to discuss some new concerns that have been raised and researched by members of the South Wales group.

South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary made real steps to changing the Azure card scheme on Wednesday when Mr. Smith was introduced to Alan Bagshaw, a volunteer with Tenavus the cancer charity based in Wales. Alan and Frances, a leader of CITIZENS for Sanctuary and a trustee of Cytun, have been working hard over the last few weeks to get Tenavus to sign up to the Azure card scheme. Signing up a charity shop to the Azure card was deemed a vitally needed change after the action CITIZENS for Sanctuary held in Cardiff which highlighted the poor quality and expensive items currently available at Azure card stores, especially in comparison to the good value for money available at charity shops. Because of the negotiation, the UKBA is now going into talks with Tenavus to make this a reality and, hopefully, to reduce some of the burdens people seeking sanctuary face on the Section 4 support system.

As well as signing up one of the first charity chains to the Azure card, the South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary team conducted research within their communities about the continued problems associated with the card. Synne Hathway from Cardiff University STAR compiled a report on the evidence she had gathered since our last meeting with Mr. Smith. Her work revealed a number of continually problematic stores in Cardiff, whose staff were inadequately trained to use the card and as a result had been causing embarrassment and humiliation to people attempting to use their card in the shops. At the meeting Mr. Smith was informed of these problems and is now going to personally submit the information to the contract provider to address the training issues.

Mr. Smith also agreed to investigate the lack of information amongst schools in South Wales, after Lina, a mother from Congo who is seeking sanctuary, told of the difficulties she has experienced trying to tell her son's school that she is without cash and therefore unable to contribute towards school trips or the fruit and veg scheme at school. The CITIZENS for Sanctuary team is simultaneously going to push the Local Education Authority to better educate school staff about the circumstances for those seeking sanctuary in Wales.

Finally, the negotiation team also raised concerns about the UKBA policy for providing emergency travel. Only one person asked in the survey by STAR knew that they were entitle to travel expenses from their Housing Provider for emergency travel and when we raised this with Mr. Smith he was shocked about the lack of knowledge amongst the communities and the Housing Providers of this contractual obligation. The team managed to convince Mr. Smith to write a statement on behalf of the UKBA about the rights and entitlements for people seeking sanctuary to claim travel expenses. South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary looks forward to publishing this on the blog and within the communities in Wales to ensure that people seeking sanctuary are able to access the help that has been promised.

The negotiation was a very productive meeting and has been a good building block for strengthening the relationship between the leaders and the UKBA in South Wales. The team was really pleased to capitalise on the promises made at the first negotiation and to see changes beginning to happen in Wales.

Sr. Ruth O'Neill, a leader with CITIZENS for Sanctuary and volunteer at Asylum Justice, said it was "great to speak to someone who has the power to improve things for us".

Frances Ballin, trustee of Cytun, said that she was really pleased by the outcome and, after the meeting, she concluded that "good team work really has begun to show results".

SUCCESS FOR GREATER MANCHESTER CITIZENS AS UK BORDER AGENCY PROMISES ACTION ON COCKROACH-INFESTED HOMES

2010-03-09T15:32:00.002Z

An alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups is celebrating success after the UK Border Agency’s Regional Director of Operations, Eddy Montgomery, agreed to take action on substandard housing conditions for people seeking sanctuary in Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester CITIZENS for Sanctuary presented Mr Montgomery and the UKBA’s Head of Contracts, Mark Blackledge, with a report showing the shocking results of a citizen inspection exercise in January, when local people visited houses provided by private accommodation providers on behalf of the UKBA.

The Unhappy Homes report documents some of the horrifying conditions people seeking sanctuary in the North West are forced to endure, and the failure of private housing providers to fulfil their contracts and deal effectively with problems in the houses. In 70% of the houses visited, there was no access to either a washing machine or a laundrette. In 65% of the houses the residents had not been provided with the means to clean their home. Pest infestations were a particular problem in the twenty houses visited – rats were present in 2 houses, mice in 3 houses, ants in 2 houses and cockroaches in 3 houses. In one case featured in the report, a woman resorted to sleeping with the lights on to stop the cockroaches crawling onto her bed. Despite complaining to her housing provider nearly every day for the last four months, nothing has been done to eradicate the cockroach infestation.

In addition to promising swift action to resolve issues such as the cockroach infestation, Mr Montgomery agreed to work with Greater Manchester CITIZENS for Sanctuary to improve the induction process for people who have fled persecution and who move in to Manchester, and to explore the idea of a ‘Sanctuary Mark’ which would be awarded to housing providers who provide good quality housing and customer service.

Reverend John Simmons, a leader with Greater Manchester CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:
“We were delighted that Mr Montgomery at the UK Border Agency is taking the Unhappy Homes report seriously. He has promised simple practical actions that will make life better for people who live in these homes - for example, ensuring that the housing providers know that they need to provide a lockable bedroom door or a lockable wardrobe so that people can protect their belongings. This is a great achievement for Greater Manchester CITIZENS for Sanctuary.”

Daniel Murphy, of the UNITE trade union and a leader with Greater Manchester CITIZENS Sanctuary, said:
“As a taxpayer, I want my money to be used effectively and at the moment the housing providers are breaking their contractual agreement with the UKBA. It’s a scandal that we’re paying these landlords to do provide such an appalling service. I’m glad the UKBA is now listening to our concerns and we are going to monitor the complaints system over the next few months to ensure housing defects, infestations and faulty appliances are being dealt with quickly and effectively.”

Eddy Montgomery, Director of Operations for the UK Border Agency in the North West, said:

"We are always keen to hear the views of our stakeholders and I am pleased with the constructive nature of discussions with CITIZENS for Sanctuary. The UK Border Agency treats asylum seekers with dignity and respect and as such we require accommodation providers to comply with a comprehensive statement of requirements for all accommodation which includes an obligation to comply with Local Authorities housing standards.”

Education is the way forward to safeguard our long term future of providing sanctuary

2010-02-10T10:00:00.010Z

An alliance of 18 teachers, education consultants, ex immigration officers and migrant leaders came together last week in the first step to ensure that: No child is to leave education without an understanding of our past and present role of providing sanctuary and that they are given an opportunity to develop their own minds in the great migration debate.

"The Migration Conundrum" is an exciting new resource being produced by London CITIZENS, a partnership of CITIZENS for Sanctuary and the Schools Alliance. The resource aims to bring compelling, discursive and active teaching and learning around the issue to every classroom. We believe that every young person should be entitled to experience a high quality, evidence-based exploration of this issue.

The resource is designed in a flexible resource to teach this issue, but also associated issue to fit the curriculum. There are four key parts to draw from:
Real Lives - Case studies of some of our young leaders.
Activate - Ideas, activities and resources to bring the issue alive in the classroom.
You Can Tool Kit - A tool kit to help students make a difference and take action.
Evidence Bank - A bank of supporting facts, figures and evidence.

The team will bring a wealth of skills, experience and knowledge to the resource as well as painting a clear picture of the situation.

Jon, 27, fled Zimbabwe 2 year ago "It's a shame that the media tend to tell a negative story when it come to issues around sanctuary and immigration. This resource will help students understand what individuals really go through and who they can become whilst seeking sanctuary in the UK. It will encourage them to make up their own minds, and hopefully take some action."

The resource, is currently being trialled in 4 of our London schools and will be available for the start of the new year 2010/2011 however, if you would like to trial it in your school please contact carina.crawford-rolt@cof.org.uk

Cold, Confused and Cashless: South Wales Citizens celebrate successful negotiation with the UKBA to help bring the cashless out of the cold'

2010-02-08T17:01:00.007Z

Before Christmas South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary, an alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups, held an action in Cardiff to test out the new Azure card and to monitor the impact of the card on people seeking sanctuary. Local communities formed Citizen Monitoring Teams to assess the impact of the new Section 4 payment card on dignity, stigma, travel, access to food, clothing and healthcare, ease of use and value for money. The Citizen Monitoring Teams who braved sub-zero temperatures for the action found the card to be poor value for money, inadequate to meet the needs of families and unacceptably difficult to use.

The action was a media success and the inadequate provision for people seeking sanctuary on Section 4 was covered by the Western Mail, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and on BBC1 Wales 6 o’clock News. 

