http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/index/ en Copyright 2008 2008-04-30T13:27:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/still_human_still_here_mini_lobby_of_parliament_wednesday_14th_may_2008/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/still_human_still_here_mini_lobby_of_parliament_wednesday_14th_may_2008/#When:12:17:00Z After a fantastic year of campaigning to end the destitution of refused asylum seekers a ‘mini lobby’ of Parliament by STAR and Amnesty members from across the UK will take place on Wednesday the 14th of May. Why we are lobbying our MPs To build on the awesome efforts of the STAR and Amnesty networks on Action Day – and the inspiring achievements in demonstrating support for refused asylum seekers living destitute in the UK – a mini lobby will bring together STAR and Amnesty members once again. The mini lobby will be a high profile culmination of STAR national campaigning for the Still Human Still Here campaign. More info about what we are campaigning for can be found here The ‘mini lobby’ will be in Committee room 20 in Parliament from 12 – 4pm and will be followed by the handover of the 4,000 strong Still Human Still Here petition collected by STAR and Amnesty members on Action Day. If you would like to get involved in this fantastic opportunity and can join the network on May 14th, then we have all the resources and info you need right here. Al you need to do is get in touch with your MP and request a meeting with them. A model letter can be found below. To find out who your local MP is you can check out the Locata website. They Work for You is also useful. You can download all the resources here: Mini Lobby Action Guide Mini Lobby: Letter to MPs Guide to holding a successful lobby What will be happenning on Wednesday 14th May Meeting at Westminster tube station at 10.30 before going off for a slice of cake and an opportunity for a pre-lobby briefing. At 11:40 we will be entering Parliament and setting up in our venue for the afternoon, Committee Room 20. During the day there will be speeches whilst we wait to be joined by the MPs of those attending the ‘mini lobby’. Throughout the afternoon we will have the chance to meet MPs to raise our concerns about the forced destitution of refused asylum seekers and to ask them to write to the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. At 4pm we will walk the short distance to the Home Office, where we will present the Still Human Still Here petition with all the signatures collected on Action Day After this we will be able to chill out after a busy day before heading home. If you can attend the lobby on the 14th or if you have any questions about the lobby and how you can get involved, please e-mail John at the STAR National Support Office: stillhuman(AT)star-network.org.uk You can also call John on 0208 980 7036 (Ext 202) STAR News 2008-04-18T12:17:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/refugeemap_launched/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/refugeemap_launched/#When:13:34:00Z STARs new interactive online resource for young people is starting to pick up speed. RefugeeMap – which was laucnhed earlier this spring – provides easily accessible information about refugees and volunteering for young people, but best of all, it is built by volunteers, for volunteers. Earlier this year, STAR secured funding from the Youth Action Network to create Refugee Map; an interactive wiki – linked to the STAR website – which will provide easily accessible information on refugee issues by and to students and young people. Built by a group of four volunteers, RefugeeMap is an interactive and expandable resource for the STAR Network and any other young people interested in refugee issues and volunteering. Built by volunteers for volunteers we are hoping that it will call on their experiences to become a comprehensive resource on refugees. RefugeeMap has the potential to be a trail blazer in the use of online resources for young people. Information about refugees and volunteering with refugees is often scattered around the web and not very accessible. RefugeeMap seeks to gather this information in one place in an easily accessible form. By allowing people to contribute and take part in building the site it is hoped that the site will be genuinely volunteer led, supplying information that volunteers think is useful. The group of volunteers who built it are hoping that it will become an ‘an all singing, all dancing, one stop shop of information for anyone intersted in refugee issues and volunteering with refugees!’