2011 round up: Part one: Marriage equality

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

What stood out on the international LGBT human rights front in 2011? A lot. But lets go out on a limb and pick three things.

• The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the ban on lesbians and gays in the US military, in September.
• The appearance of LGBT organising, at some level, in most African countries. (See, for example, what's happening in Mozambique in a post from January).
• The death of the last known gay survivor of the Holocaust, Rudolf Brazda, in France.*

I'll be rounding up the year in a series of posts over the next week - in which no doubt I've missed something, so please let me know what I've missed in the comments!

Marriage equality

In terms of The News, international reporting, this was the year of same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage (or 'marriage equality' or 'gay marriage') was a leading international concern - whether in the West or raised as a chimeric threat, particularly in Africa. This year it was legalised in the second most populous US state, home to the UN and intentional media - New York state. American polls also, for the first time, showed clear majority support for marriage equality.

The immigration problems of bi-national, same-sex couples due to the Bill Clinton-era federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) drew national attention in America, but the Obama administration was criticised for being slow to act to use its powers to stop deportations of husbands and wives.

In the UK the Conservative-led government committed itself to marriage equality, there is to be a consultation next year, with Tory Prime Minister David Cameron famously saying he supported it because he was a conservative. The Scottish Nationalist government in Scotland appears likely to legalise same-sex marriage too, although there has been a strong, Catholic Church-led backlash.

In France, although marriage equality failed in the French parliament it is rumored that President Nicholas Sarkozy will announce his support in elections next year, supposedly inspired by Cameron's comments. But in Spain, lesbians and gays fear that a new conservative government may go backwards and convert gay marriages into gay civil unions.

It's been proposed by the Luxembourg government and by the Finnish government, and the Danish government permitted gay marriage in churches. The German parliament is going to vote on marriage equality next year. Civil partnerships are being mooted in Poland and Estonia - a first in a post-Soviet Union state.

Last month the governing Australian Labor Party supported same-sex marriage, though its leader does not and it is likely to fail when it reaches the parliament next year.

In July the Constitutional Court of Colombia ordered the Colombian government to legislate on same-sex relationship recognition - and that if they fail to, same-sex couples will be granted all marriage rights in two years.

Brazil's Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are legally entitled to civil unions, and same-sex marriage will be included in the new Nepalese constitution.

In October, in a little noticed but extremely interesting case, a Kenyan court recognised 'traditional' same-sex marriage.

In July, a court in Delhi, India, effectively recognised the marriage of a lesbian couple, whilst ordering that the state must protect them.

* NOTE: Brazda is the last known survivor of the concentration camps. Gad Beck, who managed to escape the camps and helped others survive, is still living.

Video: Protest locks down Glasgow UKBA reporting centre

Source: NCADC

On Monday, NCADC joined the Unity protest in Glasgow against the resumption of dawn raids on asylum-seeking families in the city. Unity had called the protest after two lone parent mothers were raided the week before, including Nigerian mum Funke Olubiyi and her five year old son Joseph, residents of Govan.

NCADC walked to the protest with refugees and volunteers from Govan and Craigton Integration Network, and supporters from No Borders North East, up from Newcastle for the day. At Brand Street we met our friends from Unity, Justice and Peace Scotland and Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees.

The protest had begun at 7am, when three activists chained themselves to the gates of the reporting centre, while one scaled a scaffolding tripod, blocking the gates and making sure that no dawn raid vans would leave the UKBA car park that day. They were soon joined by about 100 or so supporters, including many asylum seekers who spoke of the fear they feel every time they have to report, and now the fear of being raided at home.

There was music and drumming and singing of African and Scottish songs and hymns. After a couple of hours the three chained to the gates were removed, but the man on the tripod stayed in the air for an impressive 10 hours, finally coming down at 5 o'clock.

The point had been made, and the media coverage helped spread the word: people in Glasgow still believe that dragging mothers and children from their beds to detention and deportation is totally unacceptable. The practice was stopped in Glasgow in 2006, following a long campaign of protests, direct action, campaigning and lobbying. It appears that a new campaign is starting in the city.

Related articles

• In UK: Border hostilities: Passport to the media-policy merry-go-round (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Workers face curb on bringing foreign spouses to UK

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

The UK is proposing a rule change which would mean half of all workers wouldn’t be able to bring a foreign-born spouse to live with them in Britain.