The findings of that action have now been collated and published in the South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary report, ‘Cold, Confused and Cashless’. And, on Friday 29th January Mr. Philiip Smith, UKBA Regional Chief of Operations for Wales and the South West, met with a team of leaders from South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary to discuss possible solutions to the many problems they had been recording since the introduction of the Azure card to Wales in early December. The CITIZENS for Sanctuary team in South Wales presented Mr. Smith with the 'Cold, Confused and Cashless' report which outlined their requests to address some of the pressing concerns around the Azure card.

The South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary negotiation with Mr. Smith was a cause for celebration. The team was really pleased to hear that Mr. Smith would work with them to sign up local charities shops and businesses to the Azure card, providing they meet UKBA requirements. He also agreed to join CITIZENS for Sanctuary to meet with Cardiff Bus to discuss signing them up to the Azure card scheme in Wales. This would make an enormous difference to people like Constance and her family who have to survive on the Azure card. Constance said “trying to look after my two young boys with no access to the bus is so hard. I was forced to walk back in the driving rain over three miles with my young children and our shopping bags which left me and my family ill for several days. All because I couldn’t get on the bus. So now I am really pleased that Mr. Smith has now agreed to work with us on the issue.”

Sister Ruth O'Neil and Edie who is seeking sanctuary from Zimbabwe, both leaders from South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary, raised concerns about staff training. Edie’s powerful testimony about the loss of dignity she feels using the Azure card, especially when shop assistants don't recognise the card or she is unnecessarily forced to show ID, moved Mr. Smith to agree to work on reminding stores of their obligation to train staff. Mr. Smith even agreed to meet with Cardiff City Council to discuss children accessing school trips if their parents are on the Azure card. It was a very successful morning and gave citizens and people seeking sanctuary the chance to hold the UKBA to account and to look together at solutions for some of the problems associated with the Azure card.

However, the team was most impressed by Mr. Smith’s agreement to build a relationship with South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary. Reynette Roberts, who chaired the meeting, said:

"This is a really positive outcome and I am looking forward to working with the UKBA to address the concerns of local citizens and people seeking sanctuary in Wales".

SUCCESS FOR CITIZENS AS BORDER AGENCY & CITY COUNCIL AGREE TO EXPLORE ‘LOCAL REPORTING FOR LOCAL PEOPLE’

2010-01-26T17:14:00.004Z

An alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups is celebrating success after the UK Border Agency and Nottingham City Council responded positively to their campaign for local reporting for local people seeking sanctuary, at a meeting in the Council House on 22nd January.

Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary gained a commitment from the UK Border Agency’s Regional Director, Gail Adams, and the Leader of Nottingham City Council, Jon Collins, to work with them to develop the prospect of a local reporting facility in Nottingham. A new facility in Nottingham would help the hundreds of people living in Nottingham who currently have to make the regular 32 mile round-trip to a reporting centre in Loughborough.

Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary presented Gail Adams with a report entitled ‘Signing for Justice’, based on a sample of over 50 people who have to travel from Nottingham to Loughborough to report to the Border Agency. The report found that the journey caused serious difficulties for some vulnerable people and that the burden for assisting people to reach Loughborough often falls on local residents who provide lifts or expenses.

Also in attendance at the meeting were people seeking sanctuary for whom the regular trip to Loughborough is a reality. Christian, who fled persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo and now lives in Nottingham, told Gail Adams that he had resorted to begging in order to raise the bus fare to Loughborough. Vera, from Malawi, explained that she had to pay for a childminder every month because her appointment in Loughborough requires her to leave the house before the children have gone to school.

The proposal for a local reporting facility in Nottingham had attracted high profile support from Alan Simpson MP, the Bishop of Sherwood, the Bishop of Nottingham, and the Leader of Nottingham City Council, and over 150 local people had demonstrated their support when a mock reporting centre had been set up in the Market Square in November 2009.

Gail Adams explained that the establishment of a local reporting facility in Nottingham would not be easy, but that she was prepared to explore the idea. In the meantime, she also committed the UK Border Agency to providing more flexibility to alter reporting times in order to minimise disruption to their family lives, and to consider piloting a voice recognition system in Nottingham as an alternative to travelling to Loughborough for vulnerable people.

Rev’d Karen Rooms, a Leader from Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:
“We were delighted that Gail Adams came to listen to what we had to say – and even more delighted that she has agreed to work with us to develop a local reporting facility in Nottingham so that people seeking sanctuary here do not have to travel to Loughborough.”

Cllr Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said:
“It makes sense for a city the size of Nottingham, that is proud to welcome those who have fled persecution and seek sanctuary in the UK, to have its own reporting facility. We will work with the UK Border Agency and Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary to see what we can do to make this happen.”

Gail Adams, Regional Director of the UK Border Agency, said:
“I was pleased to be invited to meet with Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary. Reporting is an essential part of our immigration system and offers an alternative to detention. Foreign nationals who are genuinely in need of our protection deserve a quick decision so that they can learn English, get a job and look forward to a safe, positive future. Equally, those who don’t need sanctuary in the UK are expected to leave the country as soon as possible.

“When we become aware of difficulties in reporting, we will work to overcome these problems. That’s why we are looking into alternatives for reporting in the Nottingham area. But it remains the responsibility of the individual to stay in contact with the UK Border Agency and reporting centres are an important part of this process.”

GREATER MANCHESTER CITIZENS FIND COCKROACH CLUSTERS, LEAKING ROOFS & POOR SERVICE IN UNHAPPY HOMES

2010-01-18T09:52:00.005Z

An alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups conducted an inspection of the homes allocated to people seeking sanctuary across Greater Manchester on Saturday 16th January to identify and highlight poor treatment at the hands of private housing providers with government contracts.

Local citizens from more than 20 organisations participated in the Greater Manchester CITIZENS for Sanctuary campaign which they hope will result in decent housing for people seeking sanctuary from the three private housing providers. Happy Homes, United Property Management and Priority Properties North West are contracted by the UK Border Agency to provide housing to people seeking sanctuary in the North West of England according to agreed standards and response times for repairs.

But a listening campaign run by Greater Manchester CITIZENS for Sanctuary has revealed that housing problems are consistently ignored. These have included a cockroach infestation, a raw sewage leak, overcrowding and broken heating and hot water systems in the middle of winter.

Eve, from war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, is living in a house swarming with cockroaches. They are present throughout the house, including in the kitchen and in her bedroom. She keeps all her belongings zipped up in plastic bags as they get into everything, and she is too afraid to use the kitchen for cooking. Eve and another resident have reported the problem repeatedly for 8 months but her housing provider has not done anything to deal with the cockroaches.

Frustrated at seeing vulnerable people in their community being treated unfairly, residents from across Greater Manchester joined together to form their own Citizen Housing Inspection Teams to assess the quality of housing against the UK Border Agency’s own guidelines. They have written to the UK Border Agency’s Regional Director, Jo Liddy, requesting a meeting to discuss the results of their Citizen Housing Inspections.

Father Peter Conniffe, priest at Our Lady of Dolours in Salford and a leader with Greater Manchester CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:

“As local citizens, we want to make sure that our taxes are being spent wisely and that we are not giving lots of money to irresponsible landlords who force slum housing on people who have come to the UK seeking sanctuary. The three housing providers have a responsibility to meet the terms of their contracts. We hope that Jo Liddy, UKBA Regional Director, will meet with us to find ways that we can sort this problem out.”

Esther, a Zimbabwean doctor who fled the Mugabe regime, explained:

“We had a very old toilet in my house which was always breaking. They finally replaced it after two years but didn’t fit it properly. In October, sewage water started leaking through the ceiling into our living room. We kept on reporting the problem but we were left in this situation for an entire month. Eventually they came and fixed the pipe but did nothing about the soiled carpet. I don’t want any special favours – but nobody likes living in a house that smells of sewage.”

AZURE FAILS THE CONSUMER TEST

2009-12-15T02:40:00.002Z

A new payment card – known as Azure – given by the Home Office to people seeking sanctuary in London failed a Which?-style consumer test run by an alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups on Monday.

A twenty-five minute wait, participating stores declining the card and incorrect balance information were just some of the problems encountered on a ‘Shop for Justice’ organised by London Citizens as part of the CITIZENS for Sanctuary campaign. The card was launched without trial in late November and was rolled out to London on the 7th December, as an alternative to cash.

