The recent Immigration Bill has called into question what role refugees and asylum seekers have in the UK.
The impact that refugees and asylum seekers have had on British culture
and public life is often seen through a negative light but the success of
Olympians, such as Mo Farah who was originally an asylum seeker from
Somalia, who came over to Britain is testament to what allowing refugees to
enrich civil life can bring. One of Leeds most famous exports to the world
was started by refugees. Marks and Spencer’s started by Michael Marks a
Jewish refugee from Russia and Thomas Spencer a cashier from
Yorkshire.
However, there is a negative perception surrounding asylum seekers and
refugees in the UK. A sizable proportion of public opinion appears to favour a
harsher approach towards asylum seekers and refugees. In my opinion this is
because asylum seekers are not allowed to work. The Refugee, Education,
Training and advice service in Leeds says that the unemployment of refugees is
six times higher than the UK average. Especially amongst politicians on the
right-wing of the spectrum the opinion seems to be that immigrants are taking
“British jobs”; this is a mistruth. According to the charity Refugee
Education Training Advice Service 55% of asylum seekers who arrive in the city
do not speak any English, and there are fears that there is a lack of
integration from refugees and fears of isolation.
Interviews . . .
Solomon arrived in the UK eight years ago from Eritrea after tensions
with its larger neighbour Ethiopia escalated into
war. Solomon says that Eritrea his garage was very busy as he
said: “I would maybe 200 customers every day back in Eritrea but at my garage
in Leeds I see only 3 or 4 people a day. Sometimes I do not see anybody”.
However, despite the lack of customers Solomon seems full of hope about
the future and says he is happy in the UK. He said: “I like the UK apart from
the weather as it is too cold here. But now that I’m working it does not feel
as bad as when I did not have a job. It’s a quiet garage at the
moment but I have only had it since January. When people her about it they will
come. I am very happy at my
work”.
It took Solomon eight years before he was able to own a business.
Considering his experience of 25 years of ownership of a garage in Eritrea it
is hard not to feel that his expertise was wasted during those eight
years.
It's worth remembering that asylum seekers are not allowed to work. If they have been waiting more than a year for an initial decision on their asylum claim then they can ask for permission to work (in certain jobs) but the Home Office can simply refuse - and usually does.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing I've noticed is that many refugees do find work but usually at a level well below there skills. The last office block I worked in had a refugee night security guard with a PhD.