refugees and asylum seekers

REFUGEES
AND ASYLUM
SEEKERS
Getting the story straight in 2015
Photo: © Anthony Upton
The British Red Cross has a long tradition
of supporting vulnerable refugees and
asylum seekers, after they flee trauma
and persecution.
THE RED CROSS
AND REFUGEES
We are now the biggest single provider
of this support in the UK – reaching out
to more than 13,000 people every year,
in 60 towns and cities.
We help these people adjust to life here
in a number of ways: from providing
emergency food and clothing, to giving
friendly advice to those settling in a new,
unfamiliar place.
REFUGEE
> flees their home
> has proven to the
authorities that they would
be at risk if returned to their
home country
> arrives in another country,
whichever way they can
> makes themselves known
to the authorities
> submits an asylum
application
> has a legal right to stay
in the country while awaiting
a decision.
> has had their claim for
asylum accepted by the
government
> can now stay here either
long-term or indefinitely.
REFUSED ASYLUM SEEKER
ECONOMIC MIGRANT
> has been unable to
prove that they would face
persecution back home
> has moved to another
country to work
> has been denied protection
by the authorities
> must now leave the
country, unless they wish to
appeal the decision or there
are legitimate reasons why
they cannot yet return home.
> could be legally or illegally
resident, depending on how
they entered the country
> may or may not have
a legal work permit.
Photo: © Lloyd Sturdy
WHAT DO THE
TERMS MEAN?
ASYLUM SEEKER
Photo: © Ibrahim Malla / IFRC
TIME FOR FACTS,
NOT FEAR
Most of the world’s
refugees don’t flee
to Europe, let alone
the UK. Only
live here.
1%
Sweden
81,300
Do these sound familiar? They should: they are all real British
newspaper headlines. For years now, those who come to the UK
seeking shelter receive a largely negative press.
We want to give people the right information and encourage more
balanced reporting. Let’s get the story straight.
The UK received 31,400 asylum applications
last year. This was less than Germany
(166,800), Sweden (81,300) France (63,100)
and Italy (56,300).
Just 41 per cent of people applying for an
initial decision were granted asylum and
allowed to stay. Many are initially refused
because it is difficult to provide the evidence
needed to meet the strict criteria of a refugee.
Source: Home Office immigration statistics, October to December 2014
UK
31,400
Germany
166,800
France
63,100
Italy
56,300
UK
126,000
The number of people forced
to flee their homes last year,
across the world, was over
50 million – for the first time
since the Second World War.
However, most people don’t
come to Europe, as this
map shows. They either stay
inside their country (‘internally
displaced’) or flee over their
nearest border.1
Refugees in the UK
therefore account for
just 0.19 per cent
of the population.
Photo: © Jose Cendon / IFRC
THE
WORLD’S
REFUGEES
The total UK
population currently
stands at
64.1 million.4
There were an
estimated 126,000
refugees living in the
UK in 2014.3
Turkey
800,000
Syria
3 million
Afghanistan
2.7 million
Iran
900,000
Lebanon
1.1
million
Jordan
700,000
Last year, there were
more than
refugees worldwide.
The countries
shown in red hosted
the most refugees.
More than half (52 per
cent) came from just three
countries, shown here in
black2. For instance, the
four-year conflict in Syria has
swelled recent figures.
Developing countries
hosted over
of the world’s
refugees5.
13 million
Pakistan
1.6 million
80%
Sudan
670,000
Somalia
1.1 million
South
Sudan
508,000
UNHCR mid-year report 2014
UNHCR mid-year report 2014
3
UNHCR mid-year report 2014
4
Office for National Statistics mid-2013
5
UNHCR mid-year report 2014
1
2
6,000
54% of the destitute
refugees and asylum
seekers we saw in 2014
were penniless because of
administration problems in the
asylum system.
DESTITUTION
TOO MANY DELAYS
NOT ENOUGH DIGNITY
>> Every year, thousands of
asylum seekers and refugees
find themselves entirely cut
off from government support
and unable to meet even
essential living needs.
>> The government should
ensure that people receive
adequate housing and
support throughout the
asylum process, from
beginning to end.
>> The government should
remove the delays and errors
in the asylum system that
leave people destitute.
>> We want to see an
effective and efficient
asylum system that treats
people with humanity, ends
destitution, and upholds
the UK’s responsibilities
to refugees.
>> Many refugees and
asylum seekers come to us
for basics such as food and
clothes. Many have children.
