In the news...
Burmese dissident wins asylum
Lay Naing, who fled Burma after being imprisoned and beaten for political activities, had his claim for asylum accepted. He was originally turned down, but Gordon Brown ordered a review of his case after he was challenged in the House of Commons about it. Lay Naing volunteers at the Refugee Council, whose chief executive said “we hope this represents an acknowledgement from the government that Burma is not safe.”
How it was reported in the media
BBC News: Burma activist wins exile fight
Independent: Brown halts deportation of Burma junta critic
Use of wooden staves criticised at detention centre
Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons, has criticised the use of wooden staves, or truncheons, at Lindholme immigration removal centre. Such equipment is banned in low security prisons and not used in privately run detention centres, but the Prison Service routinely issues them to staff at Lindholme.
How it was reported in the media
Guardian: Migrant detention centres use staves banned in low security prisons
Independent: Jail inspector criticises use of truncheons at immigration centre
Some Iraqi refugees start to return…
Some of the 4.2 million refugees who have fled Iraq since 2003 have started to return. Of those returning, or considering return, most are from the 1.4 million who went to Syria, motivated both by a somewhat improved security situation and Syria’s increasing reluctance to accommodate them. The Iraqi government says 1,600 a day are coming back. The UNHCR was unable to confirm the figure, but says that its limited monitoring suggests it could be accurate.
How it was reported in the media
Guardian: Iraqi refugees start to head home
Times: Better security sees Iraqi refugees flood home
Guardian: Refugees celebrate first bus back to Iraq
…but Iraqi asylum applications the UK are up
The latest Home Office asylum statistics show that 530 Iraqis applied for asylum in the three months to September. Other countries accounting for high numbers of asylum applications included China, Eritrea and Iran. The Refugee Council commented that despite the overall number of asylum applications remaining low, initial decision making was “still shockingly poor” with around a quarter of subsequent appeals successful.
How it was reported in the media
BBC News: More Iraqis seek asylum in UK
Guardian: Migration from eastern Europe and asylum applications fall
Times: Removal of asylum-seekers falls to lowest level for 5 years
Refugee Council press release: Initial decision-making is still shockingly poor
Anthology highlights immigrant stories
Refugee Council volunteer Jade Amoli-Jackson is among the sixteen authors chosen by Penguin and the Arts Council to have their story included in an anthology, From There to Here. The judges, who included novelist Kate Mosse, chose from among 100 entries about the immigrant experience which ranged from the funny and light to the more literary.
How it was reported in the media
Guardian: Prize spotlights immigrant experience
Independent Asylum Commission in Brixton
The last hearing of the Independent Asylum Commission took place is Lambeth Town Hall, with evidence from left-of-centre think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, right-of-centre think tank the Centre for Social Cohesion, the UNHCR, Hillingdon Borough Council, Barking and Dagenham Asylum Support Group and a destitute asylum seeker. The Commission will report and publish its recommendations in the new year.
How it was reported in the media
Ekklesia: Official treatment of asylum seekers accused of undermining social cohesion
Refugee Council news story: Controversial final hearing for Independent Asylum Commission
Treatment of asylum seekers
There have been various stories about the treatment of asylum seekers being removed from the country. MEP Steven Hughes took up the case of a pregnant Ugandan woman who was apparently so roughly treated by immigration officials that cabin crew refused to let her fly. And a Kurdish teenager was eventually released from Yarl’s Wood detention centre after her ordeal left her traumatised and suicidal.
How it was reported in the media
Northern Echo: Claims asylum seeker was treated roughly by officials
Independent: Two pictures of the UK’s brutal asylum policy
Independent: Kurdish girl, 14, released from detention after health concerns
Migrants and housing: new report
A new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation looked at refugee and migrant housing in Sheffield, and found that far from taking housing from British families as parts of the media suggest, asylum seekers generally live in poor quality social housing that no-one else wants.
How it was reported in the media
Guardian: Migrant housing myths exposed
Watford FC star's fate still undecided
Alhassan Bangura, a Watford FC footballer who escaped trafficking and death threats in Sierra Leone, was left with his fate hanging in the balance as the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal delayed its verdict.
How it was reported in the media
Guardian: Deportation battle for footballer who fled death threats from secret society
BBC News: Bangura deportation verdict delay
Opinion
Sarah Ludford MEP questions the wisdom of the UK’s policy of detention of asylum seekers.
CommentIsFree: Seeking Justice
Peter Tatchell highlights systematic mistreatment of asylum seekers in our asylum system
CommentIsFree: Asylum system is criminal
