Everyone’s talking about immigration right now. Often asylum seekers and refugees get included in this debate, but for the wrong reasons. That’s why we’re asking the media to get the story straight – and give us facts, not fear.
Migration is the ‘hot topic’ of the moment. And one group caught up in the rhetoric is refugees and asylum seekers.
Every year, we help over 10,000 people in the UK who have fled trauma and persecution.
They deserve the facts – and so do you.
Here are three, for starters:
Fact one
We’ve noticed the terms ‘migrant’,‘immigrant’, ‘asylum seeker‘ and ‘refugee’ are often rolled into one. But they’re not the same thing. You’re all busy people, so we’ll keep this quick.
An immigrant has deliberately moved to a new country. It was a choice.
There might be lots of reasons why: love, work, a change of scene. This can work both ways: you may know someone who’s hotfooted it to Australia, in search of sun, big skies and giant prawns.
Some migrants do so to escape terrible poverty and hardship – holding on to the hope of a better future.
But an asylum seeker has left their country suddenly, faced with persecution and lacking any protection.
To expand on that definition, let’s turn to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which is part of international law. It describes an asylum seeker as someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”
It’s completely legal, under these circumstances, to escape and find safety elsewhere.
Once you’ve claimed asylum in another country, you will need to wait while the government looks at your case. They will decide what your legal status will be – a refugee or something different.
Fact two
The number of refugees and asylum seekers goes up and down, depending on what’s happening in the world. For instance, the four-year conflict in Syria has swelled recent figures.
However, the UK has not been ‘flooded’ by those looking for safety. An estimated 64.6 million people currently live in the UK – and only 0.24 per cent are refugees or asylum seekers.
Even within Europe, we are not the scapegoat. In terms of asylum seekers per head, the UK ranks 16th out of 28 EU countries.
Most asylum seekers (86 per cent) flee over their nearest border to a developing country, where they’re likely to live in camps.
Fact three
An asylum seeker has left everything behind: friends, family, photographs, job, home, clothes, favourite views or sentimental gifts… The list goes on.
To do something so drastic, anyone can see that you’d have to be desperate.
But ‘coming over here’ isn’t easy, either. The streets aren’t paved with gold and you’re not exactly welcomed with open arms.
We’ve spoken to people who were lawyers, doctors and teachers in their home countries: all keen to lend their skills here.
Yet 56 per cent of the asylum seekers we see are destitute: penniless and struggling to feed themselves. While they wait for a decision on their asylum claim (which can take years), they live in limbo: unable to work and living off a tiny amount from the government.
Time to act
As you can see, it’s a complex issue – which is why it’s tricky when the media muddles it more.
We don’t want to stop the debate. We just want everyone to have the facts first.
Together, let’s get the story straight.
Sources: Eurostat asylum statistics May 2015, Office for National Statistics, Home Office immigration statistics January to March 2015, UNHCR Global Trends report 2014.
Post updated 3 August 2015
Mar 09, 2015 @ 21:07:43
hello please help me
I am libyan young man with my family facing alot of problems because of the war in libya alot of my friends and relatives are dead and some of my family are sick and i cant afford their medications I left my work as doctor and my home and I am now with my family in egypt..
please help me
Mar 09, 2015 @ 21:10:40
hello please help me
I am libyan young man with my family .. facing alot of problems because of the war in libya alot of my friends and relatives are dead and some of my family are sick and i cant afford their medications I left my work as doctor and my houseand I am now with my family in egypt..
please help me I dont want to go back to libya
Mar 11, 2015 @ 09:40:47
Hello Adel,
Thank you for your message.
If you have any protection concerns, you could contact the nearest UNHCR office for some advice. See here for contact details: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/contact?iso=EGY&submit=Go
You could also get in touch with the Egyptian Red Crescent: http://www.egyptianrc.org/Contact-Us/Headquarters
If they cannot respond to your situation, they may be able to suggest another organisation that can help.
Best wishes,
Sophie
Apr 01, 2015 @ 10:11:04
Hello, I think this article is interesting and it´s very important to make clear diferences. However, there’s something I don’t understand. I really think that a difference should be made so that a person who goes to Australia after sun and king prwns is not identified as the same as a person who moves to another country for economic-political reasons (I think economic and political reasons should go together since it is quite difficult to separate them) and are not refugees or asylum seekers. That would be to make a very important issue invisible. It´s completely different from the simbolic point of view. A Latin American in England is not accepted as an English in Australia. They´re just not seen in the same way and they qre not given the same opportunities. And the reasons of their move are completely different and also their goals. Ok, make visible Refugees and asylum seekers, but not by making invisible what an inmigrant is. Or am I missing something?
Apr 01, 2015 @ 13:10:49
Hi Maria,
Thanks for your comment.
You make a really good point. There are so many reasons why someone migrates to another country. Some do so for a change of scene or adventure, while others leave terrible poverty behind and are desperately searching for jobs.
