THE public response to the Ukraine crisis is “amazing” but the UK Government’s reaction is creating a “dangerous and discriminatory” division of refugees, it has been claimed.
While households are being offered £350 a month to take in Ukrainian refugees, the Afghan resettlement scheme has not even got off the ground, according to Pinar Aksu (below) of Glasgow-based charity Maryhill Integration Network.
And she is warning that if the Nationality and Borders Bill goes through without amendments it will violate the UN Refugee Convention – which Britain helped draft.
The Bill is due to come back before the House of Commons this week and Aksu said she hoped the amendments passed by the House of Lords, including giving asylum seekers the right to work, would remain in place.
There has been fierce criticism of the Bill as well as Westminster’s response to those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Last week the Tories belatedly announced a scheme that would see volunteers being paid £350 a month to take in Ukrainian refugees.
Thousands of people have already volunteered to help but, while praising their compassion, Aksu said it was a case of the government passing the problem to others instead of creating an adequate system for refugees.
She contrasted it with the Afghan resettlement scheme set up after Western troops pulled out of the country last August but which appears to have stalled.
READ MORE: Scotland's super-sponsor scheme for Ukraine refugees now open, Nicola Sturgeon announces
“The Afghan crisis was all over the media but there is still not a lot of information about when the resettlement is starting,” she said. “People came together for the Afghan community but the Government has not responded well. We are hearing they have been placing Afghan refugees in hotels rather than adequate places.
“What is really scary for us is the fact that the Government is creating a division amongst the refugees – they are labelling people according to where they come from and this is extremely dangerous and discriminatory.
“It is amazing we are showing such support and solidarity for the Ukrainian refugees but the reaction from the Government is not enough. Paying people to host refugees rather than reforming the system is again passing the problem to others. The Government is not trying to have an adequate system in place.”
Aksu contrasted Westminster’s response to the Ukraine crisis with the way it was handling the fallout from Afghanistan.
“It’s terrible and I feel that there is a lot of systematic racism going on because the way they are handling the Ukrainian crisis is completely different. We must treat everyone seeking sanctuary with fairness, dignity, and compassion.”
Aksu said the Nationality and Borders Bill highlighted the ongoing problems with the immigration system.
READ MORE: Here are the five cruellest parts of the UK Nationality and Borders Bill
“It is not functioning at the moment and that is because the system is not built on human rights or compassion,” she said. “The policies of the Home Office are not working and the new Bill that is being proposed is going to make everything worse.”
If passed as it is, refugees to the UK would be housed offshore in detention centres and there would be only limited access to legal routes to the UK. Anyone arriving outwith those routes would be treated as a criminal.
Aksu said the fact that the House of Lords criticised the Bill heavily showed how bad the proposals are. Amendments were made but could yet be rejected by the House of Commons.
Among the amendments was a right for asylum seekers to work while their claims are being processed. Lift the Ban, a UK wide coalition of organisations, grassroots groups and businesses, including Maryhill Integration Network, whose members are still caught in the asylum process, have been campaigning for this right for a number of years.
Aksu said she had seen asylum seekers arrive in the UK with hope and determination to start a new life, only to see their spirits leach from them as they waited years for their claims to be processed, surviving on the paltry £5.84 a day awarded by the Home Office. One person was stuck in the system for 20 years, according to Aksu.
“Not being able to work is one of the key barriers for people to fulfil their lives,” she said. “People should be able to work and contribute to the economy so they can pay their taxes. It would help with integration because people would be part of a community, able to use their skills and be independent.
“We have people who are teachers, accountants, health and arts workers but are not allowed to work. It does not make sense why they are not allowed to work. They can apply to work after one year but only in an occupation on the shortage list but that is very limited and it is extremely difficult to get a job.
“We have members who have been here for five years and the difference in their mental health from when they first arrived is huge. When they first arrive they are hopeful and want to get on with their lives but that is not what happens. The waiting time for a decision is very long.”
Even if their claim is accepted, finding work is made more difficult by the length of time the claimants have been out of the job market.
“They might need further training or further their education by then,” said Aksu.
She added that if the amendments go through the Bill remained problematic.
“There are still very grey areas,” Aksu said. “We don’t know how it will be implemented and whether there will be secure adequate housing. There are still huge questions.
“It is incredibly shameful the Government is even considering this Bill.”
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