QARN considers the plight of asylum seekers
QARN conference considers: ‘Destitution, Detention and Deportation: Gathering Quaker Energy to Speak Truth to Power'
More than fifty Friends and others gathered from 6 to 8 February for a conference organised by the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network (QARN) in partnership with the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre.
The conference was titled ‘Destitution, Detention and Deportation: Gathering Quaker Energy to Speak Truth to Power’. Its purpose, QARN member Bridget Walker told the Friend, was ‘to explore how to serve better those who are oppressed by our country’s asylum system and how to work for change’.
Invited speakers highlighted the system of immigration detention and how asylum seekers are forced into destitution.
Jerome Phelps, of Detention Action, told of asylum seekers who had fled from killing and torture in their home countries. They had described the experience of detention with no prospect of release as another form of torture. Mike Kaye, of Still Human Still Here, quoted statistics suggesting that there have been some improvements in the decision-making process.
Both speakers stressed the importance of engaging with the parliamentary process and making personal contact with MPs, particularly in the run-up to the general election.
‘Many other issues were discussed and will be developed further,’ Bridget said. These included the exploitation and deaths of asylum seekers on their journey overland and across the Mediterranean. ‘There was outrage and anger, enthusiasm and commitment. The conference marked a new stage in the work that QARN began in 2006 and offered a model for gathering energy and sustaining hope,’ she concluded.
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