Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers from across England demand change from MPs and the Children's Commissioner for England - 18 Apr, 2006
Young refugees and asylum seekers
will call on MPs and the Children's Commissioner to help them tackle the problems
they face on a daily basis. The young people of Save the Children's Brighter
Futures project will be running workshops and chairing question-time
discussions at the conference in Westminster
on 19 April. This is a rare opportunity for young people to influence the
asylum debate at its grass roots. In talks with practitioners, including social
workers, immigration officers and the police, they will focus on:
- Experiences of racist bullying
- Barriers in accessing higher education
- Unequal treatment by social services
The Brighter Futures groups are
made up of young people aged 15 - 21. They come from a range of unstable and
war-torn countries including Angola,
Iraq, Sudan, Somalia,
Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. They
meet in Manchester, Middlesbrough and London and work together
to change perceptions of young refugees and asylum-seekers.
The MP event in parliament is run
jointly by Hansard Society and Save the Children. The Hansard Society is an
educational charity that exists to promote effective parliamentary democracy.
Building on their success in facilitation dialogue between young people and
parliament they are supporting the Brighter Futures groups as they present
their views to MPs.
Nassra, 17, Brighter Futures
member said: ‘As a young refugee in this country life can be very difficult -
from suffering racist bullying at school to struggling to get into college and
university. We want the MPs to help us to change the issues facing us. We are
in a strange country and need to feel safe and protected.'
Ramatolai, 16, Brighter Futures
member said: ‘We would like people to acknowledge our role in society and to
change perceptions of young asylum seekers and refugees. We want to show that
young asylum seekers and refugees are human beings like other people.'
Jessica Nott, Save the Children's
co-ordinator for Brighter Futures said: ‘This conference gives these young
people an opportunity to voice concerns about the hurdles they face in their
everyday lives and express their hopes for the future. Many of the young people
from Brighter Futures came to the UK alone, with very little English
and very little confidence. It is rare for young refugees and asylum seekers to
be able to speak directly to those making decisions on their lives - the MPs,
civil servants and practitioners.'
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For more information please
contact:
Save the Children Press Office:
0207 012 6841
Email address:
press@savethechildren.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- Media are invited to attend the conference
from 12.40 - 1.30pm. There will be an opportunity to interview young
people. If you would like to attend, please contact Sophie Elmhirst on 020
7012 6403 or s.elmhirst@savethechildren.org.uk
- The Brighter Futures project aims to develop
an England-wide network of self-advocacy groups for young asylum seekers
and refugees. The groups are based in Manchester,
Middlesbrough and London.
- Save the Children fights for children in the UK and
around the world who suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence.
We work with them to find lifelong answers to the problems they face.