The immigration act of 1971 made it possible for asylum seekers to be detained while awaiting an application decision. In addition many over stayers (A person who is granted limited time to stay in Britain and does not leave at the end of that limited time) are also detained awaiting removal from the Uk aswel as asylum seekers found working illegally.
There are currently 12 immigrant detention centres in Britain. Many including young children are detained and on doing so are not fully aware of what a detention centre actually is. Many have horrific stories to tell of life as a detainee and describe it as more like a prison as the walls are high with barbed wire attached to them, and they are locked in like prisoners. For some the experience of detention is too much to cope with and end up committing suicide. According to an independent news article (2005) it was reported that a large amount of deaths have been found to have taken place in some of Britain’s detention centres. (Robert Verkaik online, 2005)
Manuel Bravo hung himself in the presence of his young son while awaiting an asylum decision in detention. He was unable to cope with the prospect of possibly being deported in fear of persecution in this country of origin, ill treatment at the hands of employees in the private sector who run these detention centres has also been reported by asylum seekers but there is fear that not all abuse is reported, because it is run privately thus meaning there is little input from the government so things are kept under wraps and nobody knows anything unless the detainees speak out. In addition people go on hunger strikes in an attempt to protest about their ill treatment and the length of time they spend being detained. This happened at Yarls wood detention centre in February 2010. It was reported they were locked in airless hallways and deprived of the right to use sanitary provisions and other necessities because they had refused to eat. (Afua Hirsch online, 2010).
Many flee to Britain in an attempt to seek refuge and know very little about the country to which they are going; as a result it is not always what they had expected. Asylum seekers who are children under the age of 18 also flee to Britain travelling alone without parents. A child travelling alone is placed in either foster care or local supported housing; they are also assigned to a social work that will help to support them as the experience can be very frightening and traumatic. Asylum seeker children are also granted the right to attend schools in Britain however often because of the initial language barrier this can prove to be difficult as they do not speak good English. According to the home office in 2005 an asylum seeker child travelling alone cost local authorities in excess of 20,000 jus for the year. Other costs that are taken into consideration is the financial support offered to children under 18. Reports have shown that children as young as 3 are abandoned in England at airports or docks, whoever brought them to Britain did not have the means to take care of them properly and the home office for several reasons cannot deport the child, thus meaning the child is to remain in England and be supported financially and the right to an education is also given.
There is however stories of success when it comes to child asylum seekers like Tindyebwa Agaba who is adopted by a British actress called Emma Thompson. He came to England at just 16 his father had died in Rwanda and he was unaware of the location of his mother after the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Tindyebwa served as a child soldier in Rwanda against his will. He did however manage to escape with help from a local charity. He met Emma at a refugee council party in England they got talking and subsequently she invited him over for Christmas. From that moment on he formed a close bond with the family and they decided to adopt him. He was granted leave to remain by the home office and went on to study politics and sociology at Exeter University where he graduated in July 2009 with a 2:1 grade. He came to Britain with nothing and found success. (Alison Boshoff online,2008).
A study was conducted by Porter and Haslam(2005) the purpose of this study was to assess mental health issues among adults and children who had been detained in immigration centres. It was reported that there was high volumes of psychopathological disorder (mental distress and abnormal behaviour) found in asylum seekers. The study compared asylum seekers and refugees to non-refugee groups and clear evidence suggests that mental illness is present more in asylum seekers and refugees who have been previously detained. The stress of the process of asylum together with the uncertainty of how long they will be detained for and the uncertainty of the future is a contributing factor to their mental state. Arriving in England can be a very lonely experience.
However there are many support and advice organisations set up in order to assist asylum seekers such Asylum Aid a support service provided by the Red Cross. The service is designed to assist and inform asylum seekers and refugees of their rights in Britain and to make them aware of any financial support that they may be entitled to. They also have within their team several trained solicitors who are able to represent them with their claim or if there should be any need to appeal a decision. In addition asylum aid also campaigns for better treatment and facilities for asylum seekers and work very closely with the Uk border agency and the (Nass) National asylum support agency.
The national asylum support service was first opened in April 2000 and aims to provide suitable accommodation to destitute asylum seekers and their families if needed. Their applicants do not get to choose where they are accommodated and often end up in areas nobody wants to live in, these areas are usually the worst in Britain homes to drug and alcohol users and the lowest of the low. Many Asylum seekers suffer abuse at the hands of their fellow neighbours just for being an asylum seeker/refugee.
This abuse is partly to do with the picture that the media has portrayed of how refugees and asylum seekers are receiving free hand outs at the detriment to the British society in that British people are treated less favourably than people who do not originate from Britain.
There has been much debate about this issue. According to bbc online news article ( July 2003) Councils across England were inundated with complaints from members of the public as there was a common belief that asylum seekers were receiving luxury items such as new vehicles and other goods. However asylum seekers are provided with the bare minimum. A single person can claim less than £30 a week and this is supposed to feed and clothe them. Many asylum seekers would do their upmost to secure any kind of employment; however the right to work in England as an asylum seeker was stopped in 2002. Prior to this if an asylum seeker had been waiting longer than six months on a decision regarding their application they were able to work. The ban of asylum seekers working was decided by the government thus meaning they have no choice but to to rely on financial help given by the British government. The willingness to work is there it is the law who has put a stop to it.
