Asylum Seekers denied healthcare - Health Care For All

Post by Bristol Dignity For Asylum Seekers.

Cloud of destitution

This wordcloud shows how destitution makes us feel.

Come and join us at 11am from the Malcolm X centre in Bristol or at a march in your local city if you believe it is wrong we are forced to have nothing and want to help us change it. 

Why destroy me more?

I've been destitute for a long time, it has made me unwell both physically and mentally, hopeless and like I can't manage my life due to the threat of the unfair asylum system and the persecutors I fled from. I came here to rebuild my life, because I had no chance of survival in my country, please don't destroy me more.

A Kurdish asylum seeker from Iraq.

We are human beings and have rights....Speech from Celebrating Sanctuary

This is a clip from the speech Manesh gave at Celebrating Sanctuary Day on Sunday about asylum seekers rights and being so-called 'illegal'.

Speaking to the council

To sit next to Father Richard from St Nicholas church in the council chamber gave me a positive feeling and I felt peaceful when I spoke. My speech was not perfect, but I was happy to talk there because we are right and just looking for the human rights and to challenge the unjust laws. Thanks to the people and councillors who supported us to make this happen. x manesh

"I didn't choose this life, the home office choose for me this life."

There is a deliberate policy to make asylum seekers homeless, stuck with in limbo, with their lives at a standstill, asylum seekers waiting for fresh evidence, who are unable to be sent back are stuck, destitute, not allowed to work, not eligible for benefits.

Charities fill the gap in Bristol, helping where they can with meals and food handouts, but they cannot relieve the mental anguish that this situation causes, constantly worrying about where their food and housing will come from, unable to feel safe and feeling like their life is worthless.

Do you agree it's not ok that this country has a policy to make asylum seekers destitute?
Then join us this Monday 14th evening from 7pm for the Sleep Out in the Chains of Destitution in support of those who have no choice but to sleep out or come on Tuesday 15th from midday to support Bristol City Council as they vote on whether to make a statement against this policy and aim to do all they can to help.

Related articles

• Asylum Seekers Sleep Out to Dream of Ending Forced Destitution
• Sleep Out in the 'Chains of Forced Destitution'
• Stop Destitution: Human Rights Day 2012 Monday 10th December

Wordless

Hello, hello, hello to you...

Anytime I see my asylum seeker friends and ask them "what's up?" they reply same as usual...

"surviving", "nothing", "I am still alive" 

or they are too ashamed to answer and also occasionally they ask me...

"When will our lives be complete?"

Manesh

Mohammed Detained again

I am writing with the sad news that Mohammed Shahidul Islam  was detained on Wednesday 12/9/2012, when he went to sign at Trinity Road Police Station for UKBA.

Mohammed is one of our chefs at Bristol Refugee Rights and he has got alot of friends and we are trying to help him until he is released and to back with us because we really need him.

Mohammed left Bangladesh 20 years ago and has made his home here without costing the UK anything, except the cost of imprisoning him. He is very organized and he doesn't lose the opportunity to joke with the others and make people laugh.

No one is ever illegal. Mohammed belongs in his community in Bristol. Here's someone who has done nothing, but contribute to Bristol society, so he's imprisoned for deportation. Shameful. The City of Bristol will be the loser if Mohammed is deported. He is skilled, loyal and hard-working and we need people like him.

After 12 years and a clean record should be able to stay in this country don't send Mohammed back to Bangladesh.

We want him back. FREE MOHAMMED

Esam

What can you do?

1) Sign the petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keep-mohammed-in-bristol/

2) Donate any amount of money via Bristol Refugee Rights to help cover the costs of supporting Mohammed whilst he is in detention e.g. topping up his phone credit, money for toiletries, help with travel expenses for those that go to visit him.

3) Be on standby for contacting the airline.

"I'll sew up my eyes and mouth": Ibrahim in Bristol Post

Recent coverage about the petition and Ibrahim's situation in the Bristol Post. We are presenting the petition statement to the council at 5:30pm today, please come to college green and join us. (More info)

"I'll sew up my eyes and mouth": asylum seeker | This is Bristol: 


A FAILED asylum seeker has spent the past three weeks sleeping rough on College Green in protest – and threatened to sew his eyes and mouth shut to get his point across.


Ibrahim Moulkaf, 43, had to flee Algeria in 2009 after writing a book criticising the government and violent behaviour of Islamic fundamentalists and promoting peace.


The publication of Democracy in the Arab and Islamic World in France led to hard line Islamic militants starting a hate campaign against him.


They preached in Mosques about him, he received death threats, beatings in the street and his home was raided. He fled to England and applied for asylum but has continually been denied residence preventing him from gaining access to work, education or benefits.


He says he decided to apply to voluntarily return to Algeria, despite the risks, but permission was refused because a travel document could not be obtained for him.

Mr Moulkaf said he had now decided to voluntarily sleep rough on College Green to protest at his position.


