REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS Getting the story straight in 2015

REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS Getting the story straight in 2015

Photo: Anthony Upton The British Red Cross has a long tradition of supporting vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, after they flee trauma and persecution. THE RED CROSS AND REFUGEES We are now the biggest single provider of this support in the UK reaching out to more than 13,000 people every year, in 60 towns and cities. We help these people adjust to life here in a number of ways: from providing emergency food and clothing, to giving friendly advice to those settling in a new, unfamiliar place.

WHAT DO THE TERMS MEAN? ASYLUM SEEKER > flees their home > 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. Photo: Lloyd Sturdy REFUSED ASYLUM SEEKER ECONOMIC MIGRANT > has been unable to prove that they would face persecution back home > has been denied protection by the authorities > has moved to another country to work > could be legally or illegally resident, depending on how they entered the country > must now leave the country, unless they wish to appeal the decision or there are legitimate reasons why they cannot yet return home. > may or may not have a legal work permit.

Photo: Ibrahim Malla / IFRC TIME FOR FACTS, NOT FEAR Most of the world s refugees don t flee to Europe, let alone the UK. Only live here. 1% Sweden 81,300 Do these sound familiar? They should: they are all real British newspaper headlines. For years now, those who come to the UK seeking shelter receive a largely negative press. We want to give people the right information and encourage more balanced reporting. Let s get the story straight. The UK received 31,400 asylum applications last year. This was less than Germany (166,800), Sweden (81,300) France (63,100) and Italy (56,300). Just 41 per cent 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. Source: Home Office immigration statistics, October to December 2014 UK 31,400 Germany 166,800 France 63,100 Italy 56,300

THE WORLD S REFUGEES UK 126,000 There were an estimated 126,000 refugees living in the UK in 2014. 3 The total UK population currently stands at 64.1 million. 4 Refugees in the UK therefore account for just 0.19 per cent of the population. Photo: Jose Cendon / IFRC The number of people forced to flee their homes last year, across the world, was over 50 million for the first time since the Second World War. However, most people don t come to Europe, as this map shows. They either stay inside their country ( internally displaced ) or flee over their nearest border. 1 Last year, there were more than refugees worldwide. 13 million Turkey 800,000 Syria 3 million Lebanon Jordan 1.1 million 700,000 The countries shown in red hosted the most refugees. Iran 900,000 Afghanistan 2.7 million Pakistan 1.6 million More than half (52 per cent) came from just three countries, shown here in black 2. For instance, the four-year conflict in Syria has swelled recent figures. Developing countries hosted over of the world s refugees 5. 80% Sudan 670,000 South Sudan 508,000 Somalia 1.1 million 1 UNHCR mid-year report 2014 2 UNHCR mid-year report 2014 3 UNHCR mid-year report 2014 4 Office for National Statistics mid-2013 5 UNHCR mid-year report 2014

The British Red Cross helps over destitute asylum seekers and refugees every year. 54% of the destitute refugees and asylum seekers we saw in 2014 were penniless because of administration problems in the asylum system. 6,000 Photo: Simon Rawles DESTITUTION TOO MANY DELAYS > > Every year, thousands of asylum seekers and refugees find themselves entirely cut off from government support and unable to meet even essential living needs. > > The government should remove the delays and errors in the asylum system that leave people destitute. > > Many refugees and asylum seekers come to us for basics such as food and clothes. Many have children. NOT ENOUGH DIGNITY > > The government should ensure that people receive adequate housing and support throughout the asylum process, from beginning to end. > > We want to see an effective and efficient asylum system that treats people with humanity, ends destitution, and upholds the UK s responsibilities to refugees.

Photo: Simon Rawles YOUNG REFUGEES 1,861 TREATED LIKE ADULTS > > A number of young asylum seekers have their ages disputed by the Home Office and/or social services. > > Unable to provide birth certificates as proof of age, some children are initially assessed as being over 18, leaving them to navigate the asylum system alone. ALONE AND AFRAID > > These vulnerable children may arrive in Britain without any family only to be processed as adults. > > They then face the unsettling prospect of sharing accommodation with adults who are strangers to them. > > We believe that every separated asylum-seeking child should have someone to advocate on his or her behalf. applications from unaccompanied asylumseeking children in 2014. 310 asylum applicants had their age disputed. 42% of initial decisions were granted. 7 UK immigration statistics Oct Dec 2013

Our travel assistance programme helped 295 refugees reunite with 681family members in 2014. We partnered up with legal providers to help refugees apply for family reunion. 200 Photo: Layton Thompson FAMILY REUNION NOT AFFORDABLE > Refugees have a legal right, under UK and international law, to be reunited with their children and spouse/partner, if they are still overseas. > Many refugees cannot afford to exercise this right because they can t afford legal help. Since April 2013, legal aid funding has not been available for family reunion in England, Scotland and Wales. NOT SIMPLE > Family reunion is often a long and complex process even for those who speak English as their first language. > 95 per cent of people using our family reunion service thought it would be very difficult to apply for family reunion without legal support. > The government should fund complex family reunion cases and make the application form easier to understand and complete.

SLEMAN S STORY: I M ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES Photo: Islam Mardini / SARC Not too long ago, Sleman was finishing his studies as an engineer in food sciences at the University of Aleppo. He was thinking about his career and potential next steps like any young person in the first flush of adulthood. But then war broke out in Syria and everything changed. In 2012, Sleman was forced to flee his country at 24 years old. I was helping my people by volunteering with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC). I was offering help and medical support to those hurt during demonstrations. Different groups started chasing and threatening me just because I was part of the humanitarian aid. I had to run away. Sleman ended up in the UK and claimed asylum straight away. He also found a British Red Cross office, to see if he could volunteer. Now a refugee, and allowed to stay here until 2018, Sleman calls himself lucky. I m lucky that I can contact my father and mother once or twice a month, he explains. Every time I ring them, my father says he wants to die. There is no life in Syria, anymore. That is why Sleman is rebuilding his life in the UK. He wants to carry on studying. He also wants to keep volunteering and helping people. He says: I like to help people. I know what it is like to need that help from someone. There is no life in Syria, anymore

MARIE S STORY: MY LIFE STARTS TODAY I had to get my children out of danger Photo: Matthew Stewart In April 2011, government forces attacked Marie s home in the Ivory Coast all because of her father s friendship with the former president. Marie jumped out of a window, barely missing a bullet, which caught the side of her knee. Her house was burnt down: an attack that killed her father and injured her siblings. Fearing for her life, Marie had to escape in secret. She left behind two children, Erica (9) and Adrian (7), who were in another part of town. Once she got refugee status in the UK, Marie turned to the British Red Cross to guide her quickly through family reunion. The same people that came for my father were looking for my children too. I had to get them out of danger, she says. In March 2015, Marie finally met her children at Manchester Airport after four long years apart. It s been so hard, Marie reflects, as she anxiously waits for her children to walk through the arrivals gate. I can go without money, I can go without food, but I need my kids. It s like your breath. She finally feels she can look forward to the future. I m fighting. I want to work, I want my children to be happy and have a good life. My life starts today.

British Red Cross 44 Moorfields London EC2Y 9AL Tel: 0844 871 1111 Fax: 020 7562 2000 redcross.org.uk Published in 2015 Cover photo BRC The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949), Scotland (SC037738) and Isle of Man (0752). Email: production@redcross.org.uk Tel: 020 7877 7029