Contact your MP and ask them to support the UK's participation in the UNHCR Syrian Refugee Programme

Please write to your MP and ask them to attend the debate in Parliament on Wednesday 29 January on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Syrian Refugee Programme and vote in support of the UK’s participation.

There has been a lot of talk in the press around how helping a few, a few hundred, or a few thousand will not solve this crisis and this is true. But  if you're that one family who gets the medical attention, the education for their child or the secure housing it will mean the world.

Even though we don't work in the area and cannot do anything to help we have desperate people contacting us on a regular basis. They have fled their homes, lost their livelihoods and are seeing their children's futures put at risk.

Some of the enquiries we have received have included:

• A woman alone with four children. Their father is studying for his PhD in the UK
• A lady working in the UK who's family are in a refugee camp
• A Syrian father and torture victim struggling with his family reunion claim and fearing for his family's lives in the interim
• A Syrian father who has been granted indefinite leave to remain and cannot afford the visa and solicitors to bring his family here 
• A family who's in laws are living in temporary accommodation in Egypt
• A family in Lebanon who cannot afford the costs of their temporary accommodation
• A man with 6 family members in Lebanon living in difficult conditions. The family includes a four month old baby, a three year old and a pregnant lady
• A family in Damascus who cannot access medical care for their child with a mother with health problems. The father told me they did not eat yesterday

We are a tiny charity and sadly have no options to offer them and can only give our sympathy.

The overwhelming message from Syrians is that the international community is ignoring their crisis. The UK taking any number of refugees would demonstrate we are not ignorant to their plight.

Please act now 

Benefits sanctions will hit most vulnerable non English speakers the hardest

George Osborne’s proposals to sanction benefits for those who are claiming Jobseekers Allowance and refuse to attend mandated English language courses will be destructive to our client’s attempts to make a new life for themselves and their families in the UK.

Families entering the UK under family reunion policy are arriving after one or more member has suffered persecution. Parents have been separated from children for years at a time when they most need each other’s support.

Placing more conditions on entitlement to Jobseekers allowance will push even more newly arrived families further into poverty. Negotiating the complexities of benefit entitlement already means that some families are living off a single person’s benefits for weeks after they arrive.

Those arriving under family reunion have already suffered and their arrival in the UK should be an opportunity for them to recover. Mandatory English courses would place unneccessary strain on families at a time when they’re least able to cope.

Contrary to popular belief refugees coming to the UK want to work. Many are surprised that they receive benefits and some do voluntary work to help themselves feel more comfortable about taking the handouts.

Noone is denying that learning English will be instrumental in enabling refugees find paid employment but if Osborne wants people to get themselves into work maybe he should make it look at the difficulties already faced by so many in trying to access ESOL courses. Those seeking asylum have to wait 6 months before becoming eligible for only funding for half the costs, a spouse who’s partner is working has to wait a year before becoming eligible for co-funding..

Sanctioning benefits based on English course attendance won’t force people with poor English skills into work it will push them further into isolation and hamper their efforts to integrate into their new community. 

Nominate us for support through your local supermarket

You can now nominate us to get the support of a local ASDA or Waitrose store

For ASDA you can make a nomination online to get support from our local store (Rawtenstall) or yours. Just follow this link http://storelocator.asda.com/store/rawtenstall and scroll down to the 'You Choose' option on the right hand side of the page.

To make a nomination to Waitrose you can pick up a form in store - it will only take you a minute and could help us make a real difference.

Thankyou

Canadian Refugee Board take a month to decide the fate of Yemeni woman

Story of a Canadian women waiting for over 30 years to be reunited with her daughter. Highlights the costs involved as well as how unfair the process can be...

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/canada/Refugee+Board+take+month+decide+fate+Yemeni+woman/5856999/story.html

Refugee Welcome Trust Annual Report published online

Read the report from the first year of the Refugee Welcome Trust online here.