“Something worth dreaming about”: an open letter to the Home Secretary
Posted by IMIX on October 31, 2022More than 120 charities and organisations sign an open letter to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman appealing for an asylum system that is effective, compassionate and protects the most vulnerable members of society.
Credit: Tynemouth Together With Refugees
Dear Home Secretary,
In your role, you hold the lives of many people in your hands. Iranian women pursued by police because they dared to share an opinion. Afghan activists who risked everything to work with our government. Teenagers fleeing brutal military dictatorships because they do not want to fire on their fellow citizens. Girls who were forced into being used as sex slaves. Parents who escaped war zones with their children in their arms.
For many years, the Home Office’s bureaucratic backlog and failure to plan has let these people down. Now, you have the power to change things.
But, Home Secretary, when you talk of “safe and legal routes”, you must be aware that it is impossible to ask refugees to come exclusively through such a path when even Afghan interpreters who are eligible for one of our few existing schemes remain in hiding from the Taliban.
When you talk of “illegal migrants”, you must be aware that the top nationalities of people making dangerous journeys include Afghanistan, Eritrea and Syria, and that at least 97% of asylum claims made by people from these countries are successful.
When you question the existence of “modern slavery”, you must be aware that you are dismantling your own party’s proud and internationally-recognised achievement in protecting the survivors of trafficking.
And when you complain about the cost of housing asylum seekers, you must be aware that while people seeking safety did not choose to leave their homelands, they are willing to work and keen to contribute, if only the law permitted them.
You have referred to this country’s proud history of offering sanctuary. So, we ask you to make this happen with a fair, kind and effective system for refugees. Deal with the backlog in asylum cases, create safe routes, respect international law, and the UN Convention on Refugees, and give refugees a fair hearing, however they get here. Then you would have really done something worth dreaming about.
Yours sincerely,
| Josie Naughton, CEO and Co-Founder, Choose Love |
| Sian Summers-Rees, Chief officer, City of Sanctuary UK |
| Enver Solomon, CEO, Refugee Council |
| Sabir Zazai, Chief Executive, Scottish Refugee Council |
| Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action |
| Tanja Pagnuco, Programme Manager, ENO |
| Simon Tyler, Executive Director, Doctors of The World UK |
| Gwen Hines, Chief Executive, Save the Children |
| Sonya Sceats, CEO, Freedom from Torture |
| Neal Heard, Co-CEO, Abigail Housing |
| Sophie Wickham, Director, Action for Refugees In Lewisham |
| Aderonke Apata, Founder and CEO, African Rainbow Family and Founder and Chair, Manchester Migrant Solidarity |
| Zarlasht Halaimzai, Founder and CEO, Amna Refugee Healing Network |
| Bobby Lloyd, CEO, Art Refuge |
| Ewan Roberts, Manager, Asylum Link Merseyside |
| Emma Birks, Campaigns Manager, Asylum Matters |
| Mark Goldring, Director, Asylum Welcome |
| Zita Holbourne, National Chair, BARAC UK |
| Barbara forbes, Coordinator, Birmingham Schools of Sanctuary |
| Will Sutcliffe, Chair, Bradford City of Sanctuary |
| Beth Wilson, CEO, Bristol Refugee Rights |
| Yvonne Rendell, Chair, Bromsgrove and Redditch Welcome Refugees |
| Mary Stretch, CEO, Calais Light |
| Marissa Green, Chair of Trustees, Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group |
| Catharine Walston, Trustee, Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign |
| Chris Hutchings, Composer, Choirs Against Racism |
| Pete Moorey, Head of Campaigns and UK Advocacy, Christian Aid |
| Katherine Bolton, Co-Founder, Community Welcome CIC |
| Dorothy Read, Chair, Conversation Club Leeds |
| Ruth Long, Project Coordinator, Derby Refugee Forum |
| Steve Cooke, Chair, Derbyshire Refugee Solidarity |
| Rita Chadha, Co-Director, Do Good Better |
| Elaine Beard, Co-Director, Dodgy Clutch Staged Presentations |
| Simon Barrow, Director, Ekklesia |
| Stephanie Habib, Project Development Manager, English for Action London |
| Valerie Jeffries, Trustee, Faversham and Villages Refugee Solidarity Group |
| Lewis Garland, Chair and Founder, Fences and Frontiers |
| Steve Newman, Chair, FODI (Friends of The Drop In, Sunderland) |
| Aryan Sanghrajka, Founder and Managing Director, Forced to Flee |
| Amber Bauer, CEO, ForRefugees |
| Joanna Ewart-James, Executive Director, Freedom United |
| Anna Pincus, Director, Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group |