Photo: © Simon Rawles
The British Red Cross helps over
destitute asylum seekers
and refugees every year.
Photo: © Simon Rawles
YOUNG REFUGEES
TREATED LIKE ADULTS
ALONE AND AFRAID
>> A number of young asylum
seekers have their ages
disputed by the Home Office
and/or social services.
>> These vulnerable children
may arrive in Britain without any
family – only to be processed
as adults.
>> Unable to provide birth
certificates as proof of age,
some children are initially
assessed as being over 18,
leaving them to navigate the
asylum system alone.
>> They then face the
unsettling prospect of sharing
accommodation with adults
who are strangers to them.
>> We believe that every
separated asylum-seeking
child should have someone to
advocate on his or her behalf.
1,861
applications from
unaccompanied asylumseeking children
in 2014.
asylum applicants
had their age disputed.
310
42% of initial
decisions were
granted.
7
UK immigration statistics Oct–Dec 2013
681
We partnered up with
legal providers to help
refugees apply for
family reunion.
200
FAMILY REUNION
NOT AFFORDABLE
NOT SIMPLE
> Refugees have a legal right,
under UK and international law,
to be reunited with their children
and spouse/partner, if they are
still overseas.
> Family reunion is often a long
and complex process – even for
those who speak English
as their first language.
> Many refugees cannot afford
to exercise this right because
they can’t afford legal help.
Since April 2013, legal aid
funding has not been available
for family reunion in England,
Scotland and Wales.
> 95 per cent of people using
our family reunion service
thought it would be very difficult
to apply for family reunion
without legal support.
> The government should
fund complex family reunion
cases and make the application
form easier to understand
and complete.
Photo: © Layton Thompson
Our travel assistance programme
helped 295 refugees reunite with
family members in 2014.
Photo: © Islam Mardini / SARC
SLEMAN’S STORY:
I’M ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES
Not too long ago, Sleman
was finishing his studies
as an engineer in food
sciences at the University
of Aleppo.
He was thinking about his
career and potential next
steps – like any young
person in the first flush
of adulthood.
But then war broke out
in Syria and everything
changed.
In 2012, Sleman was
forced to flee his country
at 24 years old.
“I was helping my people by
volunteering with the Syrian
Arab Red Crescent (SARC).
I was offering help and
medical support to those
hurt during demonstrations.
There is no
life in Syria,
anymore
“Different groups started
chasing and threatening me
– just because I was part of
the humanitarian aid. I had
to run away.”
Sleman ended up in the UK
and claimed asylum straight
away. He also found a
British Red Cross office,
to see if he could volunteer.
Now a refugee, and
allowed to stay here
until 2018, Sleman calls
himself “lucky”.
“I’m lucky that I can contact
my father and mother once
or twice a month,”
he explains. “Every time
I ring them, my father says
he wants to die. There is
no life in Syria, anymore.”
That is why Sleman is
rebuilding his life in the UK.
He wants to carry
on studying. He also wants
to keep volunteering and
helping people.
He says: “I like to help
people. I know what it
is like to need that help
from someone.”
MY LIFE STARTS TODAY
In April 2011, government
forces attacked Marie’s home
in the Ivory Coast – all because
of her father’s friendship with
the former president.
Marie jumped out of a window,
barely missing a bullet, which
caught the side of her knee.
Her house was burnt down:
an attack that killed her father
and injured her siblings.
Fearing for her life, Marie had
to escape in secret. She left
behind two children, Erica (9)
and Adrian (7), who were in
another part of town.
Once she got refugee status
in the UK, Marie turned to the
British Red Cross to guide her
quickly through family reunion.
“The same people that came
for my father were looking for
my children too. I had to get
them out of danger,” she says.
In March 2015, Marie
finally met her children at
Manchester Airport – after four
long years apart.
“It’s been so hard,” Marie
reflects, as she anxiously
waits for her children to walk
through the arrivals gate.
“I can go without money, I can
go without food, but I need my
kids. It’s like your breath.”
She finally feels she can look
forward to the future. “I’m
fighting. I want to work,
I want my children to be
happy and have a good life.
“My life starts today.”
Photo: © Matthew Stewart
MARIE’S STORY:
I had to get
my children out
of danger
British Red Cross
44 Moorfields
London
EC2Y 9AL
Tel: 0844 871 1111
Fax: 020 7562 2000
redcross.org.uk
Published in 2015
Cover photo © BRC
The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter
1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949),
Scotland (SC037738) and Isle of Man (0752).
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 7877 7029