Please note: The next news review will go out on 7 January.
In the news…
Iraq: UN aid promised
The United Nations has announced a $11.4 million relief programme for the thousands of refugees and internally displaced people who are returning to their homes following a lull in violence in Iraq. Meanwhile Iraqi refugees in Lebanon are being told they will be imprisoned unless they return to Iraq, according to Human Rights Watch.
How it was reported in the media
Guardian: UN promises aid as displaced Iraqis head home
Times: Go home or go to jail, Lebanon tells refugees
Restriction of GP services criticised
Think tanks, campaign groups and health professionals have all criticised any attempt to restrict access to GP services for refused asylum seekers. The government is currently reviewing rules governing access to NHS services and will publish the results in the New Year, but there has been speculation that those turned down for asylum will be barred from accessing GP services. Jill Rutter of the Institute of Public Policy Research said “The government is in danger of normalising what many people will see as a breach of human rights – someone’s right to basic health care provision.”
How it was reported in the media
BBC News: Asylum seekers' NHS use reviewed
Financial Times: Doctors warn over cut in refugee care
New PM moves to end Australia’s Pacific incarceration of refugees
Kevin Rudd’s new Labor government in Australia signalled an end to previous Prime Minister John Howard’s policy of imprisoning asylum seekers on the Pacific Island of Nauru while their cases are dealt with. The Refugee Council of Australia said “The so-called Pacific Solution … was a failed policy that caused great psychological damage to people who had committed no crime … After extended periods of detention, the over whelming majority of Pacific Solution detainees were able to demonstrate pressing needs for protection.”
How it was reported in the media
Independent: Australia scraps ‘Pacific Solution’ for refugees
Iraqi interpreters update
The government announced earlier this year that interpreters who worked for British forces in Iraq would be allowed to apply for asylum or be given money to resettle within Iraq. Now such interpreters are being warned that the numbers who will be accepted will be strictly limited and governed by eligibility criteria such as 12 months continuous service.
How it was reported in the media
Times: Iraqi interpreters seeking asylum in Britain will be refused entry until 2009
Watford footballer loses asylum case
Watford FC footballer Al Bangura is facing deportation to Sierra Leone after the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal ruled against him. 19 year old Bangura, who was voted young player of the year by Watford fans, believes he faces death should he return to his country of origin.
How it was reported in the media
Independent: Footballer ‘faces death’ after losing asylum case
Refugee Council gets Podcast of the Week
Our podcast series on vulnerable women was highlighted in London listings magazine Time Out as their Podcast of the Week. Their review (not available online) said “It’s a sign of the maturity of the form that the giggly, low-fi amateur offerings that used to characterise podcasting have yielded to increasingly slick and serious programming like this. The Refugee Council … has cottoned on to the potential of campaigning online, and these podcasts use heart-rending personal testimony to highlight its work and raise funds. It’s a worthwhile campaign that deserves greater recognition.”
Listen to our podcasts
Refugee wins Guardian first book award
Ethiopian Dinaw Mengestu has won the Guardian first book award for his ‘Children of the Revolution’, the story of a refugee who struggles to make a life in Washington DC after fleeing Ethiopia following the revolutionary overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie.
How it was reported in the media
Guardian: Emigre's tale of dislocation and loneliness
Comment
Asylum seeker Viktor Ndidi describes a life lived on food vouchers
Comment is Free: Token gestures
And finally…
Paddington Bear’s immigration status questioned
Fifty years after the first Paddington Bear book was published, author Michael Bond is to release a new set of stories. In one, Paddington goes to a police station to report his shopping trolley stolen but ends up being questioned about his immigration status when he reveals he is from ‘darkest Peru’.
How it was reported in the media:
Times: Please look after this migrating bear
Guardian: Paddington Bear faces questions on asylum status
BBC News: Paddington Bear's birthday book
Telegraph: Paddington Bear arrested over immigration
