Campaign launched to support asylum seekers

Community Care last month launched a campaign that
calls for an end to the racist hysteria around asylum seekers and
refugees and for their fair treatment.

Right to Refuge: A Fair Deal for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
aims to combat prejudice and racism and ensure that asylum seekers
entering the UK are treated in accordance with national and
international laws and standards such as the 1951 UN Convention on
Refugees.

The campaign also demands the end of the detention of children
and calls for their treatment in line with the Children Act 1989.
It also wants an end to the incarceration of asylum seekers in
prison–like conditions.  It urges councils to include the
needs of children of asylum seekers when formulating policies on
child protection, social inclusion and so on.

To coincide with the campaign’s launch, Community
Care published a survey of social workers who work with asylum
seekers. The results show that 91 per cent of social workers have
worked with asylum seekers with mental health problems and 70 per
cent encountered people who may have been tortured. More than 90
per cent of those surveyed said that they had met asylum seekers
who were frightened or experienced loneliness.

Eight-seven per cent believed that services were failing asylum
seekers.

However there was some good news. Eight-five per cent of staff
surveyed felt that there employer was committed to helping asylum
seekers while an overwhelming 99 per cent believed that refugees
and asylum seekers could make a positive contribution to
society.

More on the campaign at www.communitycare.co.uk/righttorefuge