| Gisela Renolds, Executive Director, Global Link |
| Naomi Webb, Executive Director, Good Chance Theatre |
| Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity, Govan Community Project |
| Caroline Burnett, Founder and CEO, Guildford Refugee Aid |
| Amreet Johal, Development Coordinator, Haringey Migrant Support Centre |
| Kerry Smith, Chief Executive, Helen Bamber Foundation |
| Angus Clark, CEO, Herts for Refugees |
| Mark Lewis, Support Worker, Hoops and Loops Wales |
| Roger Wilson, Trustee, Hope and Aid Direct |
| Phil Davis, Director, Hope Projects |
| Jenni Regan, CEO, IMIX |
| Sarah Teather, Director, Jesuit Refugee Service UK |
| Jill Kent, Chair, Justice and Peace Scotland |
| Aaron Barbour, CEO, Katherine Low Settlement |
| Gisela Valle, Director, Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) |
| Jenny Willison, Secretary, Leeds Destitute Asylum-Seekers Support |
| Pete Hobson, Chair, Leicester City of Sanctuary |
| Jamie Balfour-Paul, Founder and Performing Magician, Magic for Smiles |
| Nadia Abdo, Chair of Trustees, Malvern Green Space |
| Hilary Travis, Director, Mental Health Counts |
| Nazek Ramadan, Executive Director, Migrant Voice |
| Lis Murphy, Creative Director, Music Action International |
| Sarah Wilson, Chair, Penrith and Eden Refugee Network |
| Kirsty Fraser, Co-Founder and Trustee, People In Motion |
| Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Praxis |
| Dawn B Judd, Chairperson, Preston City of Sanctuary |
| Leila Zadeh, Executive Director, Rainbow Migration |
| Sophia Singer, Chair, Red Leicester Choir |
| Anna Jones, CEO and Co-Founder, RefuAid |
| Sarah Fenby Dixon, Trustee, Refugee Aid Network |
| Nathan Sperry, Operations Manager, Refugee and Migrant forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) |
| Lorri Dawson, Chair of Trustees, Refugee and Migrant Network Sutton |
| Becky Snaith, Chair, Refugee Compassion |
| Efi Stathopoulou, Programmes Manager, Refugee Legal Support (RLS) |
| Paul Hutchings, Chief Executive, Refugee Support Europe |
| Nick Harborne, CEO, Refugee Support Group, Berkshire |
| Alison Moore, CEO, Refugee Women Connect |
| Mandy Littlewood, Director, Refugees and Mentors CIC |
| Lauren Scott, Executive Director, Refugees at Home |
| Emma Naysmith, Founder and Volunteer Coordinator, RefYouMe |
| Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive-Director, René Cassin, The Jewish Voice for Human Rights |
| Jeremy Thompson, Manager, Restore – A Project of Birmingham Churches Together |
| Nicola David, Chair, Ripon City of Sanctuary |
| Beth Gardiner-Smith, CEO, Safe Passage International |
| Indre Lechtimiakyte, Legal and Migrant Support Manager, Samphire |
| Aloysius Ssali, Founder and Director, Say it Loud Club |
| Laura Cooper, Ambassador for Asylum Seekers and Refugees, Scarborough Friends of Refugees |
| Liz Morgan, Trustee/Treasurer, Side By Side Refugees |
| Charles Dobson, Chairman, Skipton Refugee Support Group |
| Mark Courtice, Chair, Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group |
| Liz Needham, Chair of Trustees, St Albans for Refugees |
| Abigail Martin, Manager, St Chad’s Sanctuary CIO |
| Maja Moller, Coordinator, St Thomas Asylum Seeker and Refugee Support Network |
| Sara Robinson, Centre Director, St. Augustine’s Centre |
| Rosie Macpherson, Artistic Director, Stand and Be Counted Theatre |
| Dr Helen Taylor, Director, Stories and Supper |
| Emily Crowley, Chief Executive, Student Action for Refugees |
| Rebecca Didi, Trauma Informed Therapist, Survivors Manchester |
| Tom Cheesman, Trustee, Swansea Asylum Seekers Support |
| Kathryn Williams, Committee Secretary, Swansea City of Sanctuary |
| Suzanne Fletcher, Housing Stream Convenor, Tees Valley of Sanctuary |
| Ros Holland, Chief Executive, The Boaz Trust |
| Lucy Bracken, Co-Director, The Happy Baby Community |
| Dr Edie Friedman, Executive Director, The Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) |
| Bridget Young, Director, The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM) |
| Katie Hope, Head of Operations, Trauma Foundation South West |
| Penny Henry, Spokesperson, Tynemouth Together With Refugees |
| Mel Steel, Director, Voices in Exile |
| Maddy Crowther, Co-Executive Director, Waging Peace |
| Susie Ventris-Field, Chief Executive, Welsh Centre for International Affairs |
| Hannah Barnes, Director, West End Refugee Service |
| Joanne Macinnes, Director, West London Welcome |
| Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Chairperson, Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace Commission |
| Dr Michael Bowker, Chairman of Trustees, Wycombe Refugee Partnership |
| Jo Cobley, CEO, Young Roots |
| Eleanor Brown, CEO, CARAS |
| Anneke Elwes, Director, HostNation |
| Almir Koldzic, Director, Counterpoints Arts |
| Jem Stein, CEO, The Bike Project |
