An interview with 13-year-old Asiya Hassan, a member of the Bristol City Academy steering committee that organised a forum on the detention of asylum-seeking children. What made you decide to organise ‘Time for Questions’? Several months ago, some friends and I organised a one-day conference in Easton Community Centre on the issue of children in
Theme: Education
Pioneering a new educational forum
A debate on asylum-seeking children organised by students from Bristol’s City Academy, in which the IRR played an active role, could provide a model for schools. Most people in the UK will have heard of ‘Question Time’, the televised debate in which politicians and public figures are questioned by a studio audience about issues in
Hope for Zimbabwean asylum seekers
There is new hope for Zimbabwean asylum seekers following a legal judgement on the risks of returning Zimbabweans to potential persecution and to a desperate humanitarian situation. For years, the situation in Zimbabwe has been at crisis point, both politically and in simple humanitarian terms. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF war veteran cronies have bullied, harassed
Refuge and fortress: a tale of two cultures
We publish below the talk by Jeremy Seabrook launching his new book on the struggles of newly arrived refugees commissioned by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA). ‘It has been a privilege to meet a new generation of academic refugees assisted by CARA. It needed great courage for many of them to speak publicly
Pulling the Woolas over our eyes?
What exactly do the immigration minister’s recent statements quoted in the press reveal? According to Phil Woolas, he is trying to atone for Labour’s sin – stifling public debate on immigration. We have to stop the immigration issue being swept under the carpet and talk about it say Phil Woolas, Frank Field and Margaret Hodge.
‘Papers Please’
A new report finds that exploitation of vulnerable undocumented workers continues despite new laws. Jack Dromey (deputy general secretary of Unite) estimates in the foreword to ‘Papers Please’, a new report by the Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN), that there are half a million undocumented migrants in the UK, pointing out that they are among the
Catching History on the Wing
Below we reproduce the speech by the IRR’s director, A. Sivanandan, at the IRR’s fiftieth celebration conference on 1 November 2008. ‘History tells us where we came from and where we are at. But it also should tell us where we should be going. I’d like, therefore, to look at past struggles to see what
Detention centre confiscates torture survivor’s guide on detainee rights
A Kenyan asylum seeker held at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre had a vital self-help guide confiscated by staff days before a crucial deadline for her case. Mercy Wanjiku [1], who fled from torture in Kenya, had three days in which to prepare and submit papers for an oral judicial review and, without a lawyer,
Charities call on government to turn ‘rhetoric into reality’
Leading UK charities have called on the government to act upon its promise of ending its discriminatory treatment of children seeking asylum. On 22 September, Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, announced that the government would remove its immigration reservation on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.[1] This reservation, which the UK entered
More destitution in Leeds
A report seeking to assess levels of destitution experienced by asylum seekers in Leeds has shown that figures have increased substantially over the past eighteen months. The report, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, was intended to measure progress following the original 2006 survey for their Inquiry into Destitution Among Refused Asylum Seekers. The