AYS News Digest 15/08/22: One year since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan
Severe lack of safeguarding and protection for unaccompanied children in the UK//Group of 39 Syrian refugees finally found on Greek soil//6 Somali asylum seekers suffering from hunger and dehydration on Chios//Dire conditions in Northern Cyprus//51 farm workers with no residence permit found in Italy//and much more…
One year since the Taliban regained control in Afghanistan
The Taliban regained control of Kabul on 15th August 2021, after the chaotic withdrawal of US troops. The photos and videos of crowds of people rushing to the airport were circulated across the world. Since this takeover, the country has seen an exponential rise in extreme poverty, hunger, and unemployment. The access to education for women and girls has been restricted, with Save the Children reporting that 45% of girls are no longer attending school. Afghan women continue to head to the streets to protest.
In the UK, organisations are calling the Government to fulfill their promises of resettlement, welcome, and safety for Afghan refugees
In addition, InfoMigrants reports that in France, since January 1st, at least four Afghan refugees have been detained after receiving a notice of deportation to Kabul
Three out of the four detainees have since been released, but the fourth person is still in detention.
GREECE
The authorities have been informed of six Somali asylum seekers on Chios who are suffering from dehydration and starvation
The group of 39 Syrians who were stranded on Evros have finally arrived on Greek soil
CYPRUS
Crossing the ‘Green Line’ between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus
In the last four years, Cyprus has seen a rise in refugees trying to reach the country. This is partly due to the routes into Greece, via Turkey, becoming more heavily controlled and the living conditions becoming ever more unbearable. Human traffickers, as a result, began to offer Syrian refugees a dangerous crossing to Cyprus.
The country has further been coined ‘University island’ — research by a student group, VOIS, in Cyprus, suggests a correlation between the number of university students in Northern Cyprus and a rise in the numbers of asylum seekers.
“There are currently 21 universities in Northern Cyprus, with students from some 100 countries.”
However, for a large proportion of asylum seekers from the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, the government in Northern Cyprus does not take on the responsibility of providing asylum.
Those that do enter into Northern Cyprus often end up living in dire conditions, in overcrowded facilities.
This IPS article looks into understanding the responsibility of UNHCR, the EU, and other European countries in ensuring the safety and protection of asylum seekers in Northern Cyprus.
ITALY
51 farm workers without a residence permit and 20 without a contract were discovered near Caserta in an operation by local labour inspectors
The inspectors are still investigating potential violations of working hours and safety, including the lack of protection of workers. The operation was part of a wider project called ‘Alt Caporalato!’ (stop gangmastering).
Rising numbers of asylum seekers in Ventimiglia
Caritas states they are supporting roughly 200 individuals per day with meals and any other social assistance needed.
The numbers of people are just an estimate, as not everyone attempting to cross the border seeks help from Caritas. Nonetheless, the organisation has run out of men’s clothes and their medical facility has carried out 100 medical exams since the beginning of August.
GERMANY
Protest against pushbacks at the hands of the Hellenic Coast Guard in Berlin on 17th August
FRANCE
Utopia 56 raise awareness of the ongoing police violence against refugees and asylum seekers
Police are damaging and stealing individuals’ tents, and forcing them to relocate to other areas without providing them with any form of accommodation.
UK
Shocking new ECPAT report on the severe safeguarding concerns for unaccompanied children arriving in the UK
The report shows that unaccompanied children, arriving unattended in the UK, are often being excluded from the safeguarding framework under the Children Act 1989. This has been an ongoing issue since the summer of 2020 due to drastic changes in legislation, such as the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, that have reduced the protection of child victims of trafficking and young people who have experienced immigration control.
The needs of these children have not been met, and instead of being protected and placed in the care of local authorities, they are put in Home Office hotels.
“We fear that the use of hotels by the Home Office, operating outside of England’s care system for children, has led to children suffering significant harm, with over 10 children going missing in just one of the reported months.”
Austerity measures over the last 10 years in the UK have left children’s social care severely underfunded with a rise in the number of children on child protection plans. A huge issue among child social care is the lack of suitable housing and accommodation, which has worsened throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ECPAT report states there “is a very serious child protection emergency which needs urgent attention”.
“1,606 children who arrived alone in England between July 2021 and June 2022 were placed in hotel accommodation directly by the Home Office, instead of in the care of local authorities where they could receive the support and protection that, by law, every child in the UK is entitled to. 45 children, some as young as 11, went missing over a 10-month period.”
The report firstly recommends more cross-departmental collaboration between the Home Office, the Department of Education and the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. They further recommend that the Home Secretary stops all unlawful accommodation of unaccompanied children. Thirdly, they recommend the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities ensures the local authority children’s services have the capacity and resources to fulfil their legal duties to care for children in need. Lastly, they recommend the Secretary of State for Education considers all cases of unaccompanied children going missing as high risk of exploitation and that serious incident notifications need to be made to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.
Read the full report here.
Over 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in boats so far this year
In August, there have been 3,618 crossings so far, with 1,694 in the past week. Reports suggest that the cost of paying a smuggler to cross the channel has dropped from roughly £5000 last November to between £500 and £1000. This reduction in cost and increase in the numbers of people crossing the Channel shows that the harsh UK policies against asylum seekers are not successfully deterring people.
*Whilst these numbers are increasing, they are still only a small proportion of the people going to Europe.*
Protesters halted the deportation of workers in Chorlton, Manchester
WORTH READING:
- The New Arab — details the prevalence of anti-black racism within the European asylum system. This article discusses how black asylum seekers are much more likely to have their asylum cases rejected on the basis of their documentation and testimony, rather than looking into whether they risk persecution if they returned to their country of origin. They look into the wider European Asylum Support Office (EASO), as well as within the UK and Greek immigration systems.
- Mixed Migration — Looks into events in the last week, focusing on the Kenyan Presidential elections.
- Al Jazeera — an article discussing the difficulties of resettlement in the US for Afghan refugees.
- The New Humanitarian — discusses some of the mechanisms and frameworks for decolonising aid. Some have been put into practice and institutions are working towards a change of narrative and ways of providing aid. There are still ideological difference, but several organisations and institutions have begun putting these structures into place.
- Alarm Phone has published an article looking at the increase in boats crossing the Mediterranean between January and June 2022. This article delves into the reasons why the situation in the central Mediterranean is becoming more and more severe, looking at the response from countries such as Malta and Italy, as well as the dangerous conditions along the migratory routes, in Libya and Tunisia.
- InfoMigrants — 15 migrants have been found dead on the Libyan-Sudanese border
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