Tag: refugees

We are horrified by the scenes of coordinated violence seen throughout the UK over the weekend targeting refugee, migrant and Muslim communities.

To those in our communities across the UK who have been targeted or are living in fear, we send a message of hope, strength and solidarity. We also send a reminder that our communities have demonstrated time and time again that refugees are welcome here.

To the UK government we send a message that you need to take responsibility and you need to do more to heal communities not divide them, including holding the media to account for their role in inciting division in our nation.

Govan Community Project has signed a letter along with over 240 organisations to call for communities and the country to be brought together for a different way forward- one that’s compassionate and united. This must be a turning point. Find out more about the Fair Begins Here campaign.

Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity at GCP, outlined her message to the new government in our latest newsletter, read below.

“This month we have seen a new UK Government, whose slogan was ‘change’. Here at GCP we really hope that change includes a realistic and compassionate reform to immigration policies, moving away from the hostile environment towards building an inclusive society where everyone’s contributions are recognised, valued and welcomed.

We stand alongside partner agencies we work with in the migration sector and all of our community members to make an appeal to the Prime Minister and his new government to make rebuilding the immigration system one of their big changes. To this end we continue to be part of the Fair Begins Here campaign from Together for Refugees. Polls increasingly show that the majority of the nation see migration and diversity as a huge benefit to our communities and our economy. They agree that the current, dehumanising system is broken beyond repair and does not represent the views of most of the country or how we want other nations to see us.

We were delighted to see the Prime Minister scrapped the inhumane Rwanda scheme on his first days in office. We would now urge the new government to work with and learn from those in the sector, and most importantly, those with lived experience, to co-design a system which is fair and based on humanity. We want to see safe and legal routes for vulnerable individuals and families who seek sanctuary from the social injustices which are happening globally. We would also ask that the government recognises the level of harm and toxicity caused by the use of dehumanising language when talking about migration and takes steps to address this.

“We are way more powerful when we turn to each other and not on each other, when we celebrate our diversity… and together tear down the mighty walls of injustice.” Cynthia McKinney

We ask the government to let people live with choice and dignity, through scrapping policies such as No Recourse to Public Funds, lifting the ban on working for those in the asylum process and scrapping benefit caps which keep families in poverty.

At a local level we bid a fond farewell to our outgoing MP Chris Stephens who stood firmly alongside our community in opposition to hostile immigration policy and thank him for all of his support. We extend a warm welcome to Dr Zubir Ahmed as our new constituency MP in Glasgow South West. We ask Dr Ahmed to stand in solidarity with our community and push his parliamentary colleagues to look beyond the numbers and the reports and truly engage with and listen to people at community level when looking at solutions for the broken immigration system, the ongoing housing crisis and the cost of living crisis.

We live in hope of a new government bringing real, lasting change. A government that believes in cohesion, not division, and we look forward to engaging with our new MP in the near future.”

GCP is launching a series of Community Wellbeing Workshops with a focus on mental health literacy. The first workshop is How to Access NHS Services, including information on registering with a GP, accessing an interpreter for appointments and what to do in an emergency.

The workshop will be led by Francine Bucumi from the Asylum Health Bridging Team. Drawing on her personal and professional experience, Francine will talk about the importance of knowing your rights to medical treatment and how to access mental health services within the NHS. 

She will also talk about the importance of social activity on the impact of mental wellbeing and share her experience of volunteering.

Topics covered in the workshop include:

  • HC2 forms (application and renewal)
  • Access to primary and secondary NHS care
  • Registering with a GP
  • Speaking with a GP about your mental health
  • Accessing interpreters for NHS appointments
  • Asylum seekers rights within the NHS
  • Importance of social activity on wellbeing
  • What to do/ where to go in an emergency

The workshop will take place on Thursday 16 May, 1pm-2.30pm at The Barber Suite, Elderpark Housing Association.

All workshops are open to anyone in the community who would like to learn more about mental wellbeing, but the support focus is on refugees and asylum seekers. 

Workshops are free to attend, light refreshments will be provided, interpreters and translated materials are available upon request.

You can register by sending your name, contact details and language requirement to wellbeing@govancommunityproject.org.uk. 

 

The UK Government has passed the Rwanda Safety Bill, below is a statement from Govan Community Project in response to this:

We are absolutely devastated and disgusted at the passing of the Rwanda Safety Bill in Parliament. This enables our government to completely ignore human rights and break international law. Despite being ruled by the Supreme Court as unsafe, our uncaring government will forcibly remove people seeking asylum, including children, to a country where they are at serious risk of harm and abuse.

Time and time again, research on the views of the public show that this is not what the majority of the UK population wants. Communities up and down the UK provide a welcoming, safe space for refugees and recognise the value diversity brings to our society.

Instead of this cruel, heartless, ineffective and costly scheme, we stand in solidarity together with refugees and our colleagues across the sector and call for a new plan that recognises and respects human rights and treats everyone fairly and kindly.

We call on all of our friends, neighbours and colleagues across the country to continue to call out the UK Government on their inhumane, harmful policies.

Govan Community Project has signed a letter to the Prime Minister, along with over 250 other organisations, to express our outrage at this law. Read the letter here.