An advisory committee is proposing the introduction of a minimum gross (i.e. before tax) income threshold of at least £18,600 ($29,388) and perhaps as much as £25,700 ($40,606), which would be required to bring your partner to live with you in the UK.

The committee estimates that 45% of current applicants would not meet the lower income threshold and 64% of current applicants would not meet the higher threshold.  Around 50,000 family visas are granted to immediate relatives of British residents every year.

Prime Minister David Cameron has already expressed support for the idea, saying it is aimed at reducing “a significant burden on the welfare system and the taxpayer.” But the committee which dreamt it up was tasked with finding ways of meeting the British government’s target reduction plan for immigration.

Partly due to the pound losing its value, emigration has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. And according to Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, once you cut out British people coming home, migrants from the EU, student visas and work visas (which are also being cut), you are left with very few immigrants to stop. Hence the focus on people entering via marriage or civil partnership as a means to meeting the pledge to ‘cut immigration.’

The proposal would lead to a significant bias against applicants from Scotland and the north of England, where average incomes are lower. There would therefore be a bias in favor of migration to the London area. It would also make it harder for women to bring in their partners, as they earn less than men.

The figures cited also assume that there are no children or dependents in the household, and the committee proposes a multiplier formula to address this issue, meaning that much higher income thresholds might be introduced for those with children, possibly over £40,000 ($63,000).

There is no evidence that large numbers of migrants entering by the family route are living on welfare, or that current policy is failing to deal adequately with the problem of forced marriages.

Matt Cavanagh, the associate director of the Institute of Public Policy Research, told The Guardian:

“We’re not talking about people who are destitute or living on benefits, we are talking about people who are working and getting an average wage. If the government goes ahead with this policy, it is likely to be challenged in the courts.”

In Scotland, gay Congolese man reaches sanctuary

Source: The Scotsman

By Chitra Ramaswamy

Max Moses was 22 when the cargo ship in which he was hidden docked in Aberdeen. His long, terrifying journey had begun far away in the Democratic Republic of Congo, his home country: a land rich in resources and blighted by war. Moses had spent most of his life in the port city of Boma, 300km from the capital, Kinshasa.

Now he was arriving in a port city on the other side of the equator, in the north-east of Scotland. It was the middle of the night. Moses was so traumatised, so disoriented, that he thought he was in South Africa.

"I didn't know where I was," he says, his voice thickly accented with his first languages, Lingala and French. "The first thing I did was go to a police station. I remembered what my mum used to tell me: stay strong, don't expect to get what you want. My English wasn't so good but I told them I was looking for safety. They were nice. I had a shower there. To be honest, I was smelly …" He looks embarrassed.

The following day the police telephoned the Home Office. "I told them my story," Moses continues, "and they said they didn't believe me. I didn't care. I felt like I had died."

We meet in the Scottish Refugee Council offices in Glasgow. Moses (not his real name) has been consulting on a play, Hearts Unspoken, which finished yesterday at the Tron. It's the first piece of theatre in Scotland to explore the experiences of gay asylum seekers. Written and directed by Sam Rowe and produced by arts organisation conFAB, it is based on transcripts from interviews Rowe did in London and Glasgow with gay asylum seekers.

Moses wasn't one of them but he has lived their experiences. "I didn't need to read the transcripts to know their stories," he says. "I am part of the story myself."

"Being gay isn't a criminal way to live," he continues. "If you have to suppress it, you lose who you are. When you cherish it, you feel more like yourself. More free. You can walk around saying, 'Hey, this is me.' That's what I want to do."

Moses is a shy, stocky man with a sweet, round face who seems much younger than his 26 years. He speaks quietly, and when he's talking about something particularly painful his voice quivers and he begins to stutter. He is fastidious, dressed in sky-blue deck shoes, jeans and a grey cardigan neatly buttoned over a checked shirt.

"When it came to clothes I always made a real effort," he says of his childhood growing up in military barracks in Boma. His father, a lieutenant in the DRC armed forces, was away most of the time in Goma, on the other side of the country. Moses, an only child, was very close to his mother.

"My mum knew I was different. I didn't like manly films like Scarface. I liked French books about love. My mum never asked me why I was reading these books. We would just talk about them together."