There are asylum seekers who do work illegally for cash in hand. Employers know that they are not allowed to work but they can pay the Asylum seekers the bare minimum so employers often exploit asylum seekers as they know they are desperate to work. The home office UK border agency reported that In July 2012 asylum seekers who had received an unsuccessful refugee application were found working in Staffordshire at a restaurant. The owner received a hefty fine as this practice is illegal. The asylum seekers were also arrested and detained in detention until such time it viable to remove them to their original country of origin. This is why obtaining refugee status is every asylum seekers end goal as life is not necessarily easier but you are given more rights under the 1951 convention protocol, for instance the right to work, to use the British courts, to apply for family members in your country of origin to join you and the permission to remain in Britain for 5years. After this time has lapsed the situation in your country of origin is reviewed, if it is found that the original situation to which you declared upon arrival has now improved you could be sent back to your country. Furthermore it is also possible for your refugee status to be reassessed by the home office within the 5 years as things can change at any time. There is opportunity to apply for indefinite leave to remain (the right to stay in Britain permanently), there are however certain obligations which need to be adhered to such as obeying the law in their host country and the Life in the UK test which is produced by the home office in order to test your knowledge about Britain. This test is a computer based and consists of 24 questions about life in Britain. However not all asylum seekers/refugees speak English to a good standard; in the light of this it is required that you opt to take a course in English and citizenship and pass in order to improve your English and understanding of Britain.
On the flip side of things there are many asylum seeker who abuse the system, In a panorama documentary aired in 2003, Claudia Murg (A bbc undercover reporter) posed as an asylum seeker in order to see what life is really like. She reported that there was a lot of fraudulent behaviour going on and blatant abuse of the system. While undercover she was able to obtain illegal documents at a cost but it was readily available if you know where to go. She was also able to sustain paid employment as a cleaner illegally. The wage was a pittance not even minimum wage but it was a job at least. She also met fellow asylum seekers; some had horrific stories to tell of hardship while one man in particular was milking the system. He told Claudia that he was renting out his council property to tenants illegally and took residence in another area with his family, drove an expensive car and received a support payment every week of over £100 which because of his income he should not have been entitled to. She was also able to make a fresh claim for asylum under a different name despite previously giving a fingerprint sample when she had applied for asylum before. (Claudia Murg online, 2003)
Asylum seekers risk their lives just to get to Britain in the first place, some face horrific conditions just to make it to safety. There are genuine people who enter Britain in need of protection from their country of origin but like anything in this world there will always be some who will abuse the system. The Asylum process in Britain is ever changing new rules and laws are introduced and the process can be quite lengthy and daunting to some. There is a great need for more positive exposure surrounding the area of asylum and refugees. Detention centres definitely need some kind of strict regulatory processes put in place to protect the detainees, some of the practices that go on inside immigrant detention centres are illegal and should be put to a stop. However the British society views asylum seekers and refugees they should not forget that they are human beings just like the British population and are entitled to help and protection especially when they are in fear of their lives and in a lot of cases are facing death in their country. Again this lack of understanding is because the tabloids are forever reporting the disadvantages of refugees/asylum seekers and neglecting to report on the positives. Of course Britain has limited funds like anywhere else in the world and this is why the application process is so tuff not all asylum seekers are accepted into Britain an often they are returned to the country they fear the most. Many asylum seekers do want to work and in desperation have found jobs illegally in Britain so if the law was changed they could put back into Britain in the form of taxes. The support systems that are put in place to support asylum seekers are much needed as guidance is prevalent as when arriving into Britain often they do not know what to expect, or who to ask for help. That friendly face makes all the difference to their already mental state.
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References
Web page
(Soca) Serious organised crime agency www.soca.gov.uk/threats/people-smuggling. accessed on 13/12/12
(Refugee council online)
accessed on 13/12/12
Afua Hirsch (online) Yarl’s wood women on hunger strike ‘locked up and denied treatment’ accessed on 10/12/12
(1951 convention) www.unhcr.org/4ec262df9.html accessed on 10/12/12
Robert Verkaik (online) “Enquiry urged after increase in detention centre deaths” http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/inquiry-urged-over-increase-in-detention-centre-deaths-507156.html accessed on 9/12/12
(Asylum Aid) http//www.asylumaid.org.uk/pages/current_campaignes.html accessed on 11/12/12
Katy Robjant, Rita Hassan, Cornelius katona “Mental health implications of detaining asylum seekers: systematic review” accessed on 14/12/12
Alison Boshoff (online) “The young refugee who was adopted by a famous actress” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-528573/The-young-refugee-adopted-famous-actress.html accessed on 14/12/12
Claudia Murg(online) “portrait of an asylum seeker” accessed on 13/12/12
by
leesh23 (student)
