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sdcas news & Blogs

Leave to remain extended - over 2 years after hearing nothing from the Home Office

6/4/2020

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Well over 2 years after submitting his application Fahad (not real name) has just got agreement from the Home Office to extend his right to remain in the UK until at least late 2022. He needed SDCAS help to contact his local MP and the Southwark Law Centre to press the Home Office to finally respond to his request. He says ‘I am so relieved and grateful for what everyone has done’.

Fahad is an Iranian refugee who has lived in the UK for over 10 years. He applied for what should have been a routine visa renewal in 2017. The Home Office’s unexplained delay in processing his application has meant that he has found it impossible to look for work, study or travel for the last 2 and a half years. He was even prevented from collecting mail from his local sorting office without the right ID.

Pauline Nandoo, SDCAS Director says: ‘Fahad’s case is not the only example of Home Office delays causing extraordinary and unnecessary hardship and stress. But we are delighted that we were able to help him secure such powerful and effective support’.
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Covid-19

30/3/2020

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We are working hard to protect vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees at this difficult time; while our day centres are closed, our team is working around the clock to stay connected with our clients remotely while also determining the best ways to help them. 
 
The situation facing many of our service users is a desperate one. Many are homeless, destitute and have limited access to healthcare. Before Covid-19 hit they were already finding it difficult to do basic things such as find somewhere clean and safe to live, get enough to eat and see a doctor. Coronavirus has complicated the situation further:
 
  • Many asylum seekers do not have access to healthcare. They are more likely to hide symptoms of coronavirus and not present themselves to health care providers because they fear deportation, detention, discrimination, stigmatisation and being targeted by the far right.
  • Undocumented migrants, failed asylum seekers and those with no recourse to public funds will also fear presenting themselves to health care providers.
  • Asylum seekers may enter the UK through informal routes, using means of transport that are often crowded and unsanitary. We expect migration through less controlled routes to increase and many already need significant support when they arrive. 
  • Many have previous underlying health issues and are at higher risk as a result.  
 
Government restrictions and policies mean asylum seekers face poverty and destitution. Living on just £37.75 a week, they have little money available to buy food, cleaning products, hand sanitiser or toiletries. Many of the charities that usually help them are closed. 
 
Homelessness and substandard accommodation are a particular problem for our clients during the Covid-19 lockdown.
 
  • They usually live in overcrowded accommodation or are homeless, and are often forced to move around from one location to another.
  • Proper social isolation or distancing and good sanitation are almost impossible to achieve for many 
  • The covid-19 lockdown measures are challenging for nearly all of us; for those already coping with fragile mental states and past trauma they are potentially catastrophic. 
 
Those who do not speak English are less likely to be prepared, and will be unaware of planning operations from Public Health England. They will be less conscious of issues relating to the covid 19 outbreak unless they are able to access the same information in their own language.
 
We need to evolve our service provision to continue helping people. We are hoping you will be able to support us so we can: 
 
  • Help clients access food and toiletries.
  • Find those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness somewhere clean and safe to stay. 
  • Work with our clients to reduce their risk of infection, and ensure they do not pass the virus on if they have it.
  • Help those who become ill to access the health services they need.
  • Continue helping service users access the government support they are entitled to - something that has become even more challenging following the surge in use of the benefits system. 

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What a difference 25 years - and a refugee charity - can make.

30/3/2020

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Last month Bettina Dreier, our Tuesday and Wednesday session leader, finally discovered what had happened to a young Sudanese child she had cared for over 25 years ago. He is now a US citizen, a qualified pharmacist ...and a stand-up comedian.

Bettina has been with SDCAS for over 20 years, having first became involved in helping refugees when working with a German charity in 1992 .It was there that she met 3 year old Tek who - arriving on a flight from Addis Ababa - had already seen much more of the world than Bettina.

Tek's family fled to Ethiopia some 30 years ago to escape ethnic killings in South Sudan. It was a desperate time; and Tek was born with a deformity that meant he was expected never to walk. 

His luck began to turn when aid workers arranged for him to go to the Friedensdorf International Peace Village, near Dusseldorf ,which provides medical treatment to war-torn children. He came alone, and Bettina, in her social work foundation year, was allocated as his carer.  Over the next year she got to know him very well; especially on long drives across Germany for Tek's condition to be treated by specialists in Munich. ' He was amazing; a cheeky character. He'd gone through so much, but was so bubbly.'

Tek returned to Ethiopia a year later. He could now walk. Bettina lost contact, but his family's good fortune continued. In 1996 a UNHCR/ USAID initiative provided his family with a new home and hope. And some very different climates. Tek, then age 6 , and his family moved first to Nebraska, and then to other parts of the US; reaching as far as Alaska..

He has continued to travel. Now 30, he has just completed a pharmaceutical diploma in Atlanta, and is paying off student debts with stand-up comedy gigs. Which is how Bettina last month managed to track him down from his Facebook page. 

' It was extraordinary. There he was. The boy who in many ways is why I became a refugee worker '. 

Tek and Bettina are determined to find a way to meet up again soon. They want to visit the Peace Village and the Munich hospital. And also the Day Centre that Bettina may not have joined, if she had not cared for someone whose life has been so massively changed since she first met him as a small child in a wheelchair.

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March 27th, 2020

27/3/2020

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English and art sessions at Kennington

15/8/2019

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English and art sessions recently started at our Kennington center, run by two of our brilliant team.

​Volunteer Hilary has just started running the English classes at the centre, having previously run courses at the Refugee Council. With the help of another volunteer, Abi, her classes are lively, interactive and fun ways for our clients to get to grips with the language.


She says the classes are a crucial part of asylum seekers and refugees integrating into life in London and feeling comfortable here. “Anyone coming to this country might find the different culture, climate, economic and political scene pretty confusing. Not being able to understand the language on top of that will make life extremely challenging. Helping them to learn the language should aid integration into their new community.”


She adds her clients always have interesting backgrounds. “Already, some have taught me more than I have managed to teach them. Having something useful to give in return is rewarding.”


Our other volunteer Kate, meanwhile, started arts and crafts sessions for Kennington clients in April. She says the aim is to provide a peaceful and relaxing activity. “A lot of the projects we do are very quick to complete - making lavender bags, or colouring postcards - allowing clients to finish a project in a short time, which I hope gives a sense of achievement.”


She adds meeting the clients is the most rewarding part of the work. “I really enjoy meeting the clients, and it's great to spend an afternoon doing creative activities. It's also lovely to see people’s different skills - I'm in awe of some of them!”


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