Abi writes…
This Refugee Week, justice for refugees seems even more important than ever. Back in October, I took a trip to Manchester to host an episode of The Hopeful Activists’ Podcast with Isabel Pedro, an aspiring sports journalist and asylum seeker originally from Angola. You can listen to the full episode here. In it, we spoke to activists working for justice for refugees. Of course, many people become refugees because of their activism, and firstly we heard from Benafsha and Mehdi who arrived in the UK on one of the last evacuation flights from Afghanistan just a few weeks before.
Benafsha and Mehdi’s story
Benafsha worked as a commissioner for the Afghan Human Rights Commission with a focus on work for people with disabilities and people deprived of their liberty. Mehdi is the director of the NGO Rahyab, working for rehabilitation services and education for people with disabilities. They both have almost complete vision loss and their work, especially with women, was being severely limited by the Taliban’s new rulings. They felt it was impossible to be “ethical activists” under these restrictions.
Before the Taliban there were challenges living as a person with a disability in Afghanistan, but Benafsha was full of hope and believed that people with disabilities were able to achieve their dreams. It has been difficult for her to leave her work behind and start again. “I lose my way, my hopes, my dreams, my people and I lose my job, I lose my everything. But the problem for people with disabilities who are there in Afghanistan is much worse. Who will fight for their rights?”
After a terrifying journey to get to the airport, hearing nearby gun shots and amid the chaotic scenes as thousands of people tried to board flights, Benafsha feels very thankful to the UK Government that they are safe here.
Mehdi would love to see the work he began with people with sight loss and disabilities continued. “We will do our best to make it go on. We would do employment and vocational training, computer and handcrafts skills.” Benafsha added, “We are trying to have our programme online, a kind of homeschool, and some trainers can go and visit the families and children.” In terms of a wider solution, Benafsha was clear, “I want all the superpowers to help people in Afghanistan. We should issue some visas for some people who cannot stay there, and then we must work with the Taliban and the next government to consider human rights and women’s rights. It’s not achievable to get 30-35 million people from Afghanistan, so we must work to fix that country’s issues and problems so that they can live there.”
She remains hopeful for the people with disabilities she worked with and for, “I will try to get hope to those hearts who are really very close to me, I am very far from them, but they cannot take them away from my heart. The thing that makes me alive and continue is that I can work for them and that I can take hope to their lives.”
Furaha’s story
Furaha Mussanzi from the Millside Centre also shared her story of arriving in the UK in 2002 aged 11, originally on her Dad’s student visa. Her parents were peacemakers in Congo and events in that country made it impossible to return. They were granted refugee status and she grew up under the shadow of the negative stereotypes around refugees and asylum seekers. “It made me feel very unwanted and out of place. We had an amazing community of people which was a blessing, but I knew that the general stereotype of refugees and asylum seekers was the opposite. You become very aware of how people perceive you.”
Furaha often tells stories at Tenx9 storytelling events in Bradford. In the podcast she shares her incredible story “Scars” (listen at 26 minutes), revealing her experiences of conflict as a young child, causing nightmares and sometimes uncontrollable shaking. Arriving in the UK she was grilled by other children about her background, and on entering secondary school she didn’t speak for 3 years outside of the classroom.
Racism has been a painful part of life in the UK and Furaha advises people to find a safe space where they can bring their frustrations and be encouraged. “People need to realise that their voice does matter. It’s so easy for us to be stuck in that place of having so many needs, but education is a key part of that. Being able to speak the language means that when people face, for example, hate crimes or if something happens to their kids at school, they can report it. They aren’t forced to remain silent. When you are confident to speak the language and know your rights and know that there are services that you can access it makes you feel a lot more supported.”
Furaha’s family has provided a safe place for her, “We’ve always had a family choir… music has been something that has kept us sane. Growing up in a war torn country where everything around you is so bleak and you are constantly hearing news of people you know being killed, it’s very traumatic. Being able to sing uplifts you, it makes you feel blessed to be alive, to still have breath in your lungs. Its saved us from a lot of hardship. Even to this day we try to sing together every day if we can. It’s a huge part of our spiritual healing as well, understanding the words that we are singing, and living it out.”
At the Millside Centre where Furhaha worked, there are a number of groups and initiatives. Refugees and asylum seekers run a Welcome Cafe and are taught catering skills. There are youth groups, knitting groups etc. “People often come with a primary need of wanting to learn English, but what they really need is connection, that sense of community, so everything we do is intentional. It’s not just about teaching an English class, it’s about how we can help people holistically so that when they leave this place they feel lighter than when they came.”
Dave’s story
Dave Smith has worked with Refugees in the UK since December 1999, when an Iraqi man came to the Mustard Tree project Dave had founded to ask for food and support. As Dave got to know him better he learnt that he had just a bed and a cooker in his accommodation and was unable to get the food he needed with just the voucher he was given to live off. Thus began Dave’s journey to understand more about the injustice in the system. Discovering that some people had been made destitute when their asylum claims had been rejected he began hosting people in his house, as did some friends. The Boaz Trust was then set up to support people who are destitute. Dave now works for Jubilee Plus Refugee Network, helping organisations across the UK with their work with asylum seekers and refugees.
Dave told Isobel the importance of getting a good solicitor, and of getting as much evidence as you can to support your claim, although he acknowledges how difficult this is. “My friend from Sudan has been here about 15 years, he’s married with 2 children, his wife has refugee status but he hasn’t, they don’t believe him.”
Dave says his faith is key to his work, “Jesus says we should treat people like we want to be treated. I’ve heard so many stories about what people have been through, and I think, “How would I like to be treated if I was in that situation?” So many asylum seekers and refugees have said to me “nobody listened to me, nobody believed my story.” That’s the worst thing that can happen to somebody. Of course not all asylum seekers are genuine, but most people are…most people don’t leave their country for no reason.”
Of course there is frequent media narrative around the numbers of asylum seekers arriving in the UK. Dave reminded us, “We are 17th in Europe in terms of the number of asylum applications per head of the population. And it’s all very well to say that people can stay in the first safe country, but that’s because we are an island right at the end of the chain! If everybody stayed in the first safe country we would get no-one!” Dave’s passion for this work is unmistakable. “I do get angry, but I think God gets angry at this. I want to see a fair system, I want to see people welcomed to the UK. That’s the answer. If people are treated well, they respond well.” Recent events have highlighted the compassion of many towards refugees, “there is an upsurge of welcome – so many people have opened their homes. I believe that if more people knew the truth, if people heard the stories they would be willing to welcome people to this country.”
Common misunderstandings about the asylum process
There are a lot of misunderstandings around the asylum process and the decisions that asylum seekers take in order to get to the UK. Neelam Banaris from the Snowdrop Project (a charity giving long term support to survivors of human trafficking) brought us some clarity:
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
An asylum seeker is someone whose request for sanctuary has not yet been processed, a refugee is someone whose application has been successful, so the authorities have accepted that they cannot safely return to their country of origin.
Claiming Asylum
The 1951 Refugee Convention states that you are entitled to make a claim for asylum if you have a well founded fear or persecution. There are 5 reasons: race, religion, nationality, political opinion or member of a particular social group. You have to prove that the state authorities cannot protect them and that internal relocation in their country wouldn’t protect them. The UK Government has an obligation to process applications fairly and provide accommodation, legal help and medical care if needed.
Safe Countries
Why don’t people don’t stop in the first safe country they get to? Often this is because of cultural, family or language ties. Also if a person is in the hands of people smugglers, they may not have a choice where they are taken.
You can hear the full episode here, or our episode on Hosting Refugees here.