Unfortunately, we don’t have scope to go into all these reasons here. We’re focusing on asylum seekers and refugees, as these are the people we work with around the UK. They tend to be the ones who are destitute and need extra support from us. But anyone who’s vulnerable, and in need, can access our services – no matter their background or situation. You can read about all these services here.
Best wishes,
Sophie
Apr 07, 2015 @ 13:34:31
I moved with my immediate family from England to Scotland and ended up moving back to England because we were homesick, too far away from family and friends, so when I think of refugees arriving with nothing, except fear and the clothes they stand up in, I cannot imagine receiving a hostile reception from people who do not even speak my language, treated with suspicion having just escaped a possible living hell and being told I have to go back. Too many people have no compassion and empathy.
Apr 15, 2015 @ 18:37:17
I often get in to conversations with people about immigration / asylum seekers / refugees, and when I say that I’ve read that, based on the figures, there are a lot less people coming to the UK than is perceived, the response I often get is “You can’t say that – the government have openly admitted that they don’t know how many illegal immigrants are here. The figures they quote are inaccurate.”
How would you respond to that?
Apr 17, 2015 @ 11:39:09
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your comment and a really good question.
It’s worth stressing that the numbers we cite aren’t around immigrants, but asylum seekers – who have to register in a country in order to go through the process of becoming a refugee (therefore they have to be ‘counted’). There’s actually no such thing as an ‘illegal asylum seeker’, so it is important to make the distinction between the asylum process and immigration more generally. The legal ins and outs of this can be a bit tricky, but we’ve tried to sum it all up in this blog.
In terms of someone saying ‘we don’t know how many illegal immigrants there are’, all this means is that, actually, no-one can say if there are ‘loads’ or even none at all. By definition, these are people who enter the UK and don’t register with the authorities, so any comment on numbers is speculation and not backed up by quantified evidence. What we can say is that it is not in the best interests for people to live under the radar like this, if they intend to claim asylum. Someone that does this will receive zero state support. They cannot try to get refugee status – so they can never properly build a life here. This is not a good prospect for anyone.
If they are talking about failed asylum seekers who go ‘missing’, it is worth bearing in mind that figures on this do not all refer to asylum seekers but include applications to work, marry or study. Plus, some asylum seekers will have already left and others will now have permission to stay. The situation is ever-changing. It’s an interesting, complex issue though and we may try to ‘Get the story straight’ on this one in the future.
Lastly, where possible, we cite UN figures, which are widely recognised as the most accurate and up to date.
Hope all that helps.
Best wishes,
Sophie
Apr 24, 2015 @ 13:19:21
Hi Sophie. Thank you for the chance to explore many peoples’ current concerns. I think it is important for many of to understand Asylum seekers point of view given they’re fleeing from someone or something who is threatening their way of life. it is lucky or a blessing that some people feel safe in their own homes and countries and it is therefore difficult to understand what it must be like for others. It is easier to assume that everyone who is fleeing their homes will somehow have brought this upon themselves. However we need to be better informed if we wish to get involved in such delicate debates.
Many thanks
Esmeralda
May 13, 2015 @ 13:53:50
Both asylum seekers and economic migrants have committed some terrible crimes while living at the expense of their chosen destination country…what a way to repay the generosity shown by the host country.
We in the west are now heartily sick of both the hand wringing, bleeding heart advocates of mass migration and the relentless tide of unwanted and unwelcome people from Africa. We have poured billions into Africa and yet they still sit under trees swatting flies while their little girls walk for 2 hours to fetch dirty water from a filthy hole in the ground. Why can’t their corrupt, aid money grabbing governments at least provide clean running water?
Time for Africans to man up and stand on their own 2 feet.
Aug 03, 2015 @ 12:57:52
“We in the west are now heartily sick…”
Please don’t assume that everyone is as heartless as you – I’m from the West and you don’t speak for me, in fact I’m disgusted by your comments.
Sep 19, 2015 @ 21:32:42
I am also sick of the do gooders while there are no doubt genuine refugees we are swamped with illegal immigrants and untill these are dealt with people will not want to tolerate any more burden on the population. Thanks to immigration and non intergration there are now no go areas in many of Europes major Countries, girls and women being raped by sick foreign cultures who treat women as second class citizens. No thanks I dont want this in my backyard.
May 14, 2015 @ 10:29:31
Hi Laura,
Thank you for your comment.
We can only speak on behalf of the British Red Cross, but we are not stepping into a debate about mass migration. Through these blogs and reports, we want to focus on asylum seekers – people who have been forced to escape life-threatening situations. Doing so is completely legal. The UN drew up some international laws on this after the horrors of the Second World War, but people still have to prove they have a well-founded fear of persecution.
Currently, over half of the world’s refugees are from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. Only Somalia is an African state.
Secondly, it is worth stressing that there is no link between asylum and the increased rate of crime in a host country.
