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extra! p.s. extra! comes to you alongside p.s., the fortnightly e-mail and web discussion forum from the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland. Where p.s. is published on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, p.s. extra! arrives occasionally, in-between times, to bring you further biblical reflection and theological thought on contemporary matters of broad public concern. To comment, or read other comments on articles, please click here to go to our discussion board. To find out more about p.s. and read previous editions, click here. |
On refugees... |
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'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God… When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.' |
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Under current legislation those recognised as Refugees in the UK (and that means those who have successfully gone through the legal process of being granted asylum) are allowed to stay here indefinitely. Of course, nothing prevents a refugee from returning home should he or she wish to. Naturally, many long to return to their country of origin when safe and appropriate. Nevertheless, UK law provides the security of a permanent safe place. But this could change at the end of August if Government proposals go through. Richard Solly from the Churches' Commission on Racial Justice (CCRJ) explains, "The British Government intends to stop granting indefinite leave to remain to people who are recognized as refugees. They will instead give them limited leave to remain for five years, after which they may be forced to return to their country of origin. Their case will be reviewed if the Government decides that their country of origin is now safe, and if an adjudicator agrees leave to remain will be revoked." On the face of it this may not seem unreasonable - life changes, situations change, regimes change. It could be quite safe for them to return home and we'd have done our bit. Is it really practical in this day and age to offer life-long residency to all those granted asylum in the UK? Are these new proposals not merely a pragmatic response to a changing world? First, a few facts. Contrary to popular opinion, the UK is not being flooded with refugees. At the end of 2003, Britain hosted around 290,000 refugees (source UNHCR 2004 Global Refugee Trends, June 2005), about 3.1% of the world's 9.7 million, and 0.5% of the British population. The UK is the world's fourth largest economy, yet the world's poorest countries bear responsibility for most refugees. The UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees states that, "a satisfactory solution… cannot… be achieved without international cooperation." We need to keep doing our bit. Similarly, Government figures from 2001 (the latest available) show that, despite the belief that people come here to take from the system, migrants to the UK, including asylum seekers and refugees, make a net fiscal contribution to the economy of £2.5 billion. It is a myth that refugees are here for a great life at "our" expense. But aside from the benefits to our economic, community and cultural life in the UK, what is the potential cost of these proposals to such individuals? Many will have experienced significant trauma and hardship in their country of origin and do not have an "easy life" while being processed through our asylum system. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work, only receive state support set at 30% below normal income support, do not jump housing queues, or, as some would have you believe, get mobile phones or cars. They are no more likely to commit crimes than anyone else, and are more likely to be victims of crime. Being given refugee status affords people a chance to begin to rebuild shattered lives. Why should they be forced to start over five years down the line? As Richard Solly points out, "This will, of course, prevent people with refugee status from feeling safe and able to integrate into British society until the five years have passed and they have been granted indefinite leave to remain". It leaves refugees in an uncertain position, which is totally inconsistent with other Government policies to assist the integration of refugees in the UK. There will inevitably be cases where families who have committed everything to establish life here and to integrate will be threatened with removal, with all the upheaval, not to mention the bureaucracy this causes. More than this, it is a move that lacks any evidence that problems have arisen from the current policy, or that there is any benefit in granting temporary leave only. Leviticus 19 commanded the Israelites not to mistreat the alien. Instead, "the alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you" (v33-34). Indeed the remnants of the harvest reaping are to be left for the poor and the alien (v9-10) though it would seem in our case the harvest is made more bountiful by the alien. We may not be under the Law, but as Christians we follow the same Law-giver, and are called to show his priorities in our actions. In this part of the great immigration debate, at least, should we not urge the government to abandon this unnecessary change? What can we do?
* * * The Centre's latest resource, Power and Providence: Studies on the Book of Esther is now available online (click here) or by contacting Anna Rankin. We are pleased to recommend "Christianity: the encounter with modern culture", a six week course by Prof. David Livingstone and Prof. Stephen Williams beginning in September at the Institute for Christian Training. For further details go to http://www.union.ac.uk/ctnet/culture.html |
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