Oxford: A place Refugees can call Home - by Chloe Whitehead
“I’m a refugee. Please help me”. A desperate plea, written in a stark black scrawl on a tiny piece of white card, held by a small woman in traditional Muslim dress. Walking down Oxford’s high street, I have been stopped multiple times by this same woman, begging for change to buy her young children food and nappies in order to survive. She is neither forceful nor intrusive, but humble and apologetic, and as I truthfully confess I have no money to give her she merely nods quietly, smiles, and continues down the street. Some weeks later, after the third time I’d been stopped by her (and a similar interaction ensued), I paused and watched her progress slowly up the street, appealing to other passers-by. Whether she received the relief she sought for her and her children I don’t know, as I haven’t seen her in a number of weeks. Yet I cannot forget the jolt I felt at being shown that little piece of card, its message so intrinsically human. Whilst I’m obviously aware of the refugee crisis sweeping around the globe, it rarely transcends the ink of the newspaper headline or the pixels of a television screen, and especially in the self-contained universe of Oxford can seem so utterly far removed from our daily realities. Yet it is real, it is present, and it demands our attention.
According to the BBC, more than one million refugees and migrants crossed over European borders in 2015. Most are thought to originate from Syria, forced to flee from the violent civil war raging across the country since early 2011. Yet continuing violence in Afghanistan, Iraq and African countries such as Eritrea means that refugees of diverse nationalities are continually forced to make treacherous journeys across borders to safety. Worldwide, it is estimated that 28 million children have been forced to flee from their homes due to violent conflict. And these figures only represent the known, recorded number of refugees; it is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands more displaced people that the authorities are simply unaware of.
Back in the summer of 2015, this received considerable media attention and caused notable controversy as European nations began worrying how they would accommodate these asylum seekers whilst they themselves were still recovering from the 2008 financial crash. Greece was one nation witnessing large amounts of refugees within its borders (57,042 as of June 2016) that was also particularly affected by the economic slump, as its debts to the European Union totalled nearly €300 billion in February 2015. As a result, other European nations offered to relocate up to 106,000 of the refugees situated in Greece and Italy (such as Germany, pledging to relocate 25,000), out of a total of 160,000 across all European nations hosting refugees. However as of September 2017, only 29,000 had been relocated. The UK declined to take part in this particular scheme and instead implemented the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (discussed in further detail below).
Yet the controversy surrounding this policy was only intensified by Britain’s Brexit campaign and referendum in June 2016. The campaign revealed heightened anxieties over job security and the condition of the welfare state and, as a report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance discovered, lead to increased instances of xenophobia around the country. However, recently these discussions appear to have been replaced by domestic and transatlantic political issues in the popular media. The ongoing refugee crisis - in September 2017 Greece was still receiving over 200 refugees every day, 40% of them children - and the destructive violence causing it seem to have been relegated from the front pages. But the question still remains: what has happened to these people?
Many of the refugees from Syria and other Arabic and African countries seek Europe as their safe haven. However the destinations they seek – such as the UK or Germany for example – are not the first countries they reach. As such, countries bordering warring nations, such as Turkey, receive the highest number of refugees (Turkey is estimated to have over 3.7 million), putting strain on their national resources. Additionally, as it is the country most refugees first reach when crossing the sea to Europe, Greece also has nearly 60,000 refugees and migrants, though in both cases most asylum seekers are first placed in various overcrowded, temporary camps whilst the government processes their applications or attempts to relocate them within other European and EU nations. Thus the UK has been called upon to take in their ‘fair share’ of refugees to rehome and assimilate into British life, a national policy known as the Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme. However, the progress of this proposal has been scantily reported on, so just how many refugee families and vulnerable children have been rehoused in the UK, and how are the government and local councils ensuring their welfare? In September 2015, former Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to take 20,000 Syrian refugees from the makeshift camps bordering the warring nation. However, a report compiled by Oxfam claims that by the end of 2016, the UK had only welcomed 18% of the number of refugees it should have in proportion to the size of its economy. Statistics released by the Home Office in May 2016 revealed that only 1602 refugees had so far been rehoused under the Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme. Nonetheless, the national progress of the scheme may be improved by a new Bill currently passing