Today (Wednesday 15 November) the Supreme Court ruled the UK Government’s Rwanda plan is unlawful.

Govan Community Project is very happy that the correct ruling was made by the Supreme Court on the Rwanda Plan, however we share continued concerns with our colleagues across the sector of the UK Government’s ongoing inhumane treatment of those seeking safety.

We stand with over 100 of our sector colleagues, issuing the following joint statement.

We are relieved today that the Supreme Court has made the right decision and declared that Rwanda is not a safe country for this government to send people needing safety. The Rwanda plan was always cruel and immoral. We urge the Government to immediately abandon such plans with Rwanda or with any other country, and instead protect the rights of people who have come to our country in search of sanctuary.

While we welcome the decision today, we remain concerned by this Government’s overall treatment of people who move to this country. We are alarmed by this Government’s continuous efforts to detain and forcibly send people to countries where they may not know anyone, especially if it puts them at risk of harm and human rights violations. We know that as a community we are compassionate and welcoming, and we need immigration policies that are rooted in that same care, compassion, and respect for human rights. We call on everyone to stand up for the rights of people seeking sanctuary, regardless of where they come from or how they travel here.

Signed (as of noon Wednesday 15 November 2023)

 

  1. Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
  2. BARAC UK
  3. Kalayaan 
  4. Liberty 
  5. Doctors of the World UK
  6. Welsh Refugee Council
  7. Medical Justice
  8. Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
  9. Rainbow Migration
  10. Bail for Immigration Detainees
  11. Just Fair
  12. René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights
  13. After Exploitation
  14. Freedom from Torture
  15. Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS)
  16. North Wales Regional Equality Network
  17. Young Roots
  18. Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU)
  19. Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees (AVID)
  20. Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK)
  21. Humans for Rights Network
  22. Hibiscus Initiatives
  23. Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ)
  24. Scottish Refugee Council
  25. Helen Bamber Foundation
  26. Asylum Aid
  27. The William Gomes Podcast
  28. Routes Collective
  29. New Citizens’ Gateway
  30. CARAS
  31. West London Welcome
  32. Student Action for Refugees (STAR)
  33. Afghan Association Paiwand
  34. RefuAid 
  35. IMIX
  36. Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group
  37. Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN)
  38. Our Second Home
  39. Samphire
  40. Care4Calais
  41. St Augustine’s Centre, Halifax
  42. Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
  43. Good Chance Theatre
  44. The Runnymede Trust
  45. Hope at Home
  46. Voices in Exile
  47. Refugee Support Group (Berkshire)
  48. Ice and Fire Theatre
  49. Waging Peace
  50. Reading City of Sanctuary
  51. forRefugees
  52. Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group
  53. Hastings Supports Refugees
  54. Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
  55. Hastings Community of Sanctuary
  56. Herts for Refugees
  57. City of Sanctuary UK
  58. Bristol Refugee Rights
  59. Da’aro Youth Project
  60. Reunite Families UK
  61. Migrants’ Rights Network
  62. Public Law Project
  63. Praxis
  64. Refugee Action
  65. Together with Migrant Children
  66. JRS UK (Jesuit Refugee Service)
  67. Here for Good
  68. Refugee Council
  69. the3million
  70. Open Rights Group
  71. National AIDS Trust
  72. Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG)
  73. Asylum Matters
  74. HIAS+JCORE
  75. People in Motion
  76. Refugee and Migrant Centre (West Midlands)
  77. RAMFEL
  78. Refugee Women Connect
  79. Voices Network 
  80. Micro Rainbow
  81. LGBT Health and Wellbeing (Scotland)
  82. The VOICES Network 
  83. Mermaids
  84. HOPE not hate
  85. African Rainbow Family
  86. Manchester Migrant Solidarity
  87. Safe Passage
  88. Birmingham City of Sanctuary
  89. Birmingham Schools of Sanctuary
  90. Haringey Welcome
  91. House of Rainbow CIC
  92. Asylum Welcome 
  93. Anti-Slavery International
  94. LGBT Foundation
  95. Migrants Organise
  96. Hope and Aid Direct
  97. Inclusive Mosque Initiative 
  98. Alawia SBI
  99. JustRight Scotland
  100. Kanlungan Filipino Consortium
  101. Time To Be Out
  102. TransActual
  103. Durham Visitors Group
  104. Lewes Organisation in Support of Refugees & Asylum Seekers
  105. RefYouMe
  106. Reclaim The Sea
  107. Big Leaf Foundation
  108. Freedom United
  109. Muslim Council of Britain
  110. Global Link
  111. Lesbian Asylum Support Sheffield
  112. Asylum Support Appeals Project
  113. Gendered Intelligence
  114. Migrant Voice
  115. Stand For All
  116. Migration Justice Project, Law Centre NI
  117. NACCOM
  118. Refugee Legal Support
  119. South Yorkshire Refugee Law and Justice
  120. Choose Love 
  121. Refugee and Migrants Forum of Essex and London
  122. Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network
  123. Nottingham Arimathea Trust
  124. Govan Community Project
  125. Simon Community Scotland
  126. Welcome Churches
  127. The Pickwell Foundation
  128. Refugees at Home
  129. Stonewall
  130. Sahir House
  131. Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC)
  132. Room to Heal
  133. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

 

 

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