The
STAR (Students Action for Refugees)
Northern
Conference
was
held
on
March
17th
at
Manchester
University.
The
event
discussed
and
emphasised
the
experiences
of both young
people
claiming
asylum
and refugees
in
the
UK
and
informed us all of
the
reality
and
issues
that
young
people
seeking
asylum
encounter.
The
key-note
speeches
and
workshops
were
particularly
useful
because
they
were
led
by
a
wide
range
of
people
with
varying
insights
on
the
asylum
system.
They
consisted
of practitioners,
campaigners
and
legal
experts
who
all
have
experience
either
working
and
campaigning
in
this
area
or
seeking
asylum
in
the
UK
themselves.
 |
| Justin Nsenglyuma of Refugee Action addressing the STAR conference (c) Lora Evans//PressGangLeeds |
The
event
began
with
a
warm
welcome
by
Emma
Williams
of
STAR
National
and
a
thank
you
to
Manchester
University’s
STAR
group
for
hosting
and
organising
the
conference.
Justin
Nsenglyuma
from
Refugee Action
then
gave
a
whistle-stop,
explanatory
tour
of
the
complicated
asylum
process
and
also
drew
attention
to
the
unhelpful
and
irresponsible
reporting
by
the
mainstream
media
who
regularly
fail
to
make
any
distinction
between
people
coming
to
the
UK
as
immigrants or economic migrants,
and
people
who
flee
their
home
countries
and
claim
asylum
here.
 |
| Lisa Matthews from Young People Seeking Safety (c) Lora Evans//PressGangLeeds |
Lisa
Matthews
from
Young People Seeking Safety
explained
how
the
asylum
system
particularly
affects
young
people.
She
stressed
that
a
significant
problem
is
caused
by
a
person
having
to
fit
into
a
category
of
the
1951
Refugee
Convention
in
order
to
receive
protection.
In
many
cases
the
children
and
young
people
themselves
do
not
know
exactly
what
circumstances
led
to
their
parents or
guardians sending them
out
of
the
country,
and
yet
this
information
is
demanded
by
the
Home
Office.
Another
massive
problem is
that
the
UK
Border
Agency
regularly
disputes
the
age
of
children,
treats
them
as
adults
and
occasionally
detains
them
with
adults.
She
strongly
advocated
that
the
interviewing
of
young
people
needs
to
be
child
centred;
shorter,
with
more
breaks,
evidence
given
the
benefit
of
doubt
and
with legal
representation
always
present.
Lisa
concluded
by
reading
a
moving
poem
by
a
young
writer
from
the
English Pen
exiled
writers’
group
about
his
journey
and
experiences.
I
attended
two
workshops
during
the
day;
the
first,
‘Personal
Testimony’, was
led
by
a
member
of
WAST (Woman
Asylum
Seekers
Together).
She
spoke
of
her
journey
to
the
UK
with
her
daughter
and
the
problems
they
encountered
particularly
with
the
Home
Office
not
understanding
why
they
hadn’t
brought
‘evidence’
with
them.
She
provided
much
information
about
WAST,
how
the
women
support
each
other
and
share
their
stories.
This
was
followed
by
a
lively
question
and
answer
session.
The
second
workshop,
‘Welfare,
Support
and
Destitution’ led
by
James
Jolly
from
The Children's Society,
looked
at
how the problem of destitution
has
been
exacerbated rather than alleviated,
primarily
by
the
removal
of
the
right
to
work
in
2002.
 |
| (c) Lora Evans//PressGangLeeds |
The
last
speech
was
given
by
Anita
Hurrell
from
Coram Children’s Legal Centre.
Her
talk
was
particularly
helpful
for
those
of
us
without
legal
knowledge
and
demonstrated
how
significantly
the
law
impacts
on
individuals’
cases.
It
was
interesting
to
hear
her
thoughts
on
the
potential
for
the
development
of
law
in
the
areas
of
humanitarian
protection
and
discretionary
leave,
in
order
to
protect
more
people.
Finally
a
panel
discussion
was
held
with
the
title
'Access
to
university
is
becoming
increasingly
unequal:
where
do
asylum
seekers
fit
in?’
The
struggles
people
face
going
to
university
were
talked
about,
especially
the
difficulty
of
demonstrating
prior
education
level
and
the
high
international
fees
asylum
seekers
have
to
pay.
It
was
interesting
that
Manchester
University
is
exceptional
for
not
charging
these
extortionate
fees
and the discussion continued to focus on how
students
can
lobby
other
universities
to
follow
suit.
 |
| Final panel discussion (c) Lora Evans//PressGangLeeds |
The
whole
event
was
really
interesting
and
useful
for
students
and
activists
who
wanted
to
learn
more
about
young
people
and
the
asylum
system,
where
developments
are
being
made
and
what
we
can
do
to
create
positive
change.
By Lora Evans
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