Read more »

In Scotland, a new play based on gay asylum seeker testimony

By Clare Harris

Around the world the topic of homosexuality remains controversial and divisive. For many, the unrelenting persecution leads them to seek refuge far from home. But too often their struggle has only just begun…

In a first for a Scottish production company, cross-artform group conFAB brings together testimonies of gay male asylum seekers and refugees to create a story of unimaginable adversity and perseverance.

Developed in partnership with Scottish Refugee Council, these opinionated, angry, deeply moving and ultimately inspiring tales bring to light the lives of those caught out by the cruelties of global and sexual politics.

Told with theatrical energy and imagination, ‘Hearts Unspoken’ is a piece of theatre that looks beyond the bureaucracies of the asylum processes and focuses on the human, personal relationships and interactions.

‘Hearts Unspoken’ was created in partnership with Scottish Refugee Council, the leading independent charity providing advice and information for refugees and people seeking asylum in Scotland. The organisation will help stage an after-show discussion on the issues raised in the play on Thursday 8 September.

Hearts Unspoken director Sam Rowe explains:

"These are not only tales of exclusion and persecution, but also incredibly moving accounts of over-coming personal situations for the right to self-expression, to live without fear and, of course, to love."

"In staging this production my motivation isn’t only to raise awareness of LGBT asylum rights. I hope ‘Hearts Unspoken’ will take people beyond the issues, and confront them with the very human heart of these dramatic stories. Stories, I believe, everyone can relate to."

Belinda McElhinney, Arts and Cultural Development Officer for Scottish Refugee Council, who will be chairing the after-show discussion on Thursday 8 September, said:

"Hearts Unspoken’ deserves to be seen. The process of seeking protection is complex and difficult for everyone, and research shows that in the past gay and lesbian people have been subject to homophobia from the agencies who are set up to protect them."

"Since 2010, the Home Office has pledged to improve the way they treat lesbian and gay people in the asylum system, but recent news has shown that they still have no way to track how many cases made on the basis of sexuality are granted or refused. There’s still a lot of work to do to make the system better, and this play gives us a glimpse of what lesbian and gay asylum seekers are up against, both during their claim and as they adjust to life in the UK."

• Changing House, Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, Glasgow
• Performances: 8pm, Wednesday 7 September - Saturday 10 September
• After show discussion Thursday 8 September

• The blog following the progress of the project

Related articles

• In UK, new theatre project about gay refugee lives (madikazemi.blogspot.com) 
• Video: In Edinburgh, a new theatre show about gay Iraqi refugees (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Paper: Advice for LGBT refugees in Scotland (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Resource: The Refugee Survival Trust

Picture Suzanne Smith

By Alistair Hayes

The Refugee Survival Trust is a small charity set up in 1996 that aims to tackle the destitution problem that affects numerous refugees and asylum seekers. It is no surprise that people fleeing persecution often arrive in Scotland disorientated, with little money and few language skills; many such people fall prey to destitution: they are left poverty stricken, sleeping on the streets or in inadequate housing; they have no money, no friends, no access to public services and no prospects.

The Refugee Survival Trust has two aims. Firstly, we provide small grants to help asylum seekers and refugees avoid falling into the steely grip of destitution. These grants can pay for a bus trip to the asylum application point in Liverpool, a few days financial support while the asylum system catches up with a change in circumstances, or payment for accommodation for a short period while longer term housing is arranged; these ‘destitution grants’ aim to plug the gaps in the asylum system. We also provide education and employment grants to help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into society.

We work closely with the Scottish Refugee Council. This partnership allows us to take advantage of their close involvement with refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland, and it gives them access to vital funds for refugees and asylum seekers in need of urgent financial support. The first step towards receiving a grant from the RST is to head along to the Scottish Refugee Council and speak to one of their fantastic caseworkers; the caseworker decides if an individual’s circumstances meet the criteria for an RST grant, and then send us an email request if it does. All donations we receive from the public go directly and in full to grants for refugees and asylum seekers.

Our second aim is to encourage policymaking and reform of the asylum system that will help reduce the threat of destitution. To this end we undertake research and produce reports that can be used by policymakers to help them make informed decisions. We hope that by highlighting the plight of refugees and asylum seekers we can increase awareness among the general public and policymakers to take action.