An Assumptionist Priest from Bethnal Green and a Catholic nun from Ealing were among the community leaders who took part in the ‘Shop for Justice’. They shared the experience with a person who has to live on the Azure card and provide for their family without cash, and tested the new card’s effectiveness.

Citizens around the country – who, as taxpayers, will pay for the new scheme – are alarmed that the card has not been properly piloted and has been introduced with minimal parliamentary scrutiny. The problems with the card worried Gillian Howarth, who lives in Westbourne Park. “We waited for 24 minutes in Tesco to try and buy some food with the card. It was outrageous – and in the end the card didn’t work. The staff hadn’t been informed about the system, so we had to call the head office. Even if the card did work, there wasn’t even any halal food available!”

Tom O’Brien, from Our Lady of the Assumption in Bethnal Green, explained some of the other difficulties: “We are concerned that the Azure card will condemn a very vulnerable group of people to a cashless existence, denying them access to public transport, haircuts and other essentials such a phone card to keep in touch with their families abroad.”

Even store mangers were sceptical about the card. Nisar, from a Tesco in West London explained, “I’m worried about security. Anyone could take the card and just swipe it to pay. Are we meant to ask for I.D.? We haven’t been told anything about the card”.

The UK Border Agency argues that the cards reduce the stigma of the previous voucher system. Yet in every Boots, Asda, Tesco and Peacocks the monitors visited an I.D. or a signature was demanded and in two shops they had to explain their status as people seeking sanctuary in the UK. “It makes me feel very ashamed”, said Alain, who fled persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sought sanctuary in the UK. “I have to explain why I am carrying the card and sometimes I have to put back a full trolley of shopping when it doesn’t work. When I then have to walk one hour to the next nearest shop I feel very bad.”

Other issues such as travelling to the shops, saving and the price of products in supermarkets concerned the citizen monitoring teams.

The Azure card is now used for people seeking sanctuary in London who qualify for ‘Section 4’ support. Section 4 support is given to people who the Home Office recognise cannot currently return to their country of origin. The Azure card is a plastic payment card which can be used to buy items in a limited range of supermarkets. Azure users are topped up with £35 per week but will not be able to access cash, receive change, or use the card outside of the limited number of participating stores.

London is the third of nine cities across the UK where CITIZENS for Sanctuary teams have organized a ‘Shop for Justice’. They have written to the Home Secretary requesting a meeting to share the findings of their research and ensure that nobody is denied access to cash.

CHILDREN DETAINED AT YARL’S WOOD DENIED ST NICHOLAS VISIT

2009-12-04T22:07:00.009Z

The patron saint of children and the imprisoned - and the inspiration for the modern day Father Christmas - St Nicholas of Myra, was turned away at the gate of the Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire today when he tried to deliver gifts to the children locked up inside.

Jolly Old St Nick brought with him £300 worth of gifts donated by several London churches for the estimated 35 children currently detained. Dressed in a red robe, long white beard, and a bishop’s mitre and crook, and accompanied by Rev’d Professor Nicholas Sagovsky, Canon Theologian at Westminster Abbey, they hoped to spread some St Nicholastide cheer among the children of migrants detained for administrative purposes at Yarl’s Wood.

The atmosphere became rather less jolly when the Home Office authorities who run Yarl’s Wood refused permission for St Nicholas to enter the Centre to distribute the gifts to the children. Despite the authorities having agreed to accept the gifts, St Nicholas was met at the gates by a group of unidentified security guards who barred his entry and ordered him to leave the area. They later called the police as St Nicholas blessed the gifts. The gifts were loaded into an unmarked van by staff who refused to provide a name, number or receipt for the gifts. St Nicholas asked one "guard" his name and the man said "write down 'Father Christmas'".

You can watch videos of the event here and here.

St Nick said, "If this is how visitors are treated, I just shudder to imagine what else transpires inside Yarl's Wood." While police questioned the St Nicholas team, taxis and delivery lorries made their way in and out of the place with many smiling and stopping to greet the Saint and his companions.

In the afternoon, when St Nicholas returned to make a pre-arranged and approved social visit to two families currently detained, they were informed at the gates that their visit had been cancelled. They were handed letters from Dawn Elaine, the Contracts Manager at Yarl’s Wood, informing them that permission had been revoked because of “concerns about your conduct” when the gifts had been deposited that morning.

The action was organised by the St Nicholas Society and CITIZENS for Sanctuary. The St Nicholas Society exists to increase interest, learning, and appreciation of the tradition of St Nicholas, whose festival falls on December 6th. St Nicholas has previously brought joy to children across the world, including in the USA and Palestine. CITIZENS for Sanctuary is a campaign by CITIZENS UK to implement the recommendations of the Independent Asylum Commission – one of which was to end the detention of children.

CITIZENS for Sanctuary has formed a coalition of 13 national faith organisations representing 7 million people to promote a Sanctuary Pledge at the 2010 General Election. Prospective Parliamentary Candidates across the country will be asked to back the Sanctuary Pledge, which includes a commitment to end the detention of children and families for immigration purposes.

St Nicholas said:
“St Nick has never been turned away from anywhere before. So I was extremely disappointed not be able to hand deliver the gifts to the children detained at Yarl’s Wood today. I hope the kids realize that they will be firmly in my prayers on St Nicholas Day when I preach at the Royal Naval College chapel in Greenwich.”

Canon Professor Nicholas Sagovsky said:
“This was about bringing a moment of joy to kids locked up in a deplorable situation. I can’t help but contrast the smiles and wonderment on the faces of the children that St Nicholas visited at a local primary school this afternoon, with the sad fate of those kids who will be locked up in Yarl’s Wood over Christmas. People of goodwill must make sure that their prospective MPs sign the Sanctuary Pledge at the next election so that next St Nicholas’s Day there will no longer be innocent children detained here at Yarl’s Wood.”

PLYMOUTH CITIZENS FOR SANCTUARY CELEBRATE AS OUTDOOR COFFEE MORNING LEADS TO CAMPAIGN BREAKTHROUGH AT CHARLES CROSS

2009-12-01T02:02:00.004Z

An alliance of faith, refugee and citizen groups is celebrating today after an outdoor coffee morning near Charles Cross Police Station in Plymouth resulted in a commitment by the UK Border Agency’s Chief of Operations in the South West, Mr Phillip Smith, to come to Plymouth and discuss the human impact of the increased use of weekly reporting for people seeking sanctuary at Charles Cross.

A group of over 100 people from Plymouth CITIZENS for Sanctuary gathered outside the police station and served coffee and mince pies before launching the ‘Friends of Charles Cross Reporting Centre’ – a group committed to the well-being of the staff and users. The ‘Friends’ welcomed staff and service users alike, and sang carols, including a humorous adaptation of ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’. In a rousing chorus they sang:

‘Give a welcome each day, oh UKBA,

And a smile for all the people,

Who seek sanctuary.”

Ali, who fled persecution in Sudan and now has to report at Charles Cross every week, shared his testimony and explained how the combination of the reporting requirements and cashlessness made Plymouth feel like a prison to him.

Mr Adam Duffin, the local UK Border Agency Inspector, drew the raffle.

The meeting with Phillip Smith has been fixed for 7th December. Leaders from Plymouth CITIZENS for Sanctuary are preparing a dossier of evidence detailing the stories of those who have to report regularly, and how this has interfered with their jobs and ability to learn English.

Rev’d Tim Smith, Vicar of St Jude’s Church and a leader from Plymouth CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:
“Our coffee morning has been a great success. We are pleased that Phillip Smith from the UK Border Agency has now agreed to meet with us, here in Plymouth. We want to make sure that people’s reporting requirements at Charles Cross are reasonable. Our research shows that reporting to the police station once a week is causing problems for people who seek sanctuary in Plymouth. We look forward to working with Mr Smith to find a just solution.”

Listen to the interview on BBC Radio Devon here.

Friends of Northumbria House?

2009-11-17T17:19:00.005Z

By Carina Crawford-Rolt

"What needs to change?” was the question on our lips as Tyne & Wear CITIZENS for Sanctuary carried out their first action outside Northumbria House, the UKBA reporting centre for the North East.

An alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups gathered together today to collect evidence from those who are forced to report to Immigration Authorities, whilst offering a friendly face and free cup of tea. Northumbria House situated in North Shields, is currently the only reporting centre for Tyne and Wear which forces some people seeking sanctuary, to travel an average of 11 miles round trip.

Because of where it is situated some reportees had an extra half an hour added to their journey, because they had not been told that they could get from South Shields to North Shields using the ferry service across the Tyne.

The team of leaders identified the issue of reporting following a meeting in late September where several people seeking sanctuary shared their testimonies and experiences of reporting at Northumbria House. Today the team spoke to 50 reportees and listened to their experiences.

One mentioned that: “It is impossible to change your allocated time. You are given a four minute slot in which you have to report in. This makes it difficult to carry on with a normal life. I am attempting to attend a local college, but my timetable is interrupted with my weekly appointment at the reporting centre. Today I am sick, and I had an appointment at the hospital. When I rang the UKBA to see if I could change the time of my reporting, I was told very rudely that I could not, and if I did not attend they would put me in prison.”

Another reportee was too scared to stop and talk to us, not because we were intimidating, but because he believed that the staff were watching him and would target him next week. Overall, the team were overwhelmed by the willingness of those seeking sanctuary to engage in the action. Many people stopped and talked for about 10 minutes and some were keen to get involved in the future, perhaps even becoming part of the negotiation team for the North East.

During the action it was clear what was needed, and just as though it had been pre-organised, the minister from the church across the road informed us that she had been thinking about doing something about the people who passed her church to report each day.

Could a “Friends of Northumbria House” service be on the cards?

Nottingham Public Support Call for ‘Local Reporting for Local People’

2009-11-08T15:48:00.008Z

Over 150 Nottingham residents turned out to ‘report’ to a mock immigration reporting centre set up in the Market Square on Saturday to call on the regional head of the UK Border Agency, Gail Adams, to meet to discuss reporting arrangements for local people seeking sanctuary.

The action was organised by Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary, an alliance of faith, refugee and citizen groups, and asked Gail Adams to establish a reporting centre in the city so that the disabled, destitute and women with children would not have to make the regular 32-mile round trip to Loughborough to report to the UK Border Agency.

The call was backed by community leaders who reported to the mock reporting centre including the Dean of Nottingham Cathedral, Father Michael Brown, and by Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson.

Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary sent letters to over 60 citizens from the Nottingham area, ‘ordering’ them to report at set times at the mock reporting centre in the Market Square. In the event, double that number responded to the call, with over 150 people overwhelming the mock reporting centre in a two hour period.

When local people arrived to report they were treated exactly as people who have come to the UK seeking sanctuary from persecution are treated by the UK Border Agency: they were asked to present their documents, wait in a queue in the freezing cold, undergo a security search and then sign at the desk. In reality, an estimated 2,000 people who live in Nottingham, having fled persecution abroad, are regularly forced to make the 32-mile round trip to Loughborough every time the UK Border Agency requires them to report.

The organisers of the action are collecting evidence on the difficulties faced by vulnerable people who have to make the journey. Most people in this situation are prevented from working and many of them receive no support from the government – and yet they are still expected to report to get to Loughborough without their travel costs being reimbursed. The research shows that some local people seeking sanctuary are begging and others are spending half of their total monthly food budget on transport, in order to comply with the law. The members of the alliance are also angry that local Nottingham residents are having to provide lifts or cash to vulnerable people because the UK Border Agency is not providing travel reimbursements.

During the mock reporting session, leaders of Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary called for people seeking sanctuary to be able to report in Nottingham instead of travelling to Loughborough. The Regional Director of the UK Border Agency, Ms Gail Adams, has responded to their request for a meeting to rectify the situation, but no firm date has yet been offered.

Karen Rooms, Vicar of St Ann with Emmanuel Church, St Ann's, and a leader from Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:
“It is ridiculous that in a civilised country like ours we ask people who have just escaped from persecution and are now often living in destitution to make a 32-mile round trip to another county at their own expense when it would be much easier for them to report here in Nottingham. We want those who live in Nottingham to be able to report in Nottingham and we look forward to working with Gail Adams, the UK Border Agency’s Regional Director, to find a solution.”

Nottingham South MP, Alan Simpson, said:
“Today is one of those rare occasions when I have to be in London rather than Nottingham at the weekend - I realise were I to be faced with the sort of reporting restrictions imposed on those seeking sanctuary in the UK, no degree of urgency would suffice to allow you to skip or move your reporting appointment. Only criminals out on licence face similar restrictions. But people seeking sanctuary are victims not criminals. This is not simply about justice; it is a measure of our common humanity.”

Preacher Prince Muguza, who fled Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe and has to report to Loughborough weekly said:
“When I fled the Mugabe dictatorship I thought I would find sanctuary in the UK. I have been living in Nottingham for 3 years and have contributed a lot to the community. I am happy to report to the UK Border Agency, but why can’t I do that in Nottingham rather than spend hours travelling to Loughborough?”

Konnie Lloyd, who co-ordinates Nottingham CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:
“Imagine having to travel all the way to Loughborough when you have no car and no cash. The UK Border Agency is turning a blind eye to the consequences for very vulnerable people – like the women and children who I sometimes have to give a lift so they can report in Loughborough. Gail Adams, the local head of the Border Agency, is the woman who can sort this mess out. Gail has shown a willingness to meet with us to discuss this, but we need more than willingness. This is a serious issue that has serious consequences, as our forthcoming report will show, so we need a firm date for Gail to meet us in Nottingham before Christmas.”

Power developed, relationships secured, and public support for sanctuary beginning to be rebuilt in the West Midlands

2009-11-05T21:51:00.004Z

By Jonny Scott

Before boarding the train back to London from Birmingham I was asked by a lady with a clipboard if I could spare a moment to let her know how my day in Birmingham had been. She was from the tourism board. I don’t think she was expecting me to launch into a moment-by-moment evaluation of today’s very successful action!

I am pleased to report that our CITIZENS for Sanctuary team in the West Midlands has secured negotiations with both the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF), and Ofsted, to ensure that no child in their region leaves education without a strong understanding of the UK’s long and proud tradition of providing sanctuary to people fleeing persecution.

This is one of the key recommendations in the Independent Asylum Commission’s Saving Sanctuary report. We know that this is vital to rebuilding public support for sanctuary - and the DCSF and Ofsted see it as the logical next step for their community cohesion agenda.

The whole issue of education was central to our CITIZENS for Sanctuary Action Team from the start, and all credit must go to Clare Daley of the migration partnership for masterminding the action along with the Children’s Society. Our strategy team met several times over the last months to consider how to get our targets there, how to build our power – and how to rebuild public support for sanctuary whilst executing our action.

Elly Tobin of the College for International Citizenship hosted the session, which was focusing on Community Cohesion in Education, and brilliantly chaired the panel session, where our leaders made their ask. It is a testament to the planning that went in that everything went so smoothly, and now we must plan the negotiations so as to ensure we achieve our aims.

Power developed, relationships secured, and public support for sanctuary beginning to be rebuilt in the West Midlands.

We were really grateful to all the schools and colleges that were there (children and teachers) to help put the pressure on, and see the result of all their hard work. And to all those who took away copies of ‘10 Ways for CITIZENS to Save Sanctuary’, I hope you enjoy the read – but don’t forget I’ll be chasing you up to know which actions you tried, and how they went!

CITIZENS Lay the Ground to Save Sanctuary in Northern Ireland

2009-10-28T23:45:00.002Z

Today a team of leaders from local faith, refugee and citizen organisations travelled to Stormont to present a number of recommendations for restoring public support for sanctuary to senior civil servants at the Northern Ireland Assembly. The meeting paves the way for a future negotiation with Junior Ministers at the Assembly to discuss implementation of the Independent Asylum Commission’s recommendations.

The team consisted of representatives of the Law Centre (Northern Ireland), Refugee Action Group, Embrace (an interchurch initiative to support migrant communities), staff from CITIZENS for Sanctuary and two people who have first-hand experience of the asylum system in Northern Ireland. They were received at Stormont, the historic home of the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly, by officials who advise the Ministers with responsibility for community cohesion.

