campaigns > action matters!
Welcome to the final ACTION MATTERS of 2008!
We'd like you to take one last important action before you put up your feet or put on your dancing shoes for the festive season.
Also in Action Matters:
How we made a difference in 2008
Ask for an asylum system to be proud of
'Tis the season of goodwill so we thought we’d ask you to take part in one last important action this year to help asylum seekers in the UK.
Take action - email your MP now!
We’re working with Church Action on Poverty and asking all of our supporters to write to your local MP or Conservative candidate, making them aware of a new report by the Centre for Social Justice (a think-tank headed by Conservative MP, Iain Duncan Smith). The report: Asylum Matters: Restoring Trust in the UK Asylum System points out that 'Thousands of applicants face destitution over Christmas' and suggests ways of creating a more credible and humane asylum system – exactly what we want!
With a general election looming next year it’s vital we get Conservative MPs and prospective candidates to understand that the current asylum system is not working and a more humane one must be created. This is a great opportunity to get their commitment using their own research.
Download 'Asylum Matters' Executive Summary
Take action - email your MP now!
NB: If you don’t have a Conservative MP, it would be great if you could also email your Conservative candidate. Find out who the Conservative parliamentary candidate is in your constituency here. Then cut and paste this letter into an email to them.
Thank you!
How you made a difference in 2008
Your campaign actions really do make a difference and this year we’ve really ratcheted up our activities to make the government consider the impacts of their policies for refused asylum seekers.
Thank you to all of you who’ve responded to our campaign actions. And for anyone who’s a new campaigner – thanks for joining us – here’s a taster of what we achieved in 2008.
- In Jan we started campaigning online: the first action was a letter to the News of the World editor, responding to an unacceptable headline ‘Scum and get it’ about asylum seekers. Keeping an eye on media distortions and inaccuracies are vital – many thanks to all of you who made your speedy responses.
- In Feb you helped us get the government talking. More than 1,000 campaigners wrote
a ‘Dear Jacqui and David’ action to Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary and David Miliband, Foreign Secretary asking them to have ‘joined up thinking’ about sending asylum seekers back to Zimbabwe and Darfur on the one hand, and decrying the atrocities happening in those countries on the other.
- In March, the Home Office agreed to meet with us and the Still Human Still Here coalition to discuss alternatives to destitution.
- Also in March Refugee Action supported Women for Refugee Women's showing of Motherland – a performance at the Young Vic theatre of real testimonies of asylum seeking mothers in the UK. At the event 623 people signed our joint Mother's Day card calling for asylum seeking women to get a fair hearing, along with well-known figures such as Juliet Stevenson, Yasmin Alibhai Brown, Helena Kennedy, Corin Redgrave, and Michael Morpurgo .
During Refugee Week in June thousands of you signed ‘Welcome to Britain’ cards. They will be made into an exhibition next year and used at public events.
- In July 700 campaigners emailed or signed a letter to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, asking her to implement recommendations of the Independent Asylum Commission by providing a more humane alternative to destitution at the end of the asylum process. You stated loud and clear that you think it is wrong of the government to force people into destitution in an effort to make them return to situations of war or endemic human rights abuse.
- After all our campaigning efforts, in September, Refugee Action secured a meeting with Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, who took up our proposal to pilot an Integrated Case Management model for asylum seekers. This is a system whe
re every asylum seeker will have a dedicated case worker supporting them from the beginning to the end of their asylum claim. This will also provide refused asylum seekers with information to allow them to make genuine and informed decisions about voluntary return – a big improved step for many of our clients. - Along with other refugee agencies, we have been conducting quarterly destitution monitoring, which means we have a snapshot of destitution over the entire year to use in our campaigning to MPs and government.
- Throughout the year we’ve been working with the Still Human Still Here coalition of agencies concerned about destitution among refused asylum seekers. We facilitated research which enabled us to come up with clear policy proposals to government for expanding protection criteria. MPs have told us this is exactly the type of work that helps them call for changes in policy.
- Thanks to all of you who have donated to our campaign enabling us to fund this type of essential work. If you’re a regular supporter you’ll have received a mailing from us in the last few weeks asking for your support to help us continue all of this important work. All of your donations really do make a difference.
- If you can make one last gift this year, it will help us continue this vital lobbying for a more humane and efficient asylum system.
- To donate, please go to our Support pages.
Fab gifts in the RAP shop:
We are very sad to say that our wonderfully successful Refugee Awareness Project has come to a close this December, at the end of its three-year funding. Congratulations to all staff and volunteers who've been involved. It was nominated for various awards and the feedback from people who've received awareness-raising talks and workshops or attended our events has been excellent over the years.
However, its excellent website with fantastic resources for anyone wanting to educate themselves or others, is still live. And its online shop has some wonderful t-shirts, bags and quirky pens and badges. They’ve proved really popular with people of all ages. Have a peak.
Wishing you a fantastic festive break and a happy New Year!
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