. To contribute, just visit the site and get started! RefugeeMap STAR News 2008-03-03T13:34:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/campaigns_consultation_begins/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/campaigns_consultation_begins/#When:13:27:00Z Thursday the 24th of April marked the beginning of STAR’s one month campaign consultation period; a chance for the National Support Office to get as much feedback as possible from student network on the 3 potential campaigns for 2008/09. Over the past year, the STAR National Support Office has collected information from STAR members about the issues affecting refugees and asylum seekers of greatest concern locally. STAR has also consulted representatives of organisations who work for refugees and as a result has identified 3 possible topics for a national campaign. The three potential campaign topics are; The right to work Section 4 voucher provision Destitution of children and young people seeking asylum STAR members will only be campaigning on one of these issues as a national network across the next academic year. So, if you are involved in a STAR group, this is your chance to influence the decision. How STAR groups can participate in the campaign consultation Information on how you can participate: the campaign proposals, guidance notes and feedback form – as well as info on representing STAR at the final decision meeting at the end of May – are available to download here. STAR_Campaign_consultation_discussion_guidance.pdf STAR_Campaign_consultation_question_sheet.pdf STAR_Campaign_proposal_Destitution_of_children.pdf STAR_Campaign_proposal_Right_to_work.pdf STAR_Campaign_proposal_Section_4_vouchers.pdf All STAR groups chairs have also received this information by post. National Support Office Regional Coordinators and STAR staff are keen to visit as many student groups as possible throughout this month, to run a consultation session with you directly. Please contact the National Support Office to arrange a visit If you have any other questions or comments, drop STAR’s new campaign intern Celia an email at campaigns(at)star-network.org.uk. The consultation will end on Friday 23rd of May, so please make sure that the National Support Office has received all your input by this date. STAR News 2008-04-30T13:27:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/new_judgment_rules_denial_of_healthcare_unlawful/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/new_judgment_rules_denial_of_healthcare_unlawful/#When:13:54:00Z Rules banning refused asylum seekers from accessing free NHS care have been deemed unlawful by the High Court. In a recent test case between a Palestinian asylum seeker – known as ‘A’ and the Department of Health, the High Court asserted that denying ‘A’ treatment for his chronic liver disease amounted to a breach of his human rights. The ruling may have knock on effects for up to 11 000 refused asylum seekers who are unable to be returned to their country of origin and are therefore considered to be ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK. ‘A’s lawyers had highlighted the fact that – like many refused asylum seekers – he was unable to return to his country of origin due to the current situation (in his case in Palestine), but was equally denied the right to work. Restricting access to free healthcare whilst suffering from a serious condition was therefore inhuman and degrading. In response, the Refugee Council said ‘This is a very important and welcome judgement. For the last four years we have sent the devastating impact of these regulations: cancer sufferers being denied radiotherapy and an operation, pregnant women refused antenatal care then forced to give birth at home. They have been a nightmare for health professionals, who have found themselves prevented from treating sick people. These people are here lawfully and they have made themselves known to the authorities by seeking asylum. We hope this ruling will put an end to the practice of preventing vulnerable, ill people from getting the treatment they need.’ However, despite this positive decision, the campaign to prevent further restrictions to healthcare – being led my MedAct, and supported by STAR and MedSin among others – continues, with MedAct currently calling on healthcare professionals and those who support asylum seekers to submit case studies to further their campaign work. More info about the campaign to Defend Primary Healthcare is available here or at the MedSin website and the MedAct website Refugee News 2008-04-15T13:54:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/people_power_puts_citizenship_on_the_mayoral_agenda/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/people_power_puts_citizenship_on_the_mayoral_agenda/#When:12:26:00Z Wednesday 9th April saw 2,500 Londoners from across the capital fill the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster in a unique event to hold the London Mayoral candidates to account. Organised by ‘London Citizens’, an alliance of faith based organisations , schools, universities, community groups and trade union branches, the ‘Mayoral Accountability Assembly’ set an agenda which discussed a range of social justice issues, and for once, it was the people rather than the politicians, who were doing all the talking. The London Citizens put 4 campaigns to Ken, Boris, Sian Berry and Brian Paddick; topics which had emerged as the main issues of