Some facts for you to consider
We’re all familiar with the scare
stories about asylum seekers ‘flooding’ the UK. But how do these tales of mass
invasion stand up against the statistical data?
How many people in the UK are asylum seekers?
Far fewer people come to the UK
to apply for asylum than you might think.
More than 50 million
people throughout the world were forced to flee their homes last year.
There are more than 13 million refugees worldwide - but developing countries
host over 80% of people.
There are an estimated 126,000 refugees living in the UK. That's just 0.19% of the total population (64.1 million
people).
How many asylum seekers came to the UK in 2014?
The UK received 31,400 asylum applications.
This was less than Germany
(166,800), France (63,100), Italy (56,300) and Sweden (81,300).
Just 41% of people applying for
an initial decision were granted asylum and allowed to stay.
Many are initially refused
because it is difficult to provide the evidence needed to meet the strict
criteria of a refugee.
Which countries do asylum seekers come from?
More than half of the world's
refugees (52%) came from just five countries in 2014.
Numbers of people per country:
·
Syria: 3 million
·
Afghanistan: 2.7 million
·
Somalia: 1.1 million
·
Sudan: 670,000
·
South
Sudan: 508,000
What do
the terms mean?
In the eyes of much of the UK
public, the terms ‘refugee’, ‘asylum seeker’ and ‘migrant’ have almost blurred
into one. This is far from the truth (and far from helpful).
Here's a handy guide to the
different terms:
Asylum seeker
·
flees
their homeland
·
arrives
in another country , whichever way they can
·
makes
themselves known to the authorities
·
submits
an asylum application
·
has
a legal right to stay in the country while awaiting a decision.
Refugee
·
has
proven to the authorities that they would be at risk if returned to their home
country
·
has
had their claim for asylum accepted by the government
·
can
now stay here either long-term or indefinitely.
Refused asylum seeker
·
has
been unable to prove that they would face persecution back home
·
has
been denied protection by the authorities
·
must
now leave the country, unless they wish to appeal the decision or there are
legitimate reasons why they cannot yet return home.
Economic migrant
·
has
moved to another country to work
·
could
be legally or illegally resident, depending on how they entered the country
·
may
or may not have a legal work permit.
Sources: Home Office, Immigration
Statistics, Oct to Dec 2014; UNHCR mid-year report 2014; Office for National
Statistics (mid 2013).
So those are
some fact – what is the Christian Perspective?
We have been told by the Prime Minister that there is "a
swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting
to come to Britain". We have been told by some of the press that “Migrants
take all our jobs”
and that the “EU faces a migrant problem of biblical proportions”. Is it really the case that there
are just people trying hard to get here without any other reason than they
think our weather is so good?
Surely not! There are vested interests at work here; but our
faith and out humanity should override them.
Put aside for the moment the stories of the exodus and other
migrations in the Old Testament – though they may become relevant. Think rather
of the situation around the 4 BC. People were being forced to move around in
the area we now call the Middle East; with the threat of force being used if
they didn’t move voluntarily.
It was in these circumstances that one inn keeper was heard
to say (according to the daily paper in Bethlehem) “we’re full – we don’t want
any more northern foreigners round here”. Alright that wasn’t quite true but
you understand the point. Jesus was born to a migrant family – who then was
greeted by migrants from other lands (bearing gifts) before becoming a refugee fleeing into Egypt. Now I’ve
read the stories often; and I’ve not met any mention of Egyptian border guards
or Grand Viziers or the like trying to turn them away at the border.
Migration in the area was standard practice – groups moved on
a regular basis depending on food and water supply for their flocks – I suppose
today we would call them economic
migrants; looking for a better life. Is that not a natural process? Which
parent does not want their child to grow up into a better world than the one
that they inhabited?
Jesus never became an Asylum
Seeker because he later returned to his own land when it was safe; but he
remained peripatetic – moving from one pace to another and being supported by
those whom he served with his ministry. That model of servant ministry is one to which we are all called; how we serve
and who we serve remains to be discovered.
Most of Jesus’ ministry was directed towards those who were
the outcasts and strangers in society – there may not be a total bias to the
poor, but there is certainly a bias to the estranged and neglected.
A need for
action
The geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has brought the
situation about; the current migrant crisis is a direct result of instability
and the international community bears the responsibility for the situation and
so should bear the load.
Without action we will see:
·
more
deaths in the Mediterranean throughout Europe;
·
more
buildings of physical and emotional borders between countries;
·
more
xenophobic tendencies arising;
·
more
human suffering;
·
and
more traffickers callously making a fortune out of other peoples suffering.
Pushing and
Pulling
There are different reasons why different types of migrants
are attracted to move. The wealthy Russian who wants to buy a football club is
pulled to live in London because that is where the finances can have the most
effect. Even the drug baron can be pulled to the City to try to launder the
illegal gains. But the refugees – who are leaving war torn areas in fear of
their lives are being pushed and, despite what politicians may think, no amount
of border controls, visa checks, fines for carriers will make any difference.
What can be
done?
There are several things which could be done which would make
the position both safer for the refugees and more manageable for the
governments.
·
We
could lift visa restrictions temporarily from the most severely affected countries such as Syria and Eritrea.
Immediately, those travelling could take legitimate routes into Europe.
·
Processing
at ports of entry could be speeded up. Counter-intuitively, it would
allow for greater vigilance over security, which is naturally a concern.
Countries would actually know who had entered
their borders.
·
By
allowing people to connect with
family already here, through a EU wide distribution agreement, settlement would
be easier.
Those are all decisions for politicians to take- but we can bring pressure to bear. You could contact your MP asking them to
support this plan, and act in a humanitarian way to the humanitarian disaster
before it gets worse.
What can be
done locally, by a church or individuals?
There are some asylum seekers already in Lancashire; the Red
Cross are running sessions at St Cuthbert’s Fulwood. Contact the Red Cross on 01772 707 308 if you feel that you may be able
to help.
Do you know of any
asylum seekers living near you? They will have been housed by SERCO but could need other
help by way of access to Food, clothing etc. Small groups can be really
successful at working this through. Contact
Ed Saville to talk through the ideas. Ed.saville@blackburn.anglican.org
Look out for petitions
etc. The Iceland government announced that they
would take 50 refugee families; a petition with 11,000 signatures offered rooms
to house them if the government would take more.
A petition calling on the UK to accept more asylum seekers
and refugees could be debated by Parliament after securing more than 100,000
signatures.
Petitions on Parliament's website that exceed the 100,000
threshold are eligible to be considered by MPs.