The team had a clear agenda – to raise a series of recommendations from the Independent Asylum Commission that could be discussed at a meeting with Ministers expected in the New Year. Justin, who fled persecution in Ivory Coast, shared his testimony about his experience of living in Belfast and the isolation he has felt in a city with few minority ethnic communities and the highest levels of hate crime in the UK. This was followed by a presentation on the Independent Asylum Commission’s Public Attitudes Research Project, before Boobakar, who escaped to Belfast from Guinea Conakry, explained to the spellbound civil servants about how his experiences in the past year had made him feel unwelcome.

Margaret McNulty, Information Officer at Embrace, then offered her perspective as a local resident and churchgoer who had spent many years working with migrant communities in Northern Ireland. Liz Griffith of the Law Centre (Northern Ireland) then pointed out the importance of access to ESOL classes and higher education for people seeking sanctuary.

The team’s presentation ended with a series of eight proposed recommendations to set before the Minister, ranging from using the language of ‘sanctuary’ rather than ‘asylum’ when communicating with the public, to setting up Sanctuary Welcome Teams to ensure that people like Justin and Boobakar are welcomed into the community.

The meeting ended with a commitment from the civil servants to prepare for a meeting with Junior Minister Gerry Kelly scheduled for the New Year and to explore each of the recommendations in advance of that meeting.

After the meeting Justin said:
“I was happy that I had the opportunity to tell my story and negotiate directly with important people today. It was the first time I had been to Stormont and the first time I had met with people who have the power to change how people seeking sanctuary are treated in Northern Ireland.”

Margaret McNulty said:
“I felt that the meeting today could not have gone better – but the challenge is that we need to convince the Ministers as well as the civil servants.”

Carina Crawford-Rolt, Projects Organiser with CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:
“This was the first action for our team in Northern Ireland – and the power of our leaders’ testimonies really got a reaction from the civil servants! We are looking forward to our negotiation with the Minister – and I am excited because this could bring about real change.”

CITIZENS convince UK Border Agency to turn 'cattleshed' into an £800,000 Welcome Centre

2009-10-15T16:15:00.004+01:00

In front of a packed Assembly of 300 people in Lambeth Town Hall yesterday, the UK Border Agency's Regional Director, Tony Smith, thanked South London CITIZENS for making possible an £800,000 redevelopment of the 'cattleshed' at the Agency's Croydon HQ, into a Welcome Centre.

Mr Smith made the decision to proceed with the plans following pressure applied by South London Citizens at their Assembly in 2008. Since that time Mr Smith and his team have worked with a team of leaders from South London Citizens as part of the CITIZENS for Sanctuary campaign. The new Welcome Centre will transform the experience of the thousands of people seeking sanctuary who use Lunar House every year. Instead of queueing outdoors the plans provide for a climate-controlled, fully-enclosed reception area, with seats for those unable to stand, and an 'customer experience' more akin to a government building than a cattleshed. Over 80 builders are working on the project to ensure that it is complete by Christmas, when South London Citizens will celebrate the opening by singing carols.

South London CITIZENS' enquiry into Lunar House had previously led to major changes at Lunar House - the main Border Agency building where people fleeing persecution can claim sanctuary. Over the years these changes have included access to fresh drinking water in the Asylum Screening Unit, the provision of baby-changing facilities, and the removal of the 'pig pen' queueing arrangements. Volunteers from South London Citizens have served over 900 cups of tea and coffee to often traumatised and vulnerable people in the Asylum Screening Unit in the past six months.

Barbara Nalumu, a leader from South London Citizens and a key figure in the CITIZENS for Sanctuary campaign, said:

"The cattleshed was where I had to wait, in the cold and the rain, when I came to the UK from Uganda 20 years ago. I remember thinking: “this is not much of a welcome to Britain.” When I visited it again earlier this year it hadn’t changed much. On Monday a delegation of South London Citizens visited Lunar House - and we were delighted to see that work on the new Welcome Centre was already under way."

Tony Smith, Regional Director of the UK Border Agency for London and the South East, said:

"I am really grateful to South London Citizens and the Friends of Lunar House for giving me the momentum to be able to proceed with the refurbishment. Without your support this would not have happened. I look forward to working with you in South London, and negotiating with you on the recommendations of the Independent Asylum Commission."

Cathy Giraud, a leader from South London Citizens and one of the Friends of Lunar House, said:

"The changes at Lunar House look amazing and are a testament to the importance of the relationship between the Border Agency and South London Citizens."

BBC Radio 4 reports Sanctuary Pledge success at Party Conferences

2009-10-05T00:16:00.003+01:00

Our work at the Party Conferences to promote the Sanctuary Pledge has been picked up by a number of journalists.

There is a comprehensive story by the religious news agency Ekklesia. Also on the Community Newswire.

But the pick of the bunch is a great six minute piece on BBC Radio 4's main religious programme, Sunday. Scroll through to 9 minutes and 54 seconds in and you'll find it. It should be available until next Sunday - when we have a slot between 08:00 and 09:00 on Premier Christian Radio.

In case you are reading this and the report has been taken off BBC iPlayer, after a three week tour of the party conferences in Bournemouth, Brighton and Manchester, meetings with senior politicians and advisers in the three main parties, and the engagement of over 80 faith, citizen and refugee leaders, we have tasted success.

Leaders of London Citizens, the Citizen Organising Foundation, the major church denominations and senior representatives of all three main parties (Sarah Teather MP and Steve Webb MP- Lib Dem, Jon Cruddas MP - Labour, and Elizabeth Berridge - Conservative Christian Fellowship) signed a covenant to work together to save sanctuary at the 2010 General Election. This is a major achievement and represents a significant step forward in CITIZENS for Sanctuary's efforts to stake out a 'centreground for sanctuary'.

Each of the political parties have agreed to meet us again soon to discuss the exact wording of the Sanctuary Pledge.

In the meantime, we are preparing to train citizens across the UK who would like to meet with their Prospective Parliamentary Candidates in the run-up to next year's election and ask them to sign the Sanctuary Pledge. If you are interested and would like further information then please send us your name and phone number to sanctuary@cof.org.uk.

Lib Dems Pledge to Work with CITIZENS to Save Sanctuary at the 2010 Election

2009-09-24T22:28:00.004+01:00

By Sam Barritt

The Liberal Democrats this week joined the Sanctuary Pledge campaign to secure justice for people fleeing persecution, in partnership with organisers CITIZENS for Sanctuary, faith leaders, community institutions and refugee groups.

Senior Liberal Democrats Sir Alan Beith MP, Sarah Teather MP (Shadow Housing Minister), and Professor Steve Webb MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions), as well as policy makers and advisers from the party attended the meeting, which was supported by the Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Churches, the Salvation Army and the Vincentian Millennium Partnership.

They heard detailed briefings on the findings of polling and focus group research into public attitudes towards sanctuary, as well as moving personal testimony by Mr Jeff Sango of the CITIZENS for Sanctuary Zimbabwe Action Team and the Zimbabwean political party, Movement for Democratic Change, himself seeking sanctuary in the UK.

A diverse alliance of faith leaders, representing approximately 8 million potential voters, impressed upon the politicians the strength of the support for the Sanctuary campaign. The leaders included the Right Reverend Paul Butler, Bishop of Southampton; the Reverend David Gamble, President of the Methodist Conference; the Reverend Graham Sparkes, Head of Faith and Unity for the Baptist Union of Great Britain; the Reverend Dr Rosemary Kidd, Chair of the Churches Refugee Network and Faith and Unity Coordinator, Baptist Union of Great Britain; the Reverend Dr. Andrew Davey, Community and Urban Affairs, Church of England.

Jonathan Cox, Lead Organiser of CITIZENS for Sanctuary, explained that as well as securing broad political support for implementing the findings of the Independent Asylum Commission, the national policy objective of the Sanctuary Pledge is to end the detention of children and families. This was a key recommendation of the IAC and is backed by the leading human rights and children's charities working in the field. Currently it is estimated that some 2,000 children are detained each year for immigration purposes. They have committed no crime - they are simply the children of people who have sought sanctuary and who can be detained indefinitely by the UK Border Agency, without judicial oversight, for administrative purposes.

In an unusual move for a party conference meeting, the participants split into group discussions to consider issues relating to securing justice for people seeking sanctuary, and methods of rebuilding public support for sanctuary. There was widespread agreement that these face to face meetings provided an original and successful way to engage with personal stories, and understand the human face of sanctuary.

