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Working with Asylum Seekers

By Philip Clements-Jewery.

Senior Minister of New North Road Baptist Church, Huddersfield

Writing in a recent issue of The Bible in Transmission (Bible Society, Autumn 2004), John Atherton mentions the importance of social capital for individual and communal flourishing and the contribution churches can make in this respect. Quoting Ann Morisy (Journeying Out: A New Approach to Christian Mission, London: Morehouse, 2004), he cites the various kinds of relationships that constitute social capital which include bonding social capital (the social 'glue' that enables mutual support within groups); bridging social capital (commitment to relationships with strangers outside the chosen community); and brave social capital (moves beyond bridging social capital into caring for strangers as threat or menace). Atherton suggests that Christians and churches who move into this latter area are reflecting the prophetic dimensions of Biblical faith.

One particular issue for British society at the beginning of the 21st century is the presence of refugees and asylum seekers in our midst. The two categories need to be distinguished. Asylum seekers become refugees when their application for asylum is accepted by the government, and they then become entitled to social security benefits until they obtain work. If the asylum application is refused, they become failed asylum seekers and face possible removal from the country, and in the meantime may well be left destitute and homeless.

Asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers are not allowed to work, although many do so illegally. Some social security support is available for failed asylum seekers, but to obtain it they must sign a paper stating that they are willing to return to their own country. Understandably, most are not willing to make any such undertaking. There are some countries to which the British government will not remove anyone (for instance, Iraq at the present time). Support is also available in such circumstances, but to obtain it asylum seekers must agree to carry out community service work. But as such work is also an alternative sentence for offenders, to ask asylum seekers to do it appears to criminalise them - and they are not criminals! Often, they just disappear into the underground economy.

There is no doubt, therefore, that the treatment meted out to asylum seekers by the government is extremely harsh, to say the very least, and often appallingly inhumane. For example, it is not unknown for single women with very young children to be taken to an airport as early as 4.00am with a view to their removal from the country. In one or two cases known to me, this has been a mistake and the people concerned have eventually returned to the place where they have been living. Other asylum seekers, desperately afraid that the same thing might happen to them, have been known to leave their homes with their children and stay overnight at the town's bus station. On top of all this, these people are frequently vilified in the tabloid press, which fosters prejudice against so-called 'bogus' asylum seekers who are accused of being a drain on the economy and on the social security system.

In the face of such trauma and stress, it is not surprising that asylum seekers feel very vulnerable and insecure. Constant worry and anxiety frequently leads to clinical depression, which has a high incidence among asylum seekers. Here, then, is an opportunity for the churches to demonstrate something of the compassion of Christ, and to develop some 'brave social capital' by acting prophetically on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers.

How can this be done? The first thing might simply be to welcome asylum seekers and offer them some support. At New North Road Baptist Church, Huddersfield, we have our REACH Project which operates mainly through a weekday lunchtime drop-in centre. This work began a year or so before I became the minister, and was prompted by asylum seekers from a Christian background turning up to Sunday worship and it being discovered that they were alone and friendless. The drop-in was started simply as a means of enabling asylum seekers to meet others in the same situation as themselves, particularly those from their own country. We are fortunate in having as a member of the church someone who over the years has been very active in social service in the town, and who has the contacts to establish and maintain a project such as REACH.

Each week up to twenty people on average, mostly of African origin, attend the drop-in centre, although there are considerably more names on our books. These are mostly women and children from a Christian background, from both Anglophone and Francophone African countries. Recently we have had an influx of four or five African men, one or two of whom are Muslims. Occasionally, asylum seekers from other countries come to the drop-in. Recently, there has been contact with some Iranian women, who have started attending Sunday worship on a regular basis and have asked about Christian baptism. Other members of REACH also attend on Sundays very regularly and come to other church events. As well as baptisms we sometimes get requests for infant blessings. Another spin-off from the work of REACH has been the formation of a French-speaking Congolese congregation that uses the church on Sunday afternoons, and this is the kind of development that others who wish to get involved in working with asylum seekers may also find occurring in their own situations.

On Tuesdays we provide food, clothing where needed, furniture in a few cases, finance for travel, information, and an opportunity for asylum seekers to network together. We have also recently acquired a couple of computers for the use of our members. Often prayer support is requested and provided before attending tribunals and sometimes we have accompanied people to their hearings or appeals. In addition, on a number of occasions I have been asked to write letters of support for asylum seekers to help them in the process of obtaining leave to remain in this country. All this work is financed by money from the Against the Stream Fund, which is part of Baptist Home Mission set aside for social and community projects, and by grants from the local authority. We are extremely grateful for this support.

