Myth 1: Britain is swamped with refugees
We're not that popular. Britain is in 10th place in Europe per head of population for asylum applications. The vast majority of refugees end up in the Middle East and Africa.
Myth 2: We are being ripped off
Hardly. A typical asylum seeker gets £5.62 per day to live on. They lose this if they don't live where they are told to by the Government. That's £40.22 per week - roughly 30% below the poverty line.
Myth 3: Asylum seekers are lazy
Our fault. We don't let them work. Many are really skilled and want to work and we have a shortage of skilled workers. The Government has reversed legislation so that asylum seekers are now prevented from working. Home Office research has shown that asylum seekers would prefer to support themselves rather than be supported by the Government, yet the law prevents them from doing so.
Myth 4: They take our homes
Myth 5: We pay more Council Tax because of asylum seekers
Not true. Asylum seekers are looked after by the Government, not local councils. In 1999-2000, migrants and refugees made a net contribution of approximately £2.5 billion to the UK economy, according to The Home Office - worth 1p on income tax.
Myth 6: All refugees are con artists
Myth 7: One in four come to the UK?
Myth 8: It is safe back home
Hard to believe. Most refugees come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia and Iran. All these places have seen serious human rights abuses.
Myth 9: Asylum seekers bring crime to our streets
Ask the police. There is no evidence that asylum seekers commit more crime than anyone else, says the Association of Chief Police Officers. They are more likely to bevictims of violent crime, even murder, because of who they are.
Myth 10: Britain is the Land of Milk and Honey
Myth 11: It is safe back home?
Myth 12: They arrive with false documents?
Maybe...It is virtually impossible for people fleeing persecution to reach Britain without resorting to the use of false documents. Article 31 of the 1951 Convention on Refugees prohibits governments from penalising refugees who use false documents. There is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. The 1951 Convention on Refugees means that by law, anyone has the right to apply for asylum in the UK and remain until a final decision on their asylum application has been made.Myth 13: They’re really well off?No... You decide85% of asylum seekers experience hunger95% cannot afford to buy clothes or shoes80% are not able to maintain good health.(Source: Oxfam and the Refugee Council study of40 organisations working with asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.)
Myth 14: Asylum seekers are draining millions from the NHS?
No... The cost is marginal. Asylum seekers are entitled to NHS services, like other residents and visitors to the UK. Don't forget the enormous contribution that asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants make to the economic and cultural life of the UK. Refugees bring with them a wealth of skills and experience.The Home Office has recognised this and has made a commitment to put the skills to good use. The NHS relies heavily on foreign labour. In London, according to the Greater London Authority for example, 23% of doctors and 47% of nurses working within the NHS were born outside the UK."The system is very stretched" says Vivienne Nathenson, Head of Science and Ethics Committee, British Medical Association "and we have a serious shortage of GPs. It adds to the strain but it didn't create it. And if they lived in better conditions they wouldn't need so much intervention from the NHS.The evidence is that asylum seekers become ill after they arrive in the UK. The BMA also estimates that there may be up to 3,000 refugee doctors - a potentially invaluable resource at this time of acute staff shortage."
Myth 15: Employers won’t hire refugees?
Myth 16: They get houses and are given new furniture, washers, fridges and cookers?
No... It’s not theirs. Asylum seekers are given support and furnished accommodation until the outcome of their application is decided. The household equipment never becomes the property of the asylum seeker and is reused for the next family. As with most furnished tenancy schemes equipment is new for the first person only. A similar furnished tenancy scheme in public sector tenancies operates for residents in a number of areas in North East England.
Myth 17: Greater London is tops
Myth 18: They are all issued with mobile phones, leather jackets, TVs, satellite TV and given money for cars?
No... They choose what to buy. Asylum seekers receive up to 70% of income support and like all of us have choices about how to spend that money. A mobile phone can be the only link to family in other countries. One woman living in the North East said she wanted to buy a phone card so that she could talk to her mother in Zimbabwe once a week.
Myth 19: Asylum seekers are uneducated?
Myth 20: Asylum kids mess up our schools?
No... Says teachers leader: "All the evidence we have is that in some of the toughest schools it is the asylum seekers' children who provide stability, because they are most dedicated to getting the best out of the system.” (John Banks, Head of Education, National Union of Teachers)
Myth 21: North East England has been flooded with asylum seekers?
The top ten nationalities of asylum seekers living in the North East.
1. Iran - 424 2. Angola - 257 3. Turkey - 250 4. Eritrea - 222. 5. Sri Lanka - 192 6. Zimbabwe - 189 7. Congo Democratic Republic - 185 8. Pakistan - 176 9. Iraq - 165 10. Afghanistan - 116
(Source: North of England Refugee Service and NECARS, December 2005)
What is a refugee?
A refugee is anyone fleeing their country of birth. Refugees are described as 'asylum seekers' while they are waiting for official recognition as defined by the United Nations.
In the UK it is The Home Office that decides if they can stay or not. There is an appeal procedure. The Home Office may not grant refugee status to some asylum seekers.
Or, it may grant the right to stay in this country for a limited time. At the end of this time the Home Office will look at their case again. If the Home Office believes it is then safe for them to return to their country, they have to go home. If it is still not safe, the Home Office may allow them to stay for longer.
Around 3,500 asylum seekers from 79 different countries in North East England.
There were 3,508 asylum seekers in North East England at the end of December 2005.
Around a third lived in Newcastle and a third in Tees Valley.
The North East Top Ten areas for asylum seekers
1. Newcastle - 1081
2. Middlesbrough - 668
3. Gateshead - 3924. Sunderland - 345
5. Redcar and Cleveland - 327
6. Stockton - 277
7. North Tyneside - 251
8. South Tyneside - 138
9. Darlington - 25
10. Hartlepool - 16
Seems the North East hardly has an 'immigration problem' at all!!
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