Sarah Teather MP, responding to the requests by Mr Sango for the Liberal Democrats to work with the Sanctuary campaign at the next election, to arrange for a Sanctuary delegation to meet with her Liberal Democrat Home Affairs colleagues, and to tell the meeting her personal response to the pledge, was enthusiastically positive.

The MPs and faith leaders present took the opportunity to sign the an agreement to work together to save sanctuary in the forthcoming general election campaign. The coalition behind the Sanctuary campaign will now take the Pledge to the Labour and Conservative party conferences, before aiming to shape the general election by promoting the Saving Sanctuary Pledge to Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) and relevant Ministers and Shadow Ministers.

The Liberal Democrats have helped provided an encouraging start to the Sanctuary Pledge campaign.

Victory for Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary as UK Border Agency pledges ‘local reporting centres for local people'

2009-07-29T00:28:00.004+01:00

An alliance of faith, refugee and citizen groups has today won an important victory in their campaign to stop vulnerable people seeking sanctuary in the Tees Valley being forced to walk from Middlesbrough to Stockton to comply with UK Border Agency reporting requirements.

Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary met with Jeremy Oppenheim, North East Regional Director for the UK Border Agency, at the Trinity Centre in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough.

Mr Oppenheim had agreed to come to the local area to discuss the issue following a symbolic ‘walk of justice’ by 50 local citizens from North Ormesby to Stockton on 9th July which was organised by Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary.

At the meeting a team of 16 trained citizen negotiators presented Mr Oppenheim with a copy of a report, ‘The Long Walk to Stockton’, which revealed the human impact of the UK Border Agency’s reporting requirements, and called for ‘local reporting centres for local people’. ‘The Long Walk to Stockton' report found that 77% of people who report at Stockton Police Station actually live in Middlesbrough and called on Mr Oppenheim to put an end to people having to walk up to 12 miles in order to comply with UK Border Agency reporting restrictions.

During the meeting Mr Oppenheim was brought face-to-face with a number of people seeking sanctuary who make the regular walk from Middlesbrough to Stockton and whose stories feature in ‘The Long Walk to Stockton’. Through these testimonies he heard of the impact of the regular walk to Stockton on people’s health, welfare and finances.

After the presentation of the report and the testimonies, Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary then put a series of requests to Mr Oppenheim. They first asked him to agree that no one should be required to travel more than 3 miles to report without being provided with travel expenses. In a major development, Mr Oppenheim responded by agreeing to bring the Tees Valley into line with the rest of the UK, so that travel tickets will be provided to people receiving asylum support who have to travel more than 3 miles each way. This system will be up and running by 14th September.

In response to concerns about the human consequences raised in the ‘The Long Walk to Stockton’, Mr Oppenheim agreed to minimise the impact of the UK Border Agency’s reporting requirements on people’s health, welfare and family life.

When asked to provide ‘local reporting centres for local people’, so that people can report at North Ormesby and Middlesbrough police stations as well as at Stockton, Mr Oppenheim agreed that in the future people should report to the UK Border Agency as locally as possible. He pledged to end the practice of people having to walk from Middlesbrough to Stockton. In order to achieve this he promised to secure alternative venues for people to report in Middlesbrough, in addition to Stockton Police Station, and hoped to have these in place by 14th September 2009.

Mr Oppenheim also agreed that he and his staff would continue to work with Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary to resolve this and other issues, with a first meeting to review progress scheduled for mid-October, a month after the new reporting arrangements are due to begin.

Barbara Hungin, a Leader from Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary, said:
"We are delighted that Mr Oppenheim came to Middlesbrough today. He read our report, listened to the stories of people who regularly walk to Stockton to report, and responded positively to the issues we raised. We are doubly delighted that he has promised to introduce ‘local reporting centres for local people.’

"This is a victory for common sense and decency - and for the power of ordinary citizens to work together for change. We look forward to the commencement of the new reporting arrangements in September. Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary is already preparing to monitor the impact so that we can be sure that no-one has to undergo the ‘long walk to Stockton’ in the future.”

UK Border Agency Regional Director Jeremy Oppenheim said:
"We are making every effort to ensure that asylum seekers can report to the nearest UK Border Agency building or alternative office.

"Reporting is an essential part of our immigration system and offers an alternative to detention. Foreign nationals who are genuinely in need of our protection deserve a quick decision so that they can learn English, get a job and look forward to a safe, positive future. Equally, those who don't need sanctuary in the UK are expected to leave the country as soon as possible.

"We are looking into alternative reporting centres in the Middlesbrough area and, from 14 September, will offer to buy bus tickets for people entitled to our support.”

Cardiff gets the ball rolling...

2009-07-17T12:56:00.008+01:00

The Wales Regional Campaign Action Team, who are already successfully exchanging over £1000 per week of Sectoin Four supermarket vouchers, have decided to take on the challenge of setting up an Internship Scheme for local people seeking sanctuary.

Deskilling, depression and boredom has become a major problem amongst people seeking sanctuary in Cardiff. Many people have shared stories about missing their life in the work place, and have been left feeling that their talents and skills are being wasted. They broke this large problem down into the tangible issue of people being deskilled because they are unable to work.

The RCAT gathered to discuss this issue and agreed that building on the Zimbabwean pilot internship scheme in London would be one innovative citizen subversion to the problem of people not being able to work. The group are going to set up a head quarters, linked to Oxfam Wales, to run an internship for local people seeking sanctuary to get skills and experience in local businesses, charities and service providers. The interns need to be provided with a lunch and travel expenses but otherwise they will volunteer their time and expertise. However, despite being voluntary, the internships will try to provide meaningful tasks and hopefully references in the long term for people seeking sanctuary.

It's an exciting new project that can also help with the local integration and it will be interesting to see how the team and the interns develop over the coming months.

Poems from the Cardiff RCAT

2009-07-17T12:51:00.001+01:00

I still remember
That very moment in my life
When I decided the unknown
Over the little known
Booking a place in a plane
Leaving behind the family
And close ones at home; and
Deciding to be part of the unknown
With optimistic view of the day
Having some hope
Which are yet to be dashed.
Leaving the home airport was frustrating
As it involved a lot of risk
I remember those prayers
Which I had done time and again
A prayer to escape home
A payer to keep the hungry lions silent
The journey was full of thoughts
Thoughts from childhood to present age
Thoughts that took me back and forth in time
Thought where hope and despair
Had to face one-another.
The arrival wasn’t bad
Though I didn’t know
Where I would finally end up
As destination was unknown
Life has now changed forever
For worse or better.
The airport was as huge as usual
Embracing people of all colour
Some looked familiar
While others confused
The way to the city wasn’t easy
Using the underground trains
To a place not booked before
It is all keeping going
Going, going, going. going.
Following instincts and thoughts
How tough is it to prefer the unknown
Over the little known
To keep life on hold
On hold for unknown time and future
On hold for reasons little known.

Bekele Debela

"Friends of Lunar House" expands to second day!

2009-07-17T12:48:00.006+01:00

Following the successful running of our "Friends of Lunar House" service which offers a friendly face to those seeking sanctuary when they report to Lunar House, a group of local volunteers and members of South London Citizens, will be expanding the service to two days a week. "Friends" has been running for two and a half years just one day a week, but has proved to be a success in improving not only the individuals visit, but Home Office staff also claim it has improved relationships between civil servants, citizens and people seeking sanctuary.

Expanding the service also demonstrates the relationship that has been created with the UKBA and their willingness to engage with our work. Plans are on the way to establish "Friends" services at other UKBA buildings. For more information on how to get involved in the project or in any of the other projects CITIZENS for Sanctuary is running, then please contact Projects Organiser Carina Crawford-Rolt at carina.crawford-rolt@cof.org.uk

"Shows Promise - Must Try Harder in 2010" - Annual Audit and Report Card of the implementation of the Independent Asylum Commission's recommendations

2009-07-13T23:52:00.002+01:00

It is a year since the Independent Asylum Commission, the most comprehensive review of policy, practice and public attitudes relating to people seeking sanctuary in the UK ever undertaken, published its recommendations to secure justice for people fleeing persecution and to rebuild public support for sanctuary.