We are currently setting up a talks program that will be delivered by volunteers and inform people about what it is like to be a refugee or asylum seeker in Scotland and how only a small amount of money can make a huge difference to their lives. We hope to recruit an enthusiastic team of volunteers that includes former asylum seekers who can provide a personal insight into the pressures of the asylum application process.

If you think you might be interested in volunteering as a talks ambassador for the RST please email communications@rst.org.uk or call 0131 243 2660.

To find out more about any aspect of our operations you can visit our website.

Related articles

• In Yorkshire, new support group for LGBT asylum seekers (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Video: In Edinburgh, a new theatre show about gay Iraqi refugees

ELEGY // Trailer Ed Fringe from Transport on Vimeo.

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, homophobic murders in the country have increased steeply, with reported figures of more than 700 individuals killed.

Fusing storytelling, music and visual poetry and inspired by real events, Elegy is a moving story of love, loss and exile.

Directed by Douglas Rintoul (TRANSPORT, Barbican, Dundee Rep, Complicite), performed by Jamie Bradley (Complicte, Kneehigh, Fevered Sleep) and music by award winning composer Raymond Yiu.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Whitespace
11 Gayfield Sqaure
Edinburgh
EH1 3NT

Aug 5 - 8, 10 - 15, 17 - 22, 24 - 28.
20:30 (60mins)
£10.00 (£7.00)
Tickets: +44 (0)131 226 0000
edfringe.com/​whats-on/​theatre/​elegy

Related articles

• Review: Elegy (sgfringe.com)

Event: LGBT asylum in Scotland network meeting

Sanctuary, Safety and Solidarity
LGBT asylum in Scotland network meeting

• Wednesday 29th June 12.30 - 2.00pm
• Seminar Room 3, Wolfson Medical School Building, University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ [Map]

A follow up meeting to major research published in March 2011, research which highlighted significant gaps in the support available to LGBT asylum seekers in Scotland. This network meeting is open to anyone interested in helping to campaign for justice for LGBT asylum seekers and refugees. It will discuss how best to develop shared information, training and campaign resources, with discussions based around the research report's recommendations:

Sanctuary 

We wish to see a radically different asylum process for LGBT asylum seekers, one which is 

• fair, informed and without prejudice 

• places respect for human rights at the cornerstone of all its decision making

• allows sufficient time for LGBT asylum seekers to safely tell their stories

• ensures sufficient access to specialist legal advice and representation throughout

• celebrates the importance of offering protection to those fleeing persecution

• does not routinely rely on the use of detention and fast-track decision making

Safety 

We wish to see a reduction in the social isolation and mental health suffering experienced by LGBT asylum seekers/refugees, including by

• restoring the right to work for asylum seekers

• having an asylum support system in which no one is left in poverty and all have a sufficient income to lead a dignified life

• ensuring access to suitable housing throughout the whole asylum process

• encouraging the provision of safe spaces for LGBT asylum seekers to access support within community settings

• enabling services to be sensitive to the individual needs of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender asylum seekers/refugees, including children and young adults

• giving a voice to LGBT asylum seekers/refugees to have their stories heard and to influence service development

Solidarity 

We wish to forge new and innovative partnerships in order to bring about lasting change for people fleeing

• persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, including by:

• enhancing links between LGBT organisations, refugee community groups, immigration lawyers, academics and activists

• facilitating the development of a network of organisations in Scotland which by pooling resources and knowledge will act as a coordinating hub, source of expert help and a catalyst for change

• celebrating diversity and creating unity through the use of arts and cultural activity

• developing a range of information and educational tools that improve awareness of the human rights abuses suffered by LGBT people across the globe

• creating pathways for joint work between Scottish LGBT and human rights organisations and international NGOs working in countries where LGBT people face persecution

The LGBT asylum network meeting is preceded by a networking lunch and a meeting of Glasgow Action Group.

To book a please contact Lynne Davies lynne@equality-network.org Call 0131 467 6039

Related articles

• In Scotland, major new LGBT asylum report (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Paper: Advice for LGBT refugees in Scotland

The Scottish Refugee Council is the largest independent charity dedicated to providing advice and information to people seeking asylum and refugees living in Scotland.

