We’ve all heard the rhetoric “Asylum seekers and refugees come to our country because they know they’ll get money through our benefits system.”
This kind of misguided thinking is frustrating – especially when you consider the many talented and highly skilled individuals that make up refugee and asylum seeking communities in Scotland.
Most asylum seekers want to work
Most asylum seekers in fact want to work – meaning that unfortunately the UK is missing out on the skills and experience they have to offer.
And even though most people seeking asylum are denied the right to work by the Home Office, many still contribute to their communities through their voluntary work and community activism.
Dialogue 4 Destitution Campaign – ask asylum seekers to share their experiences
Dialogue 4 Destitution’s (D4D) campaign for asylum seeker’s right-to-work in Scotland wants to hear from you!
If you’re an asylum seeker contributing to your community, share your experiences with D4D about what you are doing in your own community? Contact me for more information.
Extracts from D4D blog
People don’t know the true circumstances that an asylum seeker has to face
“Asylum seekers and refugees come to our country and snatch our jobs.” “Why should they be allowed to work?” “Why should they be receiving money from government and also be working?” Statements and questions like these are common but the people who ask these questions or make these statements are unaware or have very little knowledge of the true circumstances that an asylum seeker has to face.
Since 2002, almost all asylum seekers in the UK have been prevented from working.
Destitute – sleeping rough and surviving on one meal a day
People who are waiting years for a decision on their asylum claim or who have been refused asylum are becoming destitute:
“People who become destitute have no accommodation, no money to buy food and very little or no access to health facilities”.
“During 2008-2010, the British Red Cross alone provided assistance to approximately 10,000 destitute asylum seekers. A survey of Red Cross clients in 2010 found that 28 per cent slept rough at some stage and nearly 90 per cent survived on one meal a day.”
