The news cycle over the last week has felt overwhelming for those working in the asylum, migration, homelessness and anti-poverty sectors, starting with the reappointment of a Home Secretary whose dream it is to send refugees to Rwanda. /1
1) Govt illegally detaining people seeking asylum. 2) Scabies and diphtheria outbreak at an asylum centre. 3) Growing backlog of people seeking asylum waiting for their claims to be processed. /2
4) Eye-watering costs of keeping people seeking asylum in limbo. Money that could be spent more effectively and reduced if people seeking asylum were more easily allowed to work #LiftTheBan 5) The demonising of people who have been trafficked to the UK. /3
6) Poor conditions in temporary, social and private rented accommodation and the snail’s pace of any legislation to improve this. 7) The spiralling costs of having a home (owned or rented) and the impact of commercialisation of housing. /4
We need to reframe how we think about people coming here for safety and to make a life for themselves. While migrants are used as a political football to blame for other problems, it will be impossible to solve the genuine problems there are with asylum and immigration. /5
And while political attitudes towards migrants and complex processes to claim asylum and live in this country play a strong role in the chaos and cruelty we have seen demonstrated in these recent stories, we also have to view them through the lens of a housing crisis in the UK /6
It will take a long time to solve these challenges - and I haven’t even touched on the related issues of access to justice and welfare support. But we CAN improve things in the short to medium term. /7
We need to work together and take advantage of all the skills, passion, knowledge and ideas across statutory and voluntary sector, academia, govt and crucially people with lived experience. But that cannot happen while politics and staying in power seem to be the main focus. /8
And a final tweet to say thank you to @lizziedearden @NicolaKelly @Dianewriter @KwajoHousing @PeteApps @ColinYeo1 @matt_dathan - among many others - who have so powerfully been shining a light on these stories 🙏🏻 /End
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