They have published specialist advice to LGBT asylum seekers and refugees.

Advice for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) refugees in Scotland

Related articles

• In Scotland, major new LGBT asylum report (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• In UK, asylum seekers forced to trek across country to lodge claims (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

In UK, new theatre project about gay refugee lives

By Paul Canning

Two Scottish based theatre workers are producing a new theatre project about gay male refugees and asylum seekers.

Sam Rowe, a director and writer, and Rachel Jury, who runs an arts company call conFAB, say that the play provisionally titled 'Hearts Unspoken' is to have it's initial run in Glasgow at The Tron Theatre 7-10 September.

"We have both worked with asylum seekers and refugees before, and care a lot about the way people are treated both in the U.K. and around the world," they say.

It is being produced in partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council, UK Refugee Council and The Tron Theatre.


The work will be a documentary based on interviews with gay male refugees and asylum seekers. Rowe is looking now at interviewing more people. If you would like to be interviewed or to find out more about the project contact Sam on rowesam@gmail.com or 07846 602966.


Sam has started a blog to document the progress of the project.

In Scotland, major new LGBT asylum report

By Paul Canning

A major new report on LGBT asylum in Scotland has been released today.

The 202 page report is a a joint project between Scotland's Equality Network and Black and Ethnic Minorities Infrastructure Scotland (BEMIS) and is based on a review of both international and UK literature, stakeholder interviews with 17 organisations, 11 in Scotland and 6 in London and a community consultation event attended by 25 people.

Principal author Tim Cowen said:

“Scotland, and in particular, Glasgow hosts one of the largest asylum and refugee populations outside of London, but the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers and refugees have until now rarely been heard. There has been an absence of open discussion and research, and a lack of awareness of the issues encountered by Scotland’s LGBT asylum seekers and refugees. This report provides a platform to enable both services and policy makers to reflect on what is missing and what needs to be done to reduce the fear and isolation experienced by LGBT asylum seekers in Scotland. “

The report concludes that significant barriers face LGBT asylum seekers fleeing persecution face in seeking sanctuary in Scotland. It says that despite recent positive developments such as the Supreme Court ruling, (limited) training for UKBA staff and a new Asylum Policy Instruction for those staff "the current asylum system remains deeply flawed."

It reports on a "culture of disbelief" within the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and unreasonable evidential burdens being placed on individuals, particularly in relation to having to prove their sexual orientation or having their gender identity acknowledged and "huge" gaps in country of origin information used in decision making.

Despite the Supreme Court 'discretion and relocation' ruling it says that UKBA are not proactively reviewing all LGBT asylum cases previously refused on the grounds that the person could go back and be discreet.

"This makes it difficult for the Coalition UK Government to honour their pledge not to deport LGBT asylum seekers who face torture or inhumane treatment."

Read more »

In UK, asylum seekers forced to trek across country to lodge claims

Image by Kymberly Janisch via Flickr

Source: British Red Cross and Refugee Survival Trust

A new report produced by the British Red Cross and the Refugee Survival Trust (RST), highlights the plight of people who currently have to travel from Scotland to Croydon, in South London [c350 miles or 550 Km], to register their claims – with no financial support from the government.

In the 21 Months Later report, The Red Cross and the RST call on the UK Border Agency to meet the travel costs of asylum seekers who have to make the 400-mile trip until the UK government agrees to allow them to claim asylum in Scotland. At the moment, the Red Cross and the RST pay for food and overnight bus travel to Croydon for claimants in Scotland.

Scottish Refugee Council distributes RST grants to people who arrive at our door, having just arrived in the country and wishing to claim asylum. We join in the call for asylum seekers to be able to start their claim in Scotland, and feel the current system is inhumane and unnecessary.

The report is a follow-up to a document entitled 21 Days Later, produced jointly by the organisations almost two years ago, which exposed the plight of asylum seekers facing destitution on the streets of Scotland because of a lack of support.

