United Refugee Organization

Can you imagine being forbidden to work? Can you imagine being forced to work on the black market for a pittance, at the mercy of exploitative employers? Can you imagine not having enough money to satisfy your most basic needs? Can you imagine not having anywhere to stay?

It is difficult for the majority of us to imagine asking these questions of some one living in the UK in the 21st century. It is even more difficult to imagine people being subjected to these conditions. But this is the reality for tens of thousands of people living in the UK today whose asylum claims have been refused.   

The majority of people who claim asylum are forced to flee their countries because their lives are in danger, their living conditions are unbearable and their human rights have been violated many times over. Yet when they arrive in England they discover that these human rights continue to be violated. Even their simple dreams to meet their most basic needs – to find a job, to have enough food, to establish a safe place to live – are not realised.

The popular perception of people claiming asylum, which is fuelled by the tabloid press, is of people who prefer to claim benefits and to live off the state (i.e., off the taxes that UK residents are paying), rather than seek employment. The simple fact, however, is that they are not permitted to work, in spite of being desperate to do so.

Not permitting asylum seekers to work forces them to search for employment on the black market: the majority have no other way to survive and they become a source of extremely cheap labour. This has repercussions on other people looking for employment. Unscrupulous employers seeking the highest profits may employ asylum seekers in preference to workers who are not in such a vulnerable position and are able to demand their rights. This in turn fuels racism and the popular perception that asylum seekers are ‘stealing’ their jobs.

This creates an underground workforce, who cannot access trade union support and is continually open to breaches in trade union standards in their place of work. One man who worked in a food delivery service had an accident while at work on his motorbike and broke his leg. For three months he was forced to remain at home, without sick pay benefits and without a job to return to at the end of the three months. He is one of thousands of people who are forced into similar situations without any rights or any support.

Such people are not only forced to work on the black market, but are also at risk of becoming involved in drug dealing, crime or violence. They are not ‘born’ drug dealers or criminals, but can slip more easily into these shadowy worlds. Other asylum seekers become severely depressed and develop mental health problems. There have been numerous cases of asylum seekers committing suicide by self emulation or hanging.

People who seek asylum in this country are a diverse and experienced group of people: teachers, doctors, nurses, technicians, labourers, artists, taxi drivers, cleaners, social workers, gardeners, lawyers, shop keepers. It is their right as human beings to use their skills and experiences to contribute to society in which they choose to live. To refuse them their right to express themselves through the work that they do is inhuman. It denies them the right to have a sense of purpose and to become an integral part of the society in which they choose to live.
During the period of Jack Straw’s office, all asylum seekers in the UK were given vouchers instead of cash, which only allowed them to buy food in certain supermarkets and robbed them of their right to make choices. This humiliating procedure was eventually stopped after strong campaigning. Today, however, the situation is even worse and those people whose asylum claims have “failed” receive nothing and are absolutely destitute.

It is painful to see people being denied their basic rights. We cannot hope to build a just, free and inclusive society when there are groups who are marginalised in this way and treated sub-humanely. It is our duty as equal members of society to say no to this discrimination, to say no to this humiliation and to say no to this starvation.

Frank Stevens
15 May 2007-05-15
Moble_roj@yahoo.com