Blog

10/01/2020

Frances Gallagher, Justice and Peace Campaigns officer, reflects on her first visit inside Dungavel immigration detention centre

I have to admit I was quite nervous and my question to Margaret as we drove to Dungavel to meet with the centre manager and deliver the Justice and Peace Scotland Christmas cards for those detained was “What’s it like inside, Margaret?”

Margaret Donnelly has protested at the existence of Dungavel as an immigration detention centre since it opened nearly 20 years ago and nothing fazes her, so it was a comfort to me that Margaret was taking me under her wing for what was my first visit inside a prison.

When we arrived, Margaret pressed the buzzer and spoke to the person on the other end. After a time, the first gate was automatically opened and we were instructed to step into a long narrow cage and await the second gate being opened. It probably wasn’t that long before that second gate did open, but it felt like forever. I was anxious and didn’t want to do or say anything “wrong” – although I’m not sure now, looking back on it, how rational I was being and why I would think that delivering Christmas cards could somehow get me into trouble? I think I was acutely aware of my freedom / liberty at that point and the thought, no matter how irrational it was, of losing it was scary.

The guard who let us through that second gate and into the grounds didn’t seem friendly. There was nothing wrong with anything he said or did but I felt that he was hostile to our presence. We, after all, were the people who stood outside campaigning for the closure of his workplace.

Once inside the reception area, staff were friendly. We chatted briefly and they told us about local carol singers who were coming in later that night to perform a concert for everyone. They also told us that we had to leave all keys and phones with them. They “suggested” we leave our bags with everything in them at reception. We didn’t object.

Would I leave my bag, purse etc., with a stranger in any other scenario? I felt disarmed. As for most women, my life is in my bag: all my identification, bank cards, keys and personal effects. No matter what situation I’m in, I can usually delve into my bag and pull out something useful - a tissue, a carrier bag, a pen, my phone with my diary on it. Not today.

This was a business meeting but there was no doubt who was in charge.

Our meeting went well and there was definitely an effort to bridge our opposing positions from both sides. We talked about what we can do to support those detained and did come away with a sense of some shared common ground. We would never agree that immigration detention is the correct way to treat those seeking sanctuary in Scotland. But until there is a change in the law and community alternatives to imprisonment for asylum seekers are adopted, then we must work together to ensure the best conditions for those who have committed no crime yet are detained in prison.

At the same time, we have to put all our efforts into campaigning for an end to the practice of immigration detention.

27/12/2019

A Glasgow Nativity

A personal view from Cath McGee, Refugee Survival Trust, Manager of the Destitute Asylum Seeker Service (DASS)

Joy to the World! That’s the Christmas message, but winter in Scotland doesn’t always feel joyful. While so many of us rush around buying gifts for our parents, siblings and children, for those separated from loved ones it must be very hard to bear – even more so when there is no family around you to share and celebrate the birth of your baby.

Winter is hard for all of us, but it’s particularly difficult for women seeking asylum in Scotland who are caring for a new born baby or just about to give birth. These young women face challenges much greater than the Scottish weather: poor living conditions, a tiny income to support themselves and their baby, the anxiety of not knowing what happened to family left behind and uncertainty over their future.

I heard a chilling tale from one young woman – I’m calling her ‘Mary’ - about her experience as a new mother that wouldn’t sound out of place in one of Charles Dickens’ Victorian novels.

Mary became homeless after her asylum claim was refused and although she was newly pregnant, she was not entitled to any benefits or Home Office support. She ‘sofa surfed’ with friends and acquaintances and when she had no place to stay, she found warmth and safety in the waiting rooms of some of Glasgow’s A&E departments.

Three months into her pregnancy, a local charity, Refugee Survival Trust, helped Mary with temporary accommodation until she moved back into a Home Office flat just before her daughter was born. When she returned home from hospital, the boiler broke - leaving Mary with no hot water. Later, when carrying her daughter and shopping upstairs to her second floor flat, someone stole the baby buggy. Mary and her baby relied on support from charities that provided her with extra food, toiletries and a 10-week bus pass, helping her get out and about during those difficult first weeks of motherhood.

She currently lives with her daughter in a tiny, ground floor flat. There’s damp in the cupboards, no heating in the bedroom and the washing machine is broken. Her future is still uncertain.

I felt angry and ashamed listening to Mary’s story, knowing that although shocking, other asylum seeker mothers are facing similar challenges and getting by with minimal support.

And what does Mary think about her tumultuous year? Is she angry or resentful about what happened to her?

“No,” she says. “Although I have difficulties and problems, I’m so joyful because my baby will soon be one year old and I’m just so happy. I just think about moving on, going forward.”

Mary’s story has taught me that even in the most difficult and uncertain moments of life, the birth of a child can bring joy and hope. I wish Mary and her baby a safe and peaceful Christmas.

Refugee Survival Trust's Christmas appeal is for our ‘Bumps to Babies’ bus pass scheme for women seeking asylum in Scotland who are pregnant or are new mothers. If you would like to make a donation, please click on the link. Thank you!
https://localgiving.org/appeal/Bumps2Babies/

20/12/2019

Paying the Price for Immigration to the UK

Robert Swinfen reflects on the price of the ‘privilege’ of coming to the UK, dispelling some myths about people seeking to live in the UK.

Most people don’t realise that it is not only people applying to come to the UK who have to pay fees to the Home Office. A significant number of people who are already in the country legally are subject to what I believe is an increasingly unreasonable fee regime.

This affects anyone who has “limited leave to remain”. They must renew their legal status, often as frequently as every 2.5 years. As well as the Home Office fee they have to pay the NHS surcharge of £400 per person per year. The political justification for the surcharge is that those subject to it have not “contributed” – but they are already here paying tax like everyone else. For a family with three children that’s more than £10,000 every 30 months, or £4,000 a year for ten years, until they have been here long enough to apply for “indefinite leave to remain”.

Many fees have risen tenfold in the last decade. The Home Office argues that, this way, migrants can fund the entire borders and immigration system without the need for British taxpayer contributions. But the government publishes the actual cost to the Home Office of processing of each type of application, so we know there’s a profit from each fee. For ‘Leave To Remain’, the profit is £900, for ‘Indefinite Leave’ it is £2,000.

A decade ago, fees were much more affordable and our immigration system was no less functional. Other European countries have much lower fees. But the Home Office has rejected even the smallest concessions to fairness suggested in an April 2019 report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on the Home Office's politics and practices on immigration fees.

Most people in this situation are already poor, and many are under “no recourse to public funds” conditions that mean they can’t access benefits. They end up with several jobs to feed and house their families while also saving for these huge fees. Many parents have to choose between feeding their children and maintaining their right to stay. Others are never able to claim their rights - priced out of citizenship, often priced out of legal status. Most in this situation are women, especially BAME women.

Many families suffer mental and physical health problems as a direct result of the financial pressure. Thousands of couples and families are being kept apart by the extortionate costs. The stress puts severe and lasting strain on relationships.

One lady, who must pay to renew her legal status every two and a half years, says: “We are living below the poverty line in a developed nation while trying to save money for the home office fees, but still never afford to meet the target. Everyone I have spoken to had to borrow money to pay or delayed to pay the fees for the home office.”

My question to the new government’s Home Office is - how about a fair system that cares for people, not profit?

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