Read more »

Event: new research on LGBT asylum and refuge in Scotland

Image by Shahram Sharif via Flickr

A new report examining the issues and priorities for lesbian gay bisexual and transgender asylum seekers and refugees in Scotland is to be lauched at the end of the month. The report is by Tim Cowen for Everyone IN (a project delivered jointly by Equality Network and BEMIS and funded by EHRC) and will be making findings on:

• Sanctuary: changes needed within the process of claiming asylum
• Safety: changes needed in the way LGBT asylum seekers are supported and made to feel safe
• Solidarity: changes needed to raise awareness of the issues faced by LGBT asylum seekers and to improve the way people work together to bring about lasting change

The launch is on Wednesday 30 March 2011 at Glasgow University's Charles Wilson Building.

Programme:

9.30 – 10.00 Registration Tea and coffee 

10.00 Introduction and welcome

Tim Hopkins Equality Network, Alison Phipps Gramnet, Rami Ousta BEMIS 

10.15 Research Presentation – Tim Cowen, Everyone IN 

11.00 Personal Testimony – Maxwell T. 

11.15 Break 

11.30 Workshop discussion groups

(A)  A culture of disbelief?

      Tim Cowen, Kirsty Magahy Everyone IN

Many LGBT asylum seekers’ claims are refused as the UKBA do not believe that they are gay. How can we best support people in this situation? Is there a wider culture of disbelief within the asylum process and, if so how can we best raise awareness of problems faced by LGBT asylum seekers and refugees?

(B) Flourishing, not just surviving

     Sam Rankin, Maxwell T. Everyone IN

LGBT asylum seekers in Scotland are often very socially isolated. Due to fears about being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity it can be very difficult to access support. How can we best break down these barriers and ensure all services and community groups are inclusive and welcoming?

(C) Safety and Solidarity

      Kendra Straus, Gramnet

How does the asylum support system impact on LGBT asylum seekers? Does living in poverty and coming under pressure to ‘prove you are gay’ place asylum seekers at risk of sexual exploitation? Is there more we could be doing to campaign for a fairer system of support?  

12.40 Feedback and Next Steps

1.00 – 2.00 Networking Lunch

• To book a place email Sam Rankin sam@equality-network.org
• The event is free.

• For more information about Equality Network's work on LGBT asylum contact Tim Cowen timc@equality-network

Launch of LGBT asylum research in Scotland

Image via Wikipedia

By Tim Cowen

Everyone IN invites you to:

• Wednesday 30 March 2011, Glasgow University, Charles Wilson Building
• 9.30am - 1pm LGBT ASYLUM REPORT LAUNCH

Examining the issues and priorities for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Asylum Seekers & Refugees in Scotland. Launch of major research report, carried out by Everyone IN with support from GRAMNET. Followed by networking lunch.

• 2pm - 4pm WHAT ARE WE DOING???

What are we achieving for Minority Ethnic LGBT People? SHARE your experiences of and ideas for including ME/LGBT people in services. HEAR what other services have done to improve inclusion. SUGGEST what directions future developments can take. 

• To book a place please email Sam Rankin sam@equality-network.org
• A full programme will be available in mid February.
• Both events are free and refreshments will be provided.

Everyone IN is a project delivered jointly by Equality Network and BEMIS and funded by EHRC

• For more information about our work on LGBT asylum contact Tim Cowen timc@equality-network
• For more information about Everyone IN's training work contact Sam Rankin sam@equality-network.org

Related articles

• In Scotland, a new support service for LGBT asylum seekers (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

UK government takes axe to refugee and asylum services

By Paul Canning

Refugee and asylum seeker services are facing massive cuts in government funding. The three national Refugee Council's face a two-third cut in their funding, the speed and the size of which will "make it impossible to adapt services quickly enough to stop people falling through the gaps," said Refugee Council chief executive Donna Covey.

"Our clients will either not receive the help they need to accurately make their asylum applications – which means they will be wrongly returned to murderous regimes – or they will be trapped in a limboland of delays, during which they will often be forced into destitution," she said.

Other services also face the axe. From April, funding for advice services for newly arrived asylum seekers will be cut by two thirds, funding for initial accommodation services will be halved, and contracts for the Refugee Integration and Employment Services (RIES) will end completely from September.

This, said Covey, "means that for the first time in living memory there will be no UK government statutory funding to support refugees to integrate in the UK."

The Refugee Council's government funding has been cut by almost 62%. It will have to lose around one third of its 300 staff and close two of its seven centres to meet the cuts of 61.7%. Cuts to frontline services across England will begin "almost immediately" and be fully implemented in three months' time.