concern for the people of London after an extensive , London wide listening campaign in 2007. These were ‘A safer city’, ‘A fairer city’ ( which includes the Living Wage campaign ), ‘A better housed London’ and ‘A more welcoming London’. Key to the campaign for a more welcoming London was a call for an earned regularisation for asylum seekers: a process to turn ‘Strangers into Citizens’. The communities of London demanded the Mayoral candidates agree to a number of proposals including a promise to provide travel cards or vouchers for refused asylum seekers to travel to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) offices when necessary, to encourage the Metropolitan Police to not cooperate with dawn raids, and for the potential mayors to vow to use their political clout when in office to push the government to implement regularisation as official government policy. All in all, the candidates were extremely responsive and gave a resounding yes! to all the demands put to them. Only Boris stressed some reservations to the proposals, stating that he had no power as mayor to stop the police performing their job, mean ing non-compliance with dawn raids would be out of the question. Whoever gets voted in the rights of asylum seekers look set to remain on the agenda whilst London Citizens are at work. Watch this space to see what happens next. Refugee News 2008-04-14T12:26:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/an_asylum_system_that_falls_seriously_below_the_standards_of_a_human_and_ci/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/an_asylum_system_that_falls_seriously_below_the_standards_of_a_human_and_ci/#When:16:19:00Z An independent and impartial review of the UK’s asylum system has concluded that two years on from the then Home Secretary John Reid’s infamous speech, the UK’s asylum system is still ‘not fit for purpose’. The interim findings of the Independent Asylum Commission (IAC) which has conducted a nationwide series of hearings looking into the asylum system was published on the 27th of March. The IAC Commissioners heard evidence from citizens across the UK, investigating ‘How we decide who needs sanctuary’, ‘How we treat those seeking sanctuary’ and ‘What happens when we refuse people seeking sanctuary’. The work – and findings – of the commission has created considerable public and political interest, making the report launch a highly anticipated day and receiving positive coverage on BBC Breakfast, Today and on local news among others. Despite efforts by the Border and Immigration Agency to deal with asylum claims in a more effective manner a ‘culture of disbelief’ still pervades the decision making process resulting in unjust decisions against vulnerable people with limited access to legal advice. The commissioners also found that the detention of asylum seekers is over-used, oppressive and an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer and that the needs of especially vulnerable people seeking sanctuary such as women, children and torture survivors are not properly addressed. The findings also present a system where the enforced destitution of thousands of refused asylum seekers is indefensible and places a ‘shameful blemish on our nation’s proud recode of providing for those who come here in search of sanctuary’. The IAC will publish its final conclusions in May, June and July. A pdf version of the IAC report and more information about the IAC is available from the IAC website An article on the report in the Independent newspaper And leading on from the publication of the report, STAR has teamed up with the IAC to create eleven fantastic volunteering opportunities for students who are passionate about campaigning for the rights of refugees. A STAR Key Campaigner will be based in each of the 9 English Government Regions, Scotland and Wales. They will be provided with extensive campaigning training and ongoing support to campaign effectively and locally on refugee issues. In addition to forming a unique national network of highly skilled STAR campaigners, Key Campaigners will also form part of the IAC’s Regional Campaign Action Teams. The role will be kicked off with some in depth training in May. More info about the role and how to apply can be found by following the link below STAR_and_IAC_Key_Campaigners.doc Refugee News 2008-04-04T16:19:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/125_sleep_on_the_streets_of_oxford_for_action_day_2008/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/125_sleep_on_the_streets_of_oxford_for_action_day_2008/#When:15:47:01Z Jenny Allsop from Oxford STAR details her experiences of a memorable Action Day 2008. As part of STAR and Amnesty’s National Action Day, hundreds of Oxford students joined forces with representatives from local charities, faith groups and many concerned citizens to collaborate on an evening of activities as part of the Still Human Still Here campaign.140 people slept out in the churchyard of Mary Magdalen Church, right in the heart of Oxford