Public meeting to expose Leeds as a city of asylum shame

The meeting went well and Leeds No Borders wants to thank all those who came to listen, contribute, ask great questions, make impassioned and informative interventions, and then took part in the mad last half hour organising frenzy.

We began with a good talk by Dave Renton, Equality officer from lecturer's union NATFHE, which along with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), believes immigration controls are racist and should be abolished.

He started by reminding everyone that Leeds and Britain has, in the past, welcomed those claiming asylum, referring to his own Jewish history, and the fact that Leeds became a major destination for Jews in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dave talked about some of the issues affecting both teachers and asylum seekers in the education system; he described how members of his union had become key to numerous anti-deportation campaigns when students' asylum claims were rejected and how most universities won't admit asylum seekers because of their uncertain status. Accessing higher education becomes almost impossible if you can't access public funds - which rules out asylum seekers. He also described how asylum seekers are forced onto college courses as they are not permitted to work, and although some of these courses can provide skills and assistance (i.e. learning english), the fact that they are not permitted to make those choices is an oppressive way of dealing with people.....

Next Gill Gibbons from Leeds Asylum Seekers' Support Network (LASSN), a grassroots volunteer group, spoke of the severe destitution facing asylum seekers in Leeds because of the removal of support and accommodation once they had been declared 'failed'. She described how LASSN attempts to help families in this situation by providing basic necessities and financial assistance. The key problem remains that
asylum seekers are not permitted to work and do not have access to remotely adequate legal representation to enable them to put forward the reasons why their claims should be accepted. Gill further identified other areas that volunteers assist which included befriending and short stay accomodation for asylum seekers who would
othewise be forced to sleep rough. She made an appeal for more volnteers to offer up their homes.

Emma Ginn from National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC) spoke about the reality of detention in the UK. She told some quite horrific stories of the level of abuse and assault taking place inside places like Yarls Wood and other detention centres and how this is effectively rubber stamped by the New Labour government: a well known example of this was at Yarl's Wood when the refusal of guards to provide medical care to a pregnant woman led to a riot by asylum seekers in which a fire was started. During the fire asylum seekers were locked in their cells and it was a miracle that none died, particularly given the governments concious failure (in an effort to reduce costs) to install a sprinkler system. In an
increasing number of sadly inevitable cases the reality of life in detention has lead to asylum seekers taking their own lives. Having often escaped repression and torture in their own countries, being then subjected to jail without having committed any crime proved too much.

Questions were raised from the floor regarding the key reforms that would assist the situation for asylum seekers. All the speakers agreed that enabling asylum seekers to work would both promote, in the long term, a greater understanding of their situation, as well as enable those people claiming asylum to contribute to wider society. The recent absorption of 300,000 economic migrants from eastern europe indicated that this was possible and it was simply stupid to stop, often highly skilled individuals, from working. It was recognised that the government ultimately wants to keep asylum seekers out of work in order to isolate them and prevent their intergration into society.

There followed some powerful comments by individuals going through the asylum system. These included a man whose claim had been denied and, whilst his appeal was ongoing, was not permitted to work and forced to live off vouchers. These vouchers could only be spent in certain shops who would not give change. This forced hand-to-mouth existence on vouchers meant that simple tasks, such as, getting to shops became very difficult because he often did not have the cash to pay for the bus fare. Even going to the Laundrette was almost impossible, as the vouchers clearly do not work in the machines!

Another asylum seeker explained her own situation and how she had been failed by the legal system that had not allowed her to be reasonably represented and had refused to acknowledge the evidence that was presented before it regarding her circumstances. This meant that she was now not fighting for a washing machine, or other material goods, but quite simply for her life and the life of her son. She explained how her life and death struggle had changed her as a person and how she had developed a new family; those who supported her and her campaign had become her family. The knowledge that there were others who wanted to protect and help her had enable her to keep going, despite everything that had been thrown at her since her arrival in the UK.

The evening ended with a half hour of working groups on themes such as supporting destitute asylum seekers in Leeds and campaigning against the detention system in the UK. It was agreed that Leeds No Borders would: (1) produce an up to date guide to the asylum system and the asylum expereince, focusing on de-bunking myths and setting out the case for no borders; (2) start a campaign against companies like Global Solutions Limited that run detention centres in the Uk; (3) do regular events, meetingsm benefit gigs etc.