In Scotland, the One Stop Service, which offers advice to asylum seekers and refugees from the headquarters of the Scottish Refugee Council in Glasgow, will be cut by 62%, and the grant for their orientation and support services for people who have just arrived in the city will be halved.

Read more »

Human rights champion praises Scots welcome for refugees

Source: Scottish Refugee Council

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights organisation Liberty, called on Scots to ‘set an example of welcome’ to refugees from across the world today (Friday, 14 January)

Speaking as a guest at the Scottish Refugee Council Annual General Meeting, held at Edinburgh’s City Chambers, Chakrabarti stated the need to recognise the importance of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which marks its 60th anniversary this year.

She said: “The UN Refugee Convention is more important now than ever when we think of the refugees yet to come and the lives yet to be saved by this incredibly important document.

"The Convention isn’t just a wonderful, beautiful antique that we should treasure. It’s just as pertinent now as it was 60 years ago, and even more pertinent in our  shrinking, interconnected world. “I think there's a real opportunity for Scotland to build upon its tradition of warmth and welcome, and set an example here in the UK and in Europe for welcoming refugees. We don’t want a fortress Europe keeping refugees out.”

Chakrabarti is director of Liberty, a UK-wide charity which campaigns to protect our basic rights and freedoms. She is well-known as a commentator and challenger on human rights for us all – including people who’ve sought refuge in our country.

In the run-up to the UK Elections last May, Scottish Refugee Council joined Liberty and the Refugee Council in England to call on party leaders and candidates to sign an asylum election pledge and remember the importance of providing safety to people fleeing war, torture and persecution in debates on asylum and immigration. A total of 1,031 candidates signed the pledge including the leaders of all four main parties (Conservative, Labour, Lib Dems and SNP).

In 2011, Scottish Refugee Council, along with many other refugee charities, will be marking 60 years since the UN Refugee Convention was put in place. It is as crucial as ever that our governments honour their part in this lifesaving document – and continues to protect the rights of people fleeing war, torture and persecution.

Related articles

• A birthday wish-list for the Refugee Council (refugeecouncil.typepad.com)
• New survey of UK asylum system experience (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Asylum-seeking families in Glasgow face imminent move (irr.org.uk)

Gay Syrian refugee wins battle to stay in Scotland

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Scotsman

By Kurt Bayer

A gay Syrian asylum seeker who claimed he would be murdered if deported to his homeland where homosexuality is illegal has finally won his three-year battle to stay in Scotland.

Teenager Jojo Yakob, now 21, fled Syria in 2005 after being arrested, shot, beaten and tortured in jail when he was caught distributing anti-government leaflets. After escaping jail and being trafficked through Europe to Aberdeen, he was jailed in 2008 and held in detention centres while pursuing his case to stay.

Now he has been given "indefinite leave to stay" after Home Office officials accepted his life was at risk if he was returned to the Middle East.

Read more »

Women asylum seekers fleeing violence: Challenges, solutions and future hopes

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Scottish Refugee Council

Ilana Bakal, a clinician at the Medical Foundation for the care of Victims of Torture, has been working with asylum seeking and refugee women for 15 years. In her blog she contemplates obstacles and solutions to ending violence against women seeking asylum, and shares her hopes for future generations.

Findings provided in the 2009 Asylum-Seeking Women Violence and Health report on women going through the asylum process indicated 70 per cent of women reported having experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.

What one thing would you change to stop violence against women and why?

I would work with communities to educate them about violence against women so that they embrace survivors. Women who have experienced physical or sexual violence need to be supported, not rejected, as their ordeal can be increased through stigmatisation.

Many women who suffer physical or sexual violence are survivors of conflict. Conflicts are the result of so many issues including struggles over power, money or control. In this sense the women victims are not exceptional.  

However, sexual violence is used not only to punish and control a woman, but to punish the entire community connected to her, including through the stigma attached to the violation; parents, siblings, husband, daughters and sons. Women I’ve worked with believe that by sexually attacking women in this very intimate way, the perpetrator aims to breakdown the entire community with the impact of sexual violence extending far beyond the individual.

What obstacles do you see to ending/preventing violence against women, in particular asylum seeking women, and how can these be overcome?