city centre to campaign for the end of the destitution of refused asylum seekers. The sleep-out concluded an evening of campaigning events which began on Cornmarket Street at 5pm with dance, poetry and music performances from local artists. We heard speakers from STAR and local charities Refugee Resource and Asylum Welcome and refugees spoke about their own personal experiences of destitution. At 7pm, a cardboard stage was set out in the street and people gathered round to see a student performance of The Bogus Woman, a powerful play which traces the story of a woman seeking asylum in the UK. At 8.30, the people participating in the sleep-out were invited into the church for a buffet supper made up of donations from local shops and cafes. The response from local businesses was amazing; we had everything from soup and salad to donuts, bagels and baguettes. It was a chance for people from different background to get to know each other and discuss their involvement in the campaign and the warm food was just what people needed before bedding down for a long, cold night. After supper, Amanda from Refugee Resource led a People’s Commission on behalf of the Independent Asylum Commission inside, giving people the opportunity to discuss issues related to the campaign, whilst the churchyard was a stage for debate, music and badge making. Some people put pen to patch to add their message to a campaign quilt whilst others wrote their campaign aims on cards which were tied to a colourful ‘wish tree’ by the church entrance. At twelve o’clock, a candle lit vigil and 2 minutes silence were held to remember refugees around the world. This time for reflection followed the projection of the Still Human Still Here DVD on a cardboard screen held up against the church wall .An eerie silence descended upon the crowd as stories of destitute asylum seekers mingled with background noise of traffic and drunken laughter and echoed from the churchyard across the city centre. Whilst some stood at the gates collecting petition signatures and engaging in debate with passers by, others tried to get comfortable on the cardboard and snuggle down for the night. Laying there shaking with my sleeping bag pulled tightly over my head I could hear nothing but muffled shouts and raucous singing from people returning home after a night out on the town. Unable to make sense of all the noise I felt scared and confused. I wondered how on earth it must it feel for a destitute asylum seeker sleeping rough on our streets. Unable to understand the meaning of the cries, a stranger to the late-night pub and club culture of our country, how would all this sound? At 6.30am, when the BBC Oxford radio van pulled up to interview campaigners, people were just waking. The journalist described the scene as overwhelming; dozens of heads popping up from behind gravestones in the morning mist with banners blowing in the trees. The first sight I encountered as I raised my own head was a banner swinging in the trees reading: ‘The right to shelter, food, employment, life…for destitute asylum seekers’. I thought about the breakfast I was about to eat and the lecture I would resentfully attend that morning and the true importance of this campaign hit me, sharp and painful like the cold morning wind upon my face. Jenny Allsop, Oxford STAR STAR News 2008-03-12T15:47:01+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/action_day_2008_the_final_report/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/action_day_2008_the_final_report/#When:12:15:00Z Thanks to all your incredible efforts Action Day 2008 was quite simply, the best yet! Waking up with the clouds above them on a cold morning in early March were over 600 students from STAR and Amnesty groups who, whilst not having the best night’s sleep, surely had a night they are not likely to ever forget! From Plymouth to Glasgow, 19 sleepouts were held to gain and demonstrate support for the campaign to end the destitution of refused asylum seekers. In London, morning shoppers in Covent Garden were greeted by the yawns of over 70 STAR and Amnesty members, whilst in Oxford city centre over 125 students woke up next to graves having spent the night in a churchyard after an action packed evening of street performances, ‘people’s commissions’ and a host of other events. From capoeira in Warwick, Samba in Sussex, a panel event in Essex and speaker events in Exeter and Sheffield, not to mention 28 hours of events in Leeds the sleepouts were preceded by loads of eye catching activities. Awesome and energetic efforts from STAR groups in cities such as Cardiff, Bristol and Southampton meant that there was much photocopying of extra petition sheets as groups across the UK gathered loads of signatures to be presented to the Home Secretary in May. To capitalize on your amazing successes on Action Day a final Still Human Still Here campaign action will take place in May. Be sure to keep checking out the STAR website to find out more. STAR News 