Today, CITIZENS for Sanctuary has published the first Annual Audit and Report Card of the implementation of the Independent Asylum Commission’s recommendations by the UK Border Agency. As well as showing exactly which recommendations have been implemented, the report also includes an audit of the human outcomes – providing an update on the stories of people who gave evidence to the Commission. The Audit highlights unresolved issues of particular concern and sets out key priorities and targets for 2010. You may have heard the report discussed on BBC Radio last night.

You can download the Annual Audit and Report Card here. The full appendices will be available on our website soon.

The Annual Audit also marks the start of an important year of negotiation, with the UK Border Agency recently signing a Protocol with CITIZENS for Sanctuary to negotiate on all of the Independent Asylum Commission’s relevant recommendations, and meetings arranged with Ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss implementation of the recommendations there.

Victory for Walk of Justice as UKBA Regional Director agrees to meet Tees Valley CITIZENS for Sanctuary

2009-07-13T23:30:00.001+01:00

An alliance of faith, refugee and citizen groups is celebrating tonight after a ‘walk of justice’ from North Ormesby to Stockton resulted in a commitment by the UK Border Agency’s Director in the North East, Mr Jeremy Oppenheim, to come to the Tees Valley and discuss the issue of people seeking sanctuary having to walk from Middlesbrough to Stockton police station to report.

In an unexpected personal phonecall to the marchers, Mr Oppenheim promised to come to the local area and meet with leaders from Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary who were concerned that vulnerable people seeking sanctuary in the local area were being asked to make a round trip of up to 12 miles in order to comply with UK Border Agency reporting restrictions.

A group of 50 citizens made the symbolic walk from North Ormesby to Stockton. The walk took a dramatic twist when Mr Oppenheim made the call, responding to press coverage and public support for the cause. As the local citizens chanted “Local reporting centres for local people” Mr Oppenheim offered to shift existing diary commitments to deal with the issue and offered a firm date. His offer to come to the Tees Valley for the meeting was greeted by a chorus of cheers from the marchers, who had by this time reached Stockon police station.

The meeting has been fixed for 28th July at 14:00. Leaders from Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary are preparing a dossier of evidence detailing the stories of those who live in Middlesbrough and have to walk to Stockton police station on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis.

Barbara Hungin, a leader from Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary, said:
“We are pleased that Jeremy Oppenheim has now agreed to meet with us, here in the Tees Valley. No-one should be asked to walk so far when there are so many other police stations nearby in Middlesbrough. Working with Mr Oppenheim, Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary now have an opportunity to consign this injustice to the dustbin of history.”

Jeremy Oppenheim, Regional Director of the UK Border Agency, said:
“I take this issue seriously and I would be delighted to meet with Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary. I look forward to finding out more at our meeting on 28th July and hope we can find a way forward.”

CITIZENS call on Zimbabwe PM to endorse Strategic Internship Scheme

2009-06-25T12:16:00.011+01:00

This week Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and President of the Movement for Democratic Change, visited London.

London CITIZENS and CITIZENS for Sanctuary helped arrange a meeting between Mr Tsvangirai and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

A delegation of London Citizens and Zimbabwean leaders turned out to welcome Mr Tsvangirai - and to ask for his support for the Zimbabwean Strategic Internship Scheme which aims to give skills and work experience to Zimbabweans in the UK so that when it is safe to return they are able to help rebuild their country.

A letter requesting the Prime Minister's support was handed over by the Project Lead, Mr Jeff Sango, as he arrived at City Hall.

Jeff and his fellow leaders of the CITIZENS for Sanctuary Zimbabwe Action Team then discussed the scheme with senior officials from the Prime Minister's office.

Later Mr Tsvangirai himself came out to greet the team.

Linda Robson, one of the leaders of the CITIZENS for Sanctuary Zimbabwe Action Team and an intern on the Strategic Internship Scheme said:

"The internship scheme has given me some real opportunities - but I never expected to be given the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister personally and shake his hand! I felt proud to be part of that action, outside City Hall, knowing that he was going to meet the Mayor of London - and that we had been a part of making that happen."

You can find out more about the internship scheme on the CITIZENS for Sanctuary website.

The pictures of Boris meeting Mr Tsvangirai made it into some of the newspapers, including the London Paper.

Action from 10 Ways - Minding our Language

2009-06-19T00:34:00.003+01:00

On an individual level, supporters and regular Citizens alike are changing their language to better reflect the situation. Using ‘sanctuary’ instead of ‘asylum’ throws off the negative connotations that have all too long been attributed to refugees and those seeking sanctuary. By challenging the use of the word ‘asylum’ you also challenge the perceptions people hold. One person we spoke to has even put a ‘swear-box’ in the living room of their shared house, and challenged his housemates to mind their language, too!

Rory Thompson, a Management Consultant and English graduate from Surrey, said:
"It is a point of personal pride that the United Kingdom has a long and noble history of according sanctuary to persons at risk of persecution, and as citizens it is imperative that we command the government to continue to do so, and that we change our neighbour's attitudes towards sanctuary every day."

Fiona is a PR Executive for a high profile PR company in London, though she was brought up in Jersey.
“Sanctuary is an essential right of every human being, and it doesn't mean 'making an exception', 'going out of your way' or 'dealing with something unpleasant'. We all seek sanctuary every day - in a quiet moment away from work, in the daily yoga lesson, in the friendly one to one with your GP. Even having a cuppa with a friend.

To use 'asylum' implies being taken away and looked after because we can't look after ourselves. That we're being hidden, segregated and cut off from 'normal' activities because we are in some way a non member of society, but we take refuge from crime, injustice and illness, from persecution, unfair fines and citizens advice, we are seeking sanctuary from those elements of modern life that seek to harm us.”

Gabi Fattal, an aviation solicitor from London, said:
“I pledge my support for the campaign to replace use of the word "asylum" with the term, "sanctuary". I believe this is an important issue as the term "asylum" has come to have certain negative connotations in the media and in the public's view that may obstruct the real purpose of securing a better life for people fleeing persecution. Every human must have a right to justice and we are fortunate in Britain that we can use our democratic rights and duties to help improve the lives of others. I personally pledge to use the term "sanctuary" when discussing these important issues in the future.”

Jonathan, Financial Consultant from London:
"I believe there is a general misconception over the real reasons people seek sanctuary in the UK, which is compounded by negative associations in the media and certain political spheres. We appear to have lost sight of what is at the heart of this and that is people seeking a place of safety from the very real dangers of persecution in their home countries. The UK acts as a vital place of safety and sanctuary for people in unimaginable circumstances and I think that message is being lost, we should be proud of the real difference we can make to those in desperate need."

Laura Wathen, Investment Banker in London:
"I endorse attempts to clarify the English language and appreciate the problems, confusion and unfair assumptions that surround the term 'asylum seeker'. Britain has a proud history of granting sanctuary and I support efforts to safeguard it"

Steve Fleming, PhD Neuroscience student:
"Sometimes you don't appreciate the conations of commonly used phrases such as 'asylum seeker'. Unconsciously or otherwise though the term 'asylum' is associated with a stereotype of mental health problems given its historical usage. I will ensure that I use the term "person seeking sanctuary" and I will support a change in language by encouraging others to do so too."

Sophie Faber, Fast Stream Civil Servant:
“In a country where the BNP can win votes and seats by manipulating common misconceptions of the word 'asylum seeker' we have to do all we can to make sure these views aren't propagated. People who come to the UK to seek sanctuary must be fairly recognised and given the help they need to flee persecution. I am committed to never using the term 'asylum seeker', but instead 'person seeking sanctuary'"

Action from 10 Ways - Adopting a Civil Servant...

2009-06-19T00:26:00.003+01:00

People are already getting in on the act and using '10 Ways for Citizens to Save Sanctuary'.

One of the 10 Ways is to show care and concern for the civil servants who make difficult decisions on who should be granted sanctuary and who should not.

In our churches for the two Sundays in Refugee Week we are using a prayer remembering those who seek sanctuary here, but also those working at the UK Border Agency.

Tim Clapton, Development Chaplain at Milton Keynes Mission Partnership, said:
"I am really happy the Churches of Milton Keynes are taking part in the collective prayer for people seeking sanctuary and for those making the life-and-death decisions at the UK Border Agency. It's more important now than ever for us to celebrate the diversity of our communities and our proud tradition of offering sanctuary for people fleeing persecution."