through Parliament: the ‘Refugees Family Reunion Bill’. Sponsored by Baroness Hamwee, the Liberal Democrats spokesperson for immigration in the House of Lords, the Bill aims to allow the family members of refugees to enter or remain in the UK, as well as permitting refugees with family members that are British citizens to enter or remain in the country. It also wishes to ‘provide for legal aid to be made available for refugee family reunion cases’, an exceedingly important clause for any unaccompanied children wishing to reunite with their families, as they often have no access to legal representation and cannot be expected to represent themselves in a foreign legal system. Currently the Bill is in the ‘Committee Stage’ in the House of Lords, after receiving a Second Reading on the 15th December 2017, and must still pass through the House of Commons before receiving Royal Assent and becoming law. As previously mentioned, the tensions surrounding immigration aroused by the Brexit referendum may make the passage of this Bill particularly controversial, considering the fact that many ‘Leave’ voters - almost ¾ - wished to prevent further entries into the country (outlined by the British Social Attitudes Surveys’ findings, published in 2017). This Bill largely focuses on welcoming vulnerable and dependent family members - such as children or grandchildren under 18 - into the country, which would significantly increase the current 350 person limit placed on the number of unaccompanied child migrants allowed to reside in the UK. Whatever the progress of this Bill nationally, it seems that on a local level in Oxfordshire, there have already been some successful instances of refugee families relocated to safety. Oxford City Council’s website declares that as part of the ‘Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme’ and the ‘Vulnerable Children Relocation Scheme’, it has so far “successfully relocated 20 vulnerable refugee families; this includes 43 adults and 45 children”. The Council’s City Executive Board also met on Wednesday 20th December 2017 to discuss proposals to welcome a further 10 more families in 2018. As Oxford was once again (in February 2017) declared the most unaffordable place to live in the UK, it is vital that the city’s council and local charities are engaged with such national programmes to ensure that relocated families receive both financial and social assistance, as well as help integrating into the local community.
Asylum Welcome and Open Door Oxford are just some of the wonderful local charities supporting this integration. Asylum Welcome supports ‘asylum seekers, refugees and detainees who have fled persecution and danger in their own countries and seek refuge in Oxford and Oxfordshire’, providing a remarkable range of services such as food banks, legal support and English language classes for those newly arrived in the country. The organisation also comprises a Youth Service, offering advice for unaccompanied child and young adult refugees between 13 and 23 years of age, as well as a Youth Club for those aged between 15 and 21. Youth Clubs such as this are vital for the wellbeing of young refugees, as many are bewildered and traumatised by their long journey. Each year Asylum Welcome supports around 80 unaccompanied young refugees, and such organisations ensure that they can receive advice on their education and employment prospects as well as having time to have fun and relax with films, video games and sports.
Open Door Oxford is a small, local charity that provides a free lunch for refugees and asylum seekers each Thursday as well as community-based recreational activities and support with job applications and education. Both these organisations rely on volunteers and donations to continue their incredible work, so please do – whether you’re a student, academic, or work and live locally - enrich their excellent and essential contributions to the integration of refugees in Oxfordshire.
Students are particularly encouraged to get involved with STAR – Student Action for Refugees – which is a national organisation (boasting 27,000 members across numerous University Student Unions) dedicated to helping refugees rebuild their lives in the UK. One of their current national campaigns is to ensure young refugees have equal access to UK universities, an essential aspect of the integration process and important for ensuring child refugees receive the best possible chances to access their chosen careers. Oxford University has its own branch of STAR, and becoming a member of it would be a brilliant way to support the work of the council and local charities.
Worldwide, there are currently over 65 million displaced people seeking safety, forced from their homes by ‘conflict and persecution’. Over half of these are children. Though this unprecedented number seems far removed from day to day life here in Oxford, it is a harsh reality that we should all take care to combat. In a strange way, I hope I do see the woman with the small piece of white card again. I hope I see her now that I can tell her which organisations are here to help her and her children, and that she’s not being neglected. I’m sure we’re all guilty of conveniently ignoring the global crises raging around us, and of brushing past people on the street desperately appealing for help. But as human beings with the same needs, hopes and fears as these struggling people, we have a duty to help in whatever way we can. Smile at the woman holding the little piece of card, and ensure she knows we want to – and will – help her and her children build a better life.
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