Last year, and again from January, a social work student from the local university is on placement with us for four days a week. The social work practice teacher for the placement is our own leader of the project, and I act as the placement supervisor. The student liaises with the local authority's reception centre and hostel for asylum seekers and is able to offer information to new arrivals, including information about REACH. She also works with a local voluntary agency, KRAFT (Kirklees Refugees and Friends Together), and with the Whitehouse Health Centre next door to the church which was established by the health authority to meet the needs of, for example, homeless people and asylum seekers, who are unable to register with a general practitioner. The student will be in touch with other local voluntary agencies who work with asylum seekers, particularly those who work with women, and she will also undertake some home visits as well. Last year's social work student also spoke French fluently, which was a great asset in connection with asylum seekers from Francophone countries.

Why do asylum seekers come to Britain? We don't ask! Undoubtedly some are economic migrants, but many will be heavily traumatised by what has happened to them in their own countries. It might be too painful for them to talk easily about their experiences. However, some things do come out, when they are ready to talk about it. We have women who have been the victims of gang rape, and have arrived here pregnant, but not knowing the identity of the baby's father. The risk in such cases is that the mother will reject the baby, and in at least one case the staff of REACH have been able to help the mother bond with her child. Others have come here to escape political violence.

Not a few women have come out of fear of what is euphemistically called 'female genital mutilation'. Understandably, they are not very willing to talk to a male minister about such things! One woman came from Kenya for this very reason. Kenya is not normally thought of as an unsafe country. Indeed, Europeans go there on holiday. One Kenyan woman, who has since been given leave to remain in this country, tragically saw two female children bleed to death and, when she became pregnant a third time, she felt she had to leave her country in case the same thing happened again. In fact, this time the child was a boy, and in 2003 I was asked to conduct a service of dedication for him.

Another important policy in dealing with asylum seekers is not to give advice if, for instance, they should ask us whether they should try to get a job. It is, of course, against the law for asylum seekers to earn money through working for it. What we do in such circumstances is suggest the various courses of action open to them (which might indeed include the illegal option), point out the consequences of each, but leave it to them to decide in the light of such information what they will do. But we will not tell them what they should do.

Offering hospitality and accommodation to homeless failed asylum seekers in local homes is a controversial area. It cannot be done for all, so it might be better to do it for none. However, in Huddersfield, following models established in other towns, a Short Stop scheme has recently been set up, with a number of local, vetted people who will offer bed and breakfast for a limited number of nights to those who have had their benefits and entitlement to housing withdrawn, but have not yet been removed from the country.

There is no doubt that for those involved working with asylum seekers is a rewarding ministry. There might not be much in it for the church in terms of numerical growth. But there is the satisfaction of knowing that in a few cases we have been able to demonstrate something of the love and compassion of Christ to people in need who have not been given a universal welcome to this country. This is also a ministry that churches in many places have become involved in as a result of the government's policy of dispersing asylum seekers to different parts of the country.

There are some good resources available. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have produced a useful report entitled Asylum Voices which tells of experiences of people seeking asylum in the UK. It deals with questions such as 'Why did you leave?' and 'Why the UK?' among others. It has a useful appendix listing organisations working with asylum seekers and refugees, although these are all in the London area. The Churches' Commission for Racial Justice (an agency of CTBI, email: ccrj@ctbi.org.uk) can offer valuable help for anyone seeking to work with asylum seekers, as can also the Evangelical Alliance. Lastly, there is the Welcoming the Stranger resource pack published by the Department for Research and Training in Mission of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (publications@baptist.org.uk). It offers guidance on how to work with refugees and asylum seekers.

Another way in which churches can become involved in the asylum issue is by protesting about the government's harsh and inhumane policies in this respect - policies, it must be admitted, which are probably supported by the majority of people in the country, particularly the readers of the tabloid press. The Baptist Union of Great Britain at its Cardiff Assembly in 2004 passed a resolution on this issue, but little seems to have come of it. I am aware of a few other Baptist churches and ministers who are involved, as well as many in other churches, and I would be glad if readers would get in touch with me (by email: pandscj@fish.co.uk) if they feel that we need to work together prophetically in relation to the needs and treatment of asylum seekers.

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