The asylum system can be like a board game. This statement would rankle with many. Triviality and unpredictability may be welcome when you’re playing snakes and ladders but not when dealing with the lives of real and often vulnerable people.
A few weeks ago we released a new animation highlighting how the asylum system often has more in common with a board game than a compassionate approach to looking at people who are in need of safety and sanctuary. Of course, this shouldn’t be happening.
Showing the challenges and destitution most asylum seekers face
Show Them Pictures made the animation for us through their Free Fridays scheme – which we were really lucky to be a part of. Seeing it come together was hugely satisfying and getting A L Kennedy, the Scottish comedian and writer, to do the voiceover was a boost. The finished product is unflinching with a soundtrack and visual style that jars with the seriousness of the personal stories we hear.
Revealing a flawed and failing asylum system
Through my work at Refugee Survival Trust I have seen the vital work it does to provide small grants of money to keep refugees and asylum seekers safe from destitution and to help them find work. Although our animation ends on a positive note, our work and research with other organisations reveals the flaws of an asylum system that forces people into homelessness and leaves them vulnerable.
This short film highlights our work but the message could also apply to any of the other excellent organisations we work with. Scottish Refugee Council, British Red Cross and all the organisations in the Glasgow Destitution Network do invaluable work ‘plugging the gaps’ in our asylum system.
I’m hopeful that perhaps one day there won’t be any gaps that need plugging.
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