"I sleep on the grass unless it is raining and then I shelter either under the council building or in a shop entrance," Mr Moulkaf told the Post.


"I had been staying in a house but I have come out here in protest because my appeals for asylum have been continually denied. It is hard and I am very tired.

"It is important because this is not just about me it is about the many other, more than 100 asylum seekers, sleeping on the streets in Bristol."

Paulette North, of the Respect Party, has started a petition and is submitting a motion at Bristol City Council's cabinet meeting tomorrow entitled: "We urge Bristol City Council to follow the example of Glasgow City Council."..... Read rest of the article 

Homelessness

Instead of safety, many of the asylum seekers in Bristol are forced to sleep rough and become dependent on the help of friends and charities to survive.

Manesh

My life waiting....

My name is Esam. I am from Iraq. I am Kurdish. I would like to share my experiences with you.

I have been in the UK for 5 years, since November 2007. My case has been refused by the home office and I am really living with a lot of stress and feeling sad, because I can't go back to my country as it is too unsafe for me, there is still a risk for my life. 

In 2011 the UK home office decided not to send people back to Iraq, because it is unsafe. This is based on rule 39 from the European Court of Human Rights. 

We asylum seekers live a hard life without housing or benefits and also we have no right to work to improve our lives or rent a house. We can't pay for our study to improve our English, which we need in our daily lives. When I go anywhere, they ask me for Home Office letter which I haven't got or leave to remain. I hope the Home Office change their decisions about asylum seekers like me and let us start our lives here as I can not live there because my life was in risk. This is why I fled and came here. I claimed asylum to find a place of safety and peace.

At the moment I volunteer at Bristol Refugee Rights, Bristol Hospitality Network and the Tuesday Drop-in group in St Nicholas Church. I am a chef, so I do lot of cooking. I also made a film and sometimes I do interpreting, as best I can. 

I hope they stop the signing at the police station as it makes me feel I am not safe from detention and also deportation. We need people in Bristol from different organisations to support us and help us to survive in the hard life I and other asylum seekers have in the UK.

I am waiting for your help and support. Thank you very much for giving me your time to read my short article.

How it feels....

It is very depressing, I don't have any accommodation. I am a refused asylum seeker waiting for re-appeal. I live on £5 a week from Bristol Hospitality Network, which isn't enough. 

Asylum Seeker from Zimbabwe

We are rebuilding our futures

I really liked the dynamic of the march. I felt that we refugees have a future in Bristol, despite the difficulties and alienation and having to rebuild a new life. It's not so bad in the end as those who get a second chance can change things in their life and in society.

We don't need your pity, but your solidarity. 

Refugee = Refuture

Daahir

Report on March

On Saturday 30th June we went on a March for Dignity for Asylum Seekers and there was more people than we expected. We marched through the city centre telling people, enlightening them about asylum seekers and what we are going through. Everybody marched with peace and happiness. We stopped at the Trinity Police Station and spoke about the different things we are suffering from.

Anon

Housing for everyone

A lot of people are losing some of their housing benefits from the cuts. I feel sorry for them because I know how it is to be destitute. I think it will be good to work together. A lot of people are blaming immigrants that they think are taking their houses when they are not. 

Cindy from Zimbabwe

We are reduced to nothing....

"Asylum seekers' have been reduced to nothing. No house, no support, no legal aid, no proper health support. We have been treated as criminals. We are monitored regulary, we have to go to police station to sign monthly or weekly. This makes us feel bad, because you don't know when you will be arrested and detained."

Explain to people our situation

  “It was great for me because I think for first time the people of Bristol know the problems asylum seekers face.

We need solutions for our problems, that is why we came on the streets. I think we did good job, passing our message to people. We want people to be the bridge between us and the home office, telling them to stop being tough on asylum seekers and not to turn down our cases.

Asylum seekers can't feel safe when we have to sign at the police station every week, we feel stressed because of risk of deportation and it is not safe to send us back. We came because we are looking for place of safety and peace.”

Esam

We sent a message yesterday

“We passed message to people and to the Home Office that asylum seekers are human too and want dignity. 

I feel more freedom and more happiness after today's march. We walked together. We want to improve our situation, so that it is more equal between people. We are not less than other people.

I think we will stop them sending people back to dangerous places. We came together and we will again to fight for safety and dignity. 

Also we need send the message to the government that we really have problems in our country. It's not for fun or for nothing that we are here. If our situation changes in our country we will go home.”

Nassour

Amazing....

“It was amazing, especially when we arrived at Broadmead. Many people were surprised to see us as they have never seen an asylum seeker before.

I think our message was passed to the people and now they know in Bristol that there are big difficulties for asylum seekers. Now many more people will say that asylum seekers are human beings too and that there should be equality rather than divide people by color or nation.

We are all human. I think people after today should meet and discuss asylum and the human rights violations.”

Omid from Iran

Tweets and Pics from the day

Tom who came over from Wales to support us here in Bristol has put together this brilliant Storify account of the day according to social media, including reactions from general public.