In order to break the circle of violence against asylum seeking women, we should:

• do as much as we can to support them;
• reduce the effects of violence they have experienced; and
• guard against future risks.

For example, women should be financially self sufficient and  live in safe accommodation.  They must not be made homeless and be exposed to predators who may want to exploit or take advantage of them.

What is your hope/wish for the next generation of women?

My wish for the next generation of women is to live in a world free from sexual oriented violence. I hope the next generation will know how to stand up for their rights - that they are educated and can learn about it. I also hope that they do not comply with abuse, seek to control others nor are forced to do anything against their will – they must be in positions were they can and are able to say NO.

Related articles

• 16 days of action: The rights of asylum-seeking women (irr.org.uk)
• It's time we recognised the needs of women seeking asylum (liberalconspiracy.org)
• Take Back the Tech to Eliminate Violence Against Women (globalvoicesonline.org)
• Africa: Violence Against Women - Breaking the Silence for Justice And Development - AllAfrica.com (news.google.com)

In Scotland, a new support service for LGBT asylum seekers

The UNITY Centre has decided to launch a unique new confidential service aimed at Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and  Transgender asylum seekers.

Due to be officially launched on Tuesday 7 December, at the Unity Centre, the  new service will be a confidential telephone support service for all asylum in Scotland who face difficulties or need support due to issues related  to their sexuality.

LGBT asylum seekers are often isolated from the religious and ethnic support networks that other asylum seekers normally depend upon in the UK. Often religious and ethnic groups in the UK hold the same homophobic prejudices that exist in the country of origin that the LGBT asylum seeker is fleeing from. At the same time ignorance and prejudice about LGBT issues are prevalent in the UKBA and throughout the asylum process.

At UNITY we've had a number of people coming to us looking for help with asylum claims based on their sexuality. We've also had a number of gay asylum seekers looking for support services they can access here in Scotland. Sometimes it has not been possible to help people in the centre in a truly confidential manner due to the many different people in the centre at the same time.

We are therefore very pleased to announce that with the new confidential phone line we will be able to strengthen the support we provide to LGBT asylum seekers by offering a confidential telephone support line for a few hours at least once a week.

People phoning the phone line will be able to speak to someone of their own gender if they prefer and they will receive support and adivce on where they can access information and support regarding their asylum claim and their lives in the UK. We hope to offer a truly comprehensive support service.

This new service will be unique in the UK as it will be the first regular support line dedicated to supporting LGBT asylum seekers.

If you are interested in being involved in the LGBT phone line please email the unity centre at info@unitycentreglasgow.org with your details and we will reply to you.

Initially the phone line will start from Tuesday 7 December and will be open every Tuesday from 6.30 - 10.30pm. We hope that you will pass on the phone number to anyone who could be affected. Thank you.

Also we would recommend that anyone interested in volunteering with the phone line should also attend this one day training course run by GRAMNET and the Equality Network:

'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Asylum Seekers & Refugees in Scotland'
Thurs 9th December, 9.30 am - 3.30 pm
Wolfson Medical School Building,
University of Glasgow
For more information or to book a place email:
timc@equality-network.org Tel 07969350825

The UNITY Centre
30 Ibrox Street
Glasgow
G51 1AQ

0141 427 7992
www.unitycentreglasgow.org
info@unitycentreglasgow.org

The UNITY Centre is run entirely by volunteers and funded completely by donations from our supporters.

In UK, the scandal of the refugees forced to live on just £5 a day

Image by Fulla T via Flickr

Source: Herald Scotland

By Jasper Hamill

She is the human face of a government policy that stands accused of condemning refugees to a life of enforced poverty.

Maryam doesn’t wish to give her surname as the story she has to tell is so degrading: she is forced to live on just £5 a day by the British state.

The sum can’t be spent as she likes because it is loaded on to a Government-issued card which can only be used in certain supermarkets.

It means she can’t get a bus and cannot get the halal food she requires as a Muslim, and the card is often not recognised even by staff in the stores where it should be used.

Like many her application for asylum has been refused, but the state accepts that it cannot send her back to her home country as her life would be in danger.

That is when the humiliation starts. They make me feel as if I am a thief.
Maryam, asylum seeker

Read more »