In terms of economic migrants, many flee terrible hardship. They may have to make that – in some cases, deadly – choice to leave in search of a better life, due to desperate circumstances that it is hard to imagine. That is why we are helping people overseas, trapped in conflicts or poverty. We are trying to find long-term solutions that will give people some power over their own lives, so they perhaps don’t have to make such a hard choice in the first place.
There are many reasons why some parts of the world still experience water insecurity – from climate change, natural disasters, pollutants and political instability. But drinking water is the most basic need of all. The Red Cross is committed to supporting initiatives that establish larger-scale, longer-term sustainable water and sanitation programmes for some of the most vulnerable people in crisis. There is a long way to go, with many still needing clean water. However, over the last 10 years, we have increased access to safe water and sanitation for more than 15 million people worldwide. See here for more information on these programmes.
Best wishes,
Sophie
May 21, 2015 @ 23:05:55
There seems to be a struggle here to define and separate migrant workers and economic migrants from refugees coming from terrible situations.
The genuine refugee group should be welcomed and given sanctuary without hesitation, if possible. That’s only human. They are not coming from choice but from desperation. Most people want to live in the sort of country and society that will help them.
If they are resented and feared, its surely because of the ongoing economic struggles in Britain where British people lose jobs and homes to economic refugees and until quite recently, no-one was listening and there was no outlet for frustration so the antipathy built up.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between economic migrants and refugees – obviously, refugees don’t go around with a label on their backs saying ‘I am a refugee, I didn’t choose to be here but thank you for taking me in’. So its all done on trust. Sometimes its hard to keep trusting.
May 31, 2015 @ 17:58:46
The asylum seeking under 18,s where I work in West Sussex get £35 a day! This is £28 per day in free housing, Internet access, elec, gas etc and £7 per day for food as well as bursary money of around £100 per week if they attend college!
Where do you get £5 a day from?
Jun 03, 2015 @ 12:44:46
Hello, all the information on cash support for asylum seekers can be found on the Home Office website: https://www.gov.uk/asylum-support/what-youll-get.
Best, Sophie
Jul 09, 2015 @ 10:34:07
I think you answered your own question Seainland- they are under 18. They may have no family to rely on for comfort, food, sanitation, safe housing. Would you want your children to be expected to live off £5 to cover ALL basic needs?
Sep 19, 2015 @ 21:36:18
There are plenty of hard working English people who have nothing after working a full week and paying all the bills ans still find themselves in debt, wake up to the real world.
Jul 28, 2015 @ 02:43:24
hello, am an asylum seeker with my 2children here in the UK but I have been refused since 2013. My problem is i have a Son in Africa and that boy has gone through hail as am talking to you he has gone missing because of the way they have been treating him may be can you pls help in looking for him please? And is there anywhere he can join me and his 2youger once here as I have no papers to bring him. Please help me my poor son is missing in Nigeria.
Aug 17, 2016 @ 15:49:00
Five more
#1 The UK accepts very few migrants because it doesn’t border any countries at war, persecuting their people or suffering natural disaster.
2# The UK accepts those who are in genuine need from real camps bordering countries at war/persecuting/of natural disaster
3# The red cross help those who decide when in france who decide not to claim asylum and illegally camp trying to access the UK, these people have rejected claiming asylum in up to 6 countries that they have crossed and are therefore classed as illegal immigrants as they are simply on a trip and not fleeing.
4# Neither Germany, Belgium, Italy or Spain are at war meaning those crossing borders to France are not Refugees.
5# There are innocent people who need help in genuine refugee camps who have lost everyting
Dec 01, 2016 @ 21:50:34
Alex, the problem with your approach is that it just accepts the status quo – ‘people should go to neighbouring countries, live in camps and apply for asylum from there’, generally the vast majority of asylum seekers do exactly that. But frankly I don’t blame the small percentage that travel elsewhere for wanting something better than a tent in a camp. The fact that international law allows governments, and people like you to dismiss them as migrants is a sad indictment of how little humanity there seems to be at the moment. It doesn’t change the reality which is that they are leaving countries where they are persecuted, or at risk from war. If that was you and you wanted the best for you and your family would you care about that kind of distinction? Given the choice of possibly spending twenty years or more in a camp, or taking control and striding out to (hopefully) something better, I know what I would try for. That doesn’t even take into account the affect of millions of refugees arriving in countries that do border war zones, we take such a tiny percentage and yet they are asked to take hundreds of thousands/possibly millions. And lastly I would say that aside from any humanitarian considerations (which should be overriding), we have an obligation to those people displaced by wars in which we have a hand (and we normally have our fingers in most of these pies).
Jan 29, 2019 @ 11:51:46
Dear Sirs,
We offer a legal aid service for asylum applicants so if the need ever arises please do not hesitate in contacting our office. we are also willing to travel to see the clients should the need arise.