2008-03-07T12:15:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/action_day_is_today/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/action_day_is_today/#When:12:13:00Z Today is the highly anticipated Action Day 2008 and looks like being our best Action Day ever! Find out more about what individual groups across the country have got planned for today…. This year STAR have teamed up with Amnesty International UK to hold a series of mass sleepouts across the country in support of the Still Human Still Here campaign that is dedicated to ending the forced destitution of refused asylum seekers. Click here for more information on why we are campaigning about this issue. There are about 40 groups across the country who are holding events on 5th March in support of the campaign; below are some examples of what they’ve got planned! Oxford STAR have teamed up with Asylum Welcome to hold a huge event in the centre of Oxford. Their sleepout has been confirmed as taking place in the Church Yard on the main street in Oxford where they are estimating there will be approximately 100 participants!! Warwick STAR have teamed up with Warwick Amnesty along with People and Planet, the Hindu Society, the Islamic Society, the Christian Union and the drumming society. They are planning on having music and speakers at the event as well. The Coventry Observer has also shown an interest in running a post-event report! In London STAR and Amnesty groups from LSE, KCL, SOAS, Imperial and UCL are joining together for one mega event at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden. The event will be starting at about 6 pm and with such a fantastic location there should be lots of interest. Click here to visit the Facebook event page. Sussex STAR have big plans for their first sleepout… They are starting with a Question Time style event with guest speakers at 7pm followed by food and samba! Then to round the night off, a night’s sleep on the grass! Click here for their Facebook event page. Southampton STAR and Southampton Amnesty are teaming up with Engineers Without Borders to hold their sleepout on 7th March. Sheffield STAR, Sheffield Amnesty and Sheffield Hallam Amnesty are all teaming up to have a mammoth 24 hours of events including a stall in the city centre during the day and a sleepout in the evening. Leeds STAR are also having a bumper 24 hour Action Day and are teaming up with students from Amnesty, Medsin, Crossing Borders and Leeds No Borders. They also have one intrepid student reporter who is hoping to get involved. In the week running up to Action Day they will also be holding a Journey to Safety session, a performance of the Asylum Monologues and some will be spending the week living as destitute asylum seekers. Not only this but they also have a double page spread in the student newspaper to report on all of this! Members from Glasgow STAR spent the week of the 11th February living as destitute asylum seekers and are working closely with Glasgow Amnesty to hold their sleepout on the 5th at the Kelvingrove Museum. Essex STAR will be holding their sleepout on campus on 6th March. There are plenty more events taking place in Bristol, Hull, Cambridge, Bath, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Leicester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Exeter and Cardiff to name just a few! Here’s to a fantastic National Action Day 2008! STAR News 2008-03-06T12:13:00+00:00 http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/why_are_we_campaigning_about_the_destitution_of_refused_asylum_seekers/ http://www.star-network.org.uk/index.php/news/why_are_we_campaigning_about_the_destitution_of_refused_asylum_seekers/#When:12:10:00Z With so many campaign actions by the STAR network at the moment, particularly with Action Day just round the corner, here is a reminder of why are we campaigning in support of the Still Human Still Here campaign. Each year around two-thirds of asylum applications in the UK are ultimately refused, including any appeal. With the exception of families with children under 18, financial support and accommodation is cut off after 21 days and at this point they are expected to leave the country voluntarily or be subject to removal. In November 2006, Amnesty International and Refugee Action launched reports highlighting how UK Government policy on refused asylum seekers forces many into abject poverty in attempt to drive them out of the country. Research showed that there are tens of thousands of refused asylum seekers in the UK, living a hand to mouth existence, reliant on charity and not permitted to work. Many of them cannot be returned to their country of origin through no fault of their own and are living a life that relies primarily on the charity of others. Find out more about why many refused asylum seekers are still here Read the report by Refugee Action, The Destitution Trap Read the report by Amnesty International, Down and Out in London What is the Campaign calling for? The Still Human Still Here campaign is dedicated to highlighting the plight of tens