'Refugees are Human Beings' Photo: courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
‘He cannot understand why a country that champions human rights treats him this way.’
Strangers to the truth: Claire Meyer wants justice for asylum seekers
The Britain Yearly Meeting briefing on ‘Build Back Better’ includes a call for ‘A humane immigration and asylum system’ and for the government ‘to allow people from migrant backgrounds to access work, housing and healthcare’.
Before anything else, however, an asylum seeker needs their claim to be registered, and a caseworker assigned. Going to the government website to find out what to expect one reads: ‘A decision will usually be made on your application within 6 months. This is our aim but this is not always possible.’ The clear inference is that it is unusual not to have a decision within six months.
But this is by no means the case. Indeed, a recent BBC news report says that ‘Four out of five applicants… waited six months or more for their cases to be processed.’
A Syrian friend I shall simply call ‘X’ claimed asylum in April 2019 and has still not been assigned a caseworker. He was repeatedly advised to flee Syria but stayed to look after his parents and only left when he had no option. His mother has since died. He has a wife and small daughter in Damascus whose absence tears him apart. He worries about them constantly. The family is now facing destitution. X’s MP has, at our request, repeatedly raised the issue with the Home Office. Their reply? They have moved away from the six-month timeline; they are dealing with vulnerable migrants; they recognise the long time he has had to wait but cannot say when his application will be considered.
The implication that X is not vulnerable, and that his case might never be heard, is mental torture to a man who has already suffered a lot. He cannot understand why a country that champions human rights treats him this way.
But what is even more shocking is that the Home Office has been aware of the situation since at least January 2019, when the BBC reported that asylum delays were ‘unacceptably high’ and that the Home Office could be ‘open to criticism or possible legal challenge’.
Asylum seekers are unable to work unless their case has not been dealt with for over a year, and then only on an extremely restrictive Shortage Occupation List.
The obvious solution is to staff the Home Office properly to meet demand and to reinstate the six-month service time. To encourage the Home Office to do its human duty, people who have waited for more than six months should be given indefinite leave to remain, at least until their cases are resolved. This would allow asylum seekers to work while waiting to be heard. I have started a petition to this end. I know there are thousands of people out there who feel as I do, and I ask you to sign and share it to as many as possible. I believe that successful outcomes from the petition would significantly help to build a better more humane Britain. Thank you for your support.
Claire’s petition can be read and signed at https://www.change.org/DontMakeAsylumSeekersWait.
