What are our Thoughts on Refugees and Asylum Seekers?

If the truth be told, many of us know precious little about the real issues surrounding the refugee/asylum seekers debate. Our impressions are quite often based on the imbalanced diet fed to us by the media: ‘foreigners coming to take our jobs’; ‘foreigners getting the best housing over citizens’ and such the like.

Restore

But until you actually engage with a legitimate refugee or asylum seeker, it’s difficult to appreciate the real picture. Restore, an exciting project of Birmingham Churches Together, has been engaging with refugees and asylum seekers for the past nine years. The project seeks to help, welcome, and support refugees and asylum seekers. This is in line with the biblical teaching of welcoming the stranger and giving justice to the oppressed.

Who is a Refugee?

A refugee is someone who: "Owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country..."
(1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees)

Who is an Asylum Seeker?

According to British Law, a person becomes a refugee once he/she has obtained to right to remain in the UK. An asylum seeker is someone who is seeking the right to refugee status in the UK.

Thousands of asylum seekers in the UK are being forced into destitution. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work and a single person is expected to live on just £40 a week.

Asylum seekers who have had their application rejected receive no support at all, even if their country of origin is too dangerous to return to. This means that many individuals end up homeless, and have to rely on charities and church groups for basic food and living requirements.

How Can Churches Help?

Churches can provide informal support for refugees and asylum seekers within the Diocese of Lichfield simply through welcoming, befriending and listening to individuals. Restore offers training to those wishing to get involved as befriending volunteers. Further information can be had from Shari Brown (info@restore-uk.org) or Jeremy Thompson (befriend@restore-uk.org) at Restore, All Saints' House, 172 Herbert Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, B10 0PR, Telephone: 0121 766 8764.

West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership (WMSMP) has also produced a new regional resource for raising awareness on refugee, asylum and migrant issues, 'Where our Journeys Meet'.

The resource contains activities for raising awareness about the asylum process and challenging prejudices. It is a flexible resource and you may find it useful for study groups, youth groups, junior church and much more.

For more information about "Where our Journeys Meet", please contact Clare Daley at WMSMP on 0121 678 1078.