New research by the Refugee Council and the University of Birmingham contains powerful evidence of refugees’ own experiences and understanding of integration.
Carried out in the London Borough of Haringey and Dudley in the West Midlands, the research is an important contribution to the debate about integration and settlement into Britain.
While the report shows that there are some successes, it is widely accepted that integration in many areas is poor, and various government initiatives are in place to try to address this. However, the research shows that Home Office policies on asylum, including restrictions on the right to work, benefits below the poverty line and lack of help with settling into the UK until people have been granted leave to stay hinders integration and creates more divided communities.
Kavita Brahmbhatt, Research Co-ordinator for the project said:
“We used community researchers to talk to people with refugee status and people whose asylum claims were still being processed. Most of those who took part see integration as fitting in to British society, and recognise that this is a long process that begins as soon as they arrived in the UK.
“One of the most significant things we noticed while doing the research was how much the asylum system itself hindered integration. The first step to improving integration has to be lifting restrictions to basic entitlements and civil liberties for people seeking asylum.”
The research focused particularly on the role of social networks, and found these were extremely important to integration in many ways, including addressing the mental and emotional health needs of asylum seekers and refugees. In particular, it was found that groups based on shared nationality and language could offer practical and emotional support, and a stepping stone to participation in the wider community.
Kavita Brahmbhatt said:
“Contrary to current thinking, which seems to suggest that support from those who share nationality or language goes against bringing communities together, we found that in fact these groups offer the kind of support that enables refugees to exercise their rights and play a more active part in their communities. This allows them to become less marginalised and results in healthier relationships being formed in other networks based on shared interests such as learning English and not on shared nationality.
“But access to any type of network is often extremely difficult. If you have no money, no means of travel, restricted access to employment and training – these are real barriers to integration.”
The report is being launched at a conference on Wednesday, 17 October at the Human Rights Action Centre in London.
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Notes to editor
1. The report and executive summary are available to download in our policy section.
2. The report, ‘Refugees’ experiences of integration’, was launched at a conference on Wednesday 17 October 2007 at the Human Rights Action Centre, Amnesty International UK, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA. The research was carried out by the Refugee Council and the University of Birmingham, and was funded by the Big Lottery.