of thousands of refused asylum seekers who are being forced into abject poverty in an attempt to drive them out of the country. Campaign supporters are calling on the Government to: End the threat and use of destitution as a tool of Government policy against refused asylum seekers Continue financial support and accommodation to refused asylum seekers as provided during the asylum process and grant permission to work until such a time as they have left the UK or have been granted leave to remain Continue to provide full access to health care and education throughout the same period* Key messages of the campaign Over 280,000 people are living in abject poverty in the UK simply because they have been refused asylum; they are not permitted to work and they no longer receive any financial support. Many refused asylum seekers have protection needs but have been failed by the asylum system. The policy of starving people into returning in these cases (and to countries like Zimbabwe and Iraq) is inhumane and ineffective. Last year a committee of MPs concluded it would take between 10 and 18 years to return all refused asylum seekers to their countries of origin at the current rate of removal. The Government cannot afford to remove everyone who has been refused asylum, so it is deliberately making them destitute in order to force them to leave the UK. Where individuals cannot be returned safely, through no fault of their own, they should be granted a form of temporary leave that allows them to work and access basic support. This will allow them to contribute to the UK economy and society until they are able to return. STAR believes that everyone has the right to food, clothing, housing and medical care, regardless of their immigration status. It is morally acceptable for governments to control their borders. It is morally acceptable for governments to return people refused asylum when they do not have protection needs. But we believe that it is morally unacceptable for governments to force people into poverty as the cheapest method of trying to make them leave the UK. The Government has an obligation to allow everyone in the UK to access the basic necessities of life, and people refused asylum are no exception. They are still human, and they are still here. The experiences of refused asylum seekers “The barrister got my file in the evening before the tribunal. He didn’t know my name, hadn’t read my case and missed so many papers. I saw my life slipping away through an administrative error.” 22 year-old man from Somalia “Destitution – it sounds as if people have been put in the bin and are scavenging. It makes me sound like an animal. Perhaps that is what I am now. All I am.” 67 year-old woman from Zimbabwe “I don’t want to stay in the UK. As soon as it changes at home I am going. But at the moment I cant go back.” 36 year-old man from DRC “I have no status, no money and no home. Every day I have to go to friends begging for money. Sometimes I sleep in the mosque or spend the whole night in the street. I cover myself with my coat”. 24 year-old man from Zimbabwe Campaign Supporters Amnesty International UK, Archbishops Council of the Church of England, Asylum Aid, Asylum Rights Campaign, Asylum Support Appeals Project, Asylum Support and Immigration Resource Team, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Church Action on Poverty, Citizens Advice, Immigration Law Practitioners Association, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Migrants Resource Centre, Refugee Action, Refugee Council, Refugee Legal Centre, Scottish Refugee Council, Student Action for Refugees (STAR), The Children’s Society, Welsh Refugee Council What is the Still Human Still Here campaign doing? Developing a constructive dialogue with Home Office Ministers and officials offering alternative remedies that the Government can take to avoid destitution Highlighting the impact of destitution and lack of access to education, health and other services on refused asylum seekers to decision makers Building a groundswell of opinion against destitution through public campaigning activities (through grassroots activities, public endorsement from community organisations, national and local media coverage etc) Recruiting high profile and effective communicators as champions for the campaign (such as frontline professionals, sports people, actors, musicians, academics, former asylum seekers) What the STAR network is doing Raising awareness about the campaign with other students through campaign stalls, speaker events, DVD screenings, photo exhibitions… Encouraging students to show their support for Still Human Still Here by signing the petition Letting their local MP know about the campaign and how they can support it Demonstrating solidarity with refused and destitute asylum seekers by holding sleep outs, particularly on March 5th, when STAR and Amnesty students will team up for Student Action Day. Find out more about student campaigning events and Action Day STAR News 2008-02-18T12:10:00+00:00