Thread by @TimNaorHilton

Much focus (rightly) on how Rwanda deportation policy will work & need for challenge in the courts
But another – less reported – effect of the announcement is the DEVASTATION that it (& wider #AntiRefugeeBill) has caused among people who have sought refugee protection in UK
1/11

Rwanda policy sends out message that people seeking asylum aren’t welcome
Our Expert by Experience network @refugeeaction is deeply distressed by this, many already struggling with years of limbo in asylum system, many used similar routes to come to UK cos no safe routes
2/11

These are future UK citizens, their children will grow up in our cities, towns & villages
The small-minded actions of UK gov have huge impact on these communities’ sense of UK as a fair place where they can access the justice they have been denied in their home country
3/11

Please do not underestimate the immediate and devastating impact on the well-being of refugees and people seeking asylum - directly from this vicious policy announcement
Those voices are sometimes lost, whereas they should be front & centre and shaping the response
4/11

In the midst of such a devastating crisis, felt daily at the moment by refugee and asylum charities, it can seem hard to focus on the need to ‘shift power’ to people with lived experience of displacement, but in fact it is needed now more than ever
5/11

This sector is hugely stretched at the moment. A year ago we said the circs for people in the asylum system were worse than ever as the level of support for them was deliberately run down in line with leaked equality impact assessment – eg ceiling collapses on children…
6/11

This hasn’t improved AT ALL but on top of this, charities have had to pivot their activities to respond to fallout of Afghan evacuation, the horrendous #AntiRefugeeBill as it goes through Parliament and now the chaos of the various Ukrainian schemes
7/11

At the same time, staff & volunteers at these charities are grappling with the fallout of the pandemic and the growing mental health crisis of people in the asylum system as well as horrific events such as the November Channel crossing disaster when so many people died
8/11

With funding often not increasing at anywhere near same rate we run risk of massive burnout amongst excellent committed people
We need to invest for the long-term in this sector & build on current efforts to promote culture of experimentation in this rapidly changing enviro
9/11

And most of all, the refugee & asylum sector (along with policymakers in central & local gov) need deep commitment to ‘shifting power’ to people w/lived experience of displacement, with sufficient resources available to experiment with different ways of doing this
10/11

This is the only route to ensuring that the very real devastation and re-traumatisation of people seeking protection in this country is widely heard and understood – and cannot be ignored (or worse, exploited) when formulating future refugee protection policy
11/11