News
Blocked routes to safety - a short animation from Médecins Sans Frontières UK & Ireland
MSF has created a short 2-minute animation to demonstrate the lack of accessible safe routes to the UK: https://twitter.com/MSF_uk/status/1633041884573573120.
Please watch and share this video.
The Refugee Council has published a report on Channel crossings.
‘By analysing the Home Office’s data we can show that at least 6 in 10 of those on the boats in 2022 would be likely granted asylum. We do this by cross checking nationalities with grant rates for asylum. We also show how the numbers of people on resettlement schemes has fallen dramatically. And that Government proposals to detain and deport people arriving on the boats would lead to thousands of people being held limbo.’
More than 320 organisations call out Government's latest anti-refugee bill
Please read and share this link to an open letter to PM Rishi Sunak calling out the Government’s latest anti-refugee Bill.
We are pleased to share with you a report published by Safe Passage “Routes to safety: a new approach to people crossing the channel”: https://www.safepassage.org.uk/new-blog-1/routes-to-safety-a-new-approach-to-people-crossing-the-channel
Campaigns we have signed
Letter sent to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Secretary of State for Education, and the Immigration Minister - Children missing from Home Office hotels
People seeking sanctuary excluded from vital housing safety regulation
Joint letter calling for safe homes for all
Open letter from refugee charities to the Home Secretary
Open letters: Migrants’ rights organisations call for Government and Labour to abandon support for cruel asylum accommodation
A message from NACCOM and the joint statement to which VIE is a signatory:
As you may have seen in the news this morning, the Rwanda scheme has just been ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. Alongside over 120 civil society orgs and charities (including many members), NACCOM signed a joint statement on this important verdict, coordinated by JCWI, Liberty and others involve in campaigning against the plan.
Here’s the statement:
We are relieved today that the Supreme Court has made the right decision and declared that Rwanda is not a safe country for this government to send people needing safety. The Rwanda plan was always cruel and immoral. We urge the Government to immediately abandon such plans with Rwanda or with any other country, and instead protect the rights of people who have come to our country in search of sanctuary.
While we welcome the decision today, we remain concerned by this Government’s overall treatment of people who move to this country. We are alarmed by this Government’s continuous efforts to detain and forcibly send people to countries where they may not know anyone, especially if it puts them at risk of harm and human rights violations. We know that as a community we are compassionate and welcoming, and we need immigration policies that are rooted in that same care, compassion, and respect for human rights. We call on everyone to stand up for the rights of people seeking sanctuary, regardless of where they come from or how they travel here.
In the coming weeks we’ll be working with partners to understand what this verdict means for the implementation of the Illegal Migration Act going forward, and will keep members updated accordingly via our usual channels.
Voices in Exile and more than 50 other organisations sign an Open Letter to Michael Gove, raising concerns about the impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on homelessness and destitution in the UK. The letter is live on NACCOM’s website and other channels – you can view it here.
Voices in Exile, along with 170 other organisations, has signed a letter to the Prime Minister opposing the Government’s plans for the use of military bases, former prison sites and barges as accommodation for people seeking asylum.
#CommunitiesNotCamps
Letter-to-Home-Secretary-and-SOS-DLUHC-on-move-on-changes.pdf
We are a signatory to the attached letter, along with 147 other organisations from across the asylum and homelessness sectors. The letter has been sent to the Home Office and the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities.
More information can be found on the Refugees Council website:
Thousands of new refugees face destitution and homelessness after being told to leave their accommodation at short notice – Refugee Council
Women for Refugee Women
Impact on proposed immigration plan on refugee women
Open letter to the home secretary
“The changes would have harmful effects on both men and women. In this letter we highlight the impact on women, as these experiences are too often unheard.”
Firm
A call for humane immigration and integration policy
Anti Slavery
Together with Focus on Labour Exploitation, (FLEX), Doughty Street Chambers and Hope for Justice, Anti-Slavery International and The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group complied a letter to ministers urging them to revoke a new policy that will make rough sleeping grounds for removal from the UK.
Voices in Exile Groups
- Learn about useful services, interesting places and fun activities in Brighton and Hove
- Practice English in a friendly, supportive space
- Build connections and a community of friends
- Improve your health and wellbeing
- Get support with accessing digital devices and using the internet
- Use public transport with confidence
- Access information to develop your skills and employability
- Learn about other groups and volunteering
When: 10:00 – 1:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesday or Thursdays (Join one of three groups)
Where: Brighton and Hove (or online when necessary)
Contact: Hayat Shehab hayat.shehab@voicesinexile.org
Mobile: 07526 0772347 (text or whatsapp)
Sessions and Activities
Our group enjoyed activities at the Secret Garden in Hove in June, including a very relaxing meditation using the five senses.
Everyone enjoyed getting to know(and taste!) various plants and vegetables. Some members hope to volunteer there again.
Refugee Week Event
Our groups enjoyed a very relaxing day out at Common Ground as part of Refugee week. There was a nature inspired event with Alex, Nick and Lucy from Living Vital and a sound healing session with Kelly from The Ripple Effect Brighton.
Group members made beautiful art and enjoyed an outdoor lunch. A big thank you to all involved.
Kite making workshop at The Riwaq – as part of Brighton Festival May’22
Introduction from Marwa Al-Sabouni:
Riwaq is the Arabic word for colonnade. Architecturally, the Riwaq is a semi-open space, which juxtaposes the building and frames the surrounding open space. It offers a transitional phase between enclosed spaces and open spaces, becoming a threshold for exchange. That’s why it is often figuratively used in Arabic traditions as a referential space for culture and knowledge: the Riwaq of poetry, the Riwaq of culture, and so on.
Common Ground are a community food growing project based in Stanmer Park.
In the warmer months our groups visit the plot every week, with activities ranging from veg planting, harvesting, cooking, and drawing. The group members love visiting volunteers at Stanmer Park, and some have become volunteers themselves.
Common Ground regularly donate the organic vegetables grown on the plot to our weekly food bank.
Sally at the Orca Barge at the Marina has been working with our groups doing sewing lessons. The members loved the sewing session and produced some amazing things within just one hour!
Sally has invited us back in the next few months, sewing is a great activity which accepts many skill levels and does not rely on having high English levels.
Some of the fantastic pots our group members made at an Art session in the Phoenix Gallery.
