- Vicky Squire, Asylum processing centres in North Africa would merely mask the EU’s migration failings, The Conversation, 27/06/2018.
As European leaders speak out against each other in an increasingly desperate scramble to find a way forward on the contentious issue of migration, their collective failure to listen to those who have made the migratory journey is striking. So long as the testimonies of people on the move are ignored, the EU will continue to struggle to deal with a crisis of its own making.
- New report by Refugee Action: Waiting in the Dark. How the Asylum System Dehumanises, Disempowers and Damages. May 2018
People seeking asylum arrive in the UK with very little, having made long, perilous journeys to safety. War and persecution have forced them to flee the homes they love. They hope and expect that they will receive a compassionate welcome. But for too many, the asylum system that confronts them is a hostile one, characterised by long delays, poor decision-making and a total lack of information. Between January and March 2018, Refugee Action spoke to 40 people who have first-hand experience of claiming asylum. During these interviews, we were told about traumatic encounters with the Home Office, as well as poor practice at all stages of an unfair and overly adversarial system. Our research reveals a process that damages, dehumanises and disempowers those who rely on it to make life-changing decisions.
- New report by the Institute of Race Relations: Humanitarianism, The Unacceptable Face of Solidarity. November 2017
This report is the product of a six-month research project into the hostile political and legal environment facing humanitarian actors who seek to protect life at Europe’s sea and land borders. Drawing on the work of advocacy organisations across Europe, it provides a sample of twenty-six case studies involving prosecutions of 45 individual humanitarian actors under anti-smuggling or immigration laws since September 2015. It reports that the space for humanitarian action is shrinking within a political culture where distinctions between ‘us’ and ‘them’ seek to ensure that human solidarity ends at the gates to Europe.
- New report by Lucy Mayblin and Poppy James (University of Warwick). ‘Asylum and Refugee Support: Civil Society Filling the Gaps?’. October 2017
What is the scale of the refugee third sector response to gaps in the support regime for asylum seekers, refused asylum seekers and refugees? This report estimates the financial cost to the refugee third sector of poverty and destitution among these groups. It looks at where refugee third sector organisations are, how many people they are supporting, which groups they are supporting, how they are funded, and support that is hard to cost.
The report explores some significant areas of growth and change in the last year, both within the core work of NACCOM and the membership as a whole. Alongside highlighting the resourcefulness and resilience of members and service users in a challenging and uncertain environment, it draws attention to key flaws in the system which need to be addressed.
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‘There’s compassion fatigue’: why refugee charities face a funding shortfall. The Guardian. 28/06/2017
Giving to refugee charities tends to increase only after media coverage of tragic stories or political decisions. But as the crisis endures beyond the news cycle, fundraisers need to find other ways to retain donors.
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”It’s like Airbnb for refugees’: UK hosts and their guests – in pictures’. The Guardian. 8/05/2017
Photo report about refugees and their host families across the UK.
- ‘Refugees Welcome? The Experience of New Refugees in the UK’. APPG on Refugees. 25/04/2017
This report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees raises concerns about a“two-tier system” of refugee protection. While the refugees arriving in the UK through Government-led resettlement programmes receive dedicated support, many people whose refugee status is granted following an asylum claim have to rely on charities and local individuals.
- ‘Churches and charities fill asylum vacuum left by ‘lukewarm’ state’. The Guardian. 3/04/2017.
Government support for refugees is scant, but charities and faith groups around the UK are working hard to provide a safety net.
- ‘NGOs under attack for saving too many lives in the Mediterranean’. The Conversation. 29/03/2017.
European politicians and media have accused non-governmental organisations (NGOs) carrying out search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean of undermining their efforts to stem the flow of migration from Libya.
- ‘Refugees Welcome Index shows government refugee policies out of touch with public opinion’. Amnesty International. 19/05/2016.
The new Refugees Welcome Index, based on a global survey of more than 27,000 people carried out by the internationally renowned strategy consultancy GlobeScan, ranks 27 countries across all continents based on people’s willingness to let refugees live in their countries, towns, neighbourhoods and homes.
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Didier Fassin. ‘From Right to Favor. The Refugee Question as Moral Crisis’. The Nation. 5/04/2016.