Rev Bruce Stokes from Wood Grange Baptist Church, London said:
“I can't think that anybody wants a naive, open border policy, but I do think that I am in the majority when I ask that British politicians should be world leaders when it comes to establishing a fair process, and that British immigration officers should be absolutely fair-minded in implementing that process. I would want nothing less if I were seeking sanctuary.”

Father John Clark will also be using the prayer at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph Catholic Church, London. Father John said:
"We should not forget that Jesus Christ was a refugee. I wonder how Mary and Joseph would be treated if they were to seek sanctuary here today? We must remember in our prayers the refugees who need our protection, but also the civil servants who have to make life-or-death decisions on our behalf."

Sr Ruth O'Neill, DC, Cardiff said:
'I hope that Churches, in cities and towns throughout the UK, will pray this prayer in Refugee week. Working closely with people seeking safety, I have heard their sincere and desperate longing for peace. It is vital that we pray too, for those who have that difficult job of working at UKBA and for all of us, as we also share the responsibility to welcome the stranger; protect those in danger and enjoy the differences we discover.'

Here's the prayer:

Almighty God,
we give you thanks for every way
in which we experience Britain
as a place of diversity, safety and opportunity.

We pray for all who have come to this country
in search of a welcome, and for the persecuted
who have come in search of sanctuary.

We pray for those in the UK Border Agency
who have the responsibility, freely to admit
those who have a right to be admitted,
and resolutely to protect our borders
from those who wish us harm.

May they have wisdom, fair-mindedness
and pride, in the difficult and important work
they do on our behalf.

We pray that the tradition of providing sanctuary
to those forced to flee their homes through persecution,
may be preserved; and may each of us as citizens
show hospitality to refugees who are among us now,
and so safeguard the concept of sanctuary for the future.

May the communities we belong to
thrive in diversity and peace,
and may our citizenship in the UK,
reflect the open and inclusive citizenship of heaven.

Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Amen

10 Ways for Citizens to Save Sanctuary

2009-06-19T00:19:00.003+01:00

Finally! It is published! Went like hotcakes at the Celebrating Sanctuary festival on the South Bank last Sunday.

We shifted three boxloads, and we were only giving them out to people who promised to do one of the actions.

80 people signed up for voucher exchange alone!

Don't know what I am talking about? Check out our new publication here.

Highlights of a week flitting across the UK

2009-06-08T08:39:00.001+01:00

CITIZENS for Sanctuary do not go where we are not invited. We do not have a territotial presence outside of London and so our Regional Campaign Action Teams are set up by local people with a keen desire for change.

So last week I travelled around the country to meet, train and be inspired by ordinary citizens who want to make the Independent Asylum Commission's recommendations happen in their community.

On Monday I went to Plymouth. About 15 people gave up half a day to talk about how they might campaign together for the common good in their local area. Isolated from much of the rest fo the country and with no history of migrant communities, there was no shortage of issues to address.

On Tuesday I was in Southampton and Portsmouth, meeting 1-2-1 with local leaders who had attended an introductory meeting in April. The story I heard there was the same story we encounter time and time again across the country - a small core of committed leaders working flat out to cope with the consequences of our asylum system, but fed up with just applying a sticking plaster. They want to organise together for change. The challenge as always is finding the time - so some training on 1-2-1s, the benefits of a relational culture and prioritising could be useful.

On Wednesday I headed up to the City of Sanctuary conference in Sheffield. Great to catch up with some old friends doing some inspiring work, including a university contemporary of mine who is running something similar to our 'Friends of Lunar House' project, except in his local Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in Bradford. I ran a couple of workshops on how citizens across the UK are using Obama tactics to make the Independent Asylum Commission's recommendations a reality. Really great bunch of people came to find out how community organising can make their work more effective. Inderjit Bhogal closed the conference with an anecdote about his taxi driver misunderstanding what asylum is, and then uttered words that were music to my ears: "Let us not use the outdated and misleading term 'asylum', but talk instead of sanctuary." Couldn't have said it better myself!

Then on to Durham, my alma mater. Had dinner with two students finishing their degrees, to talk about how we recruit the brightest and best to become community organisers, and challenged them to get students to support our voucher exchanges.

On Thursday I was in Durham and Newcastle for 1-2-1s with leaders who want to be part of the Regional Campaign Action Team. Again, there was real passion and commitment - mostly from British citizens who have recently encountered people seeking sanctuary who have been poorly treated here.

And Friday, early, I visited Milton Keynes for the first time in my life. Given that I only ever ventured about 500 metres of the train station I will refrain from making the usual snide remarks about the concrete jungle, but will instead say how full of hope the lovely people who attended our training event were. Many of them were refugees or people seeking sanctuary, and by the end of the day, as we taught about power and negotiation, you could almost sense their desire to put it into practice.

So a busy week - but the travelling was worth it. With committed citizens working together effectively and strategically, change will come...

A Brighter Future for 5 Young People in Manchester

2009-05-22T12:06:00.000+01:00

CITIZENS for Sanctuary is supporting Regional Campaign Action Teams (RCATs) across the UK to take action to implement the Independent Asylum Commission’s recommendation.

Here, Rebecca Murray of Brighter Futures, part of the Regional Campaign Action Team in Manchester, writes about the negotiation training which helped a group of young people to win a successful negotiation with a Vice Chancellor:

"Brighter Futures is made up of young refugees and people seeking sanctuary speaking out on issues they feel strongly about. One big concern the group have is access to education. Many of them do well in their A levels, only to be told that they have to pay international fees (which can be up to three or four time more expensive than home fees) if they want to go to university.

Brighter Futures had already successfully lobbied two universities to accept a quota of asylum seekers as home fees paying students. We had two more meetings with universities on the horizon and so Citizens for Sanctuary offered to train the group in new approaches to getting VCs to offer more places.

The training focused on roleplaying the meeting with the VC - all the roles were played by group members so that they got to experience how it felt to be the decision maker or a journalist covering the story - looking at the meeting from different perspectives. It also involved giving our young people the training and confidence to take charge of the meeting and not to be intimidated by those in authority. We made much more use of the personal stories of the young people affected.

Initially some of our team were sceptical of the new approach, which took us out of our comfort zone. But through preparation and support both meetings were incredibly successful – with one Vice Chancellor offering five places for our young people at university next year.

Citizens for Sanctuary are continuing to advise us on how to maximise our success and continue onto the next stages of negotiation."

Enthusiasm for Change in the East Midlands

2009-05-14T23:58:00.007+01:00

One of the joys of being involved with CITIZENS for Sanctuary is that I get to go to city after city across the UK helping ordinary people to realise that they can make real change.

I never tire of watching the realisation dawn on someone's face that they can make a difference - if they are prepared to organise with others, plan a strategy, take action, and negotiate with those in positions of power. Sometimes you can literally see years of frustration and despair lift from a person's face - and a steely sense of purpose and a determination to overcome injustice replaces it.

It was no different during my tour of the East Midlands this week. I started off in the Secular Hall in Leicester, where representatives of about twenty local organisations had turned out, along with the Deputy Mayor, to hear about how they could join the growing network of CITIZENS for Sanctuary Regional Campaign Action Teams and organise themselves to secure justice for people seeking sanctuary and rebuild public support for sanctuary.

Later I travelled the short distance to Nottingham for a similar meeting.

In both places my message was simple. Where citizens were prepared to work together to implement the Independent Asylum Commission's recommendations, we could support them with advice, training and support. In return, they would need to:

Use the principles of community organising to build a powerful alliance locally;

Identify a winnable and worthwhile issue and then explore a solution in line with the Independent Asylum Commission's recommendations;

Be prepared to take action in pursuit of negotiation with those in positions of power;

Commit time and energy to making change happen!

There seemed to be a positive response - particularly when I shared with them concrete examples of change from the work of London Citizens. The proof will be whether I get invited back to run a meeting at which a core of enthusiastic leaders will commit to forming teams in Leicester and Nottingham to join those developing in Cardiff, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Reading, London, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Manchester, Southampton and Plymouth.

Oh, and we even got some local journalists from an excellent media project come and record a short interview in Leicester - you can watch it here.