Friday 10 February 2012

SLEEP OUT and touch faith...


STREET SLEEP-OVER! Everyone is invited...

Student Action for Refugees (STAR) and Amnesty International are campaigning to end the destitution of refused asylum seekers. We hope to raise awareness of their destitution and frequent homelessness by sleeping out…

Manchester Sleep Out

Manchester Uni Student Union steps

7.30pm on Thursday 23rd of Feb till the next day

Picture from Glasgow uni, but it's the same idea.

When asylum claims are rejected (72% in 1st attempt in 2010), many people still cannot return to their home country, so have no choice but to stay in the UK. They become destitute: living in abject poverty and relying on charities or fellow asylum seekers to subsist. The total number of refused asylum seekers is unknown, yet there are many thousands in London alone.
They live on the margins of society, denied free healthcare under the NHS unless it is an absolute emergency (therefore excluding pregnant women, cancer patients and diabetics) and join the ranks of the stateless wandering the streets. Many of those interviewed by Amnesty International suffer from mental health problems, due to their insecure position, and fear of detention and return.
Although a House of Commons Committee noted that ‘where the removal of a failed asylum seeker is delayed through no fault of their own, it is morally acceptable for them to be rendered destitute’, they have failed: the current policy is ineffective and inhumane.
Even those still within the asylum process are living in destitution due to the inability to work whilst being given a pitiful amount to live on. The asylum support amounts to £5 a day, hardly enough to cover even travel costs in this country!
As part of the Still Human Still Here campaign, we are asking the government to:



  • Ensure adequate support for asylum seekers until they are given protection in the UK or returned to their country of origin
  • Make sure that when they introduce annual increases to Income Support in line with inflation, the same happens for asylum support rates too
  • Provide asylum seekers with support rates equivalent to at least 70% of Income Support, paid in cash rather than vouchers
  • Grant asylum seekers permission to work if their cases have not been resolved in 6 months, or if they have been refused but cannot be removed through no fault of their own
The Still Human Still Here campaign is a coalition of groups campaigning for the rights, dignity and wellbeing of destitute asylum seekers. This group includes many refugee and human rights charities, and faith groups, who are all committed to campaigning against to end the plight of these asylum seekers.
Find out more on the Facebook event: STAR and Amnesty International Student Sleep Out.


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