Refugees Welcome Joint Statement And Call For Action.

 

We look forward to seeing the call come to life through joint actions with our members and other colleagues. We hope it enables us to welcome more refugees to the UK, end the DFT and help scrap the Immigration Bill as a matter of urgency:

 

Social workers welcome refugees to the UK – joint statement and call for action by the Association of Professors of Social Work (APSW), British Association of Social Workers (BASW), Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee (JUC SWEC) and Social Work Action Network (SWAN)

We are witnessing an almost unprecedented movement of people in the world due to political conflict. Based on the IOM and UNHCR data, an estimated 590,000 people entered the EU by the sea in the first 9.5 months of 2015. The UK government needs to respond to their plight in line with the basic principles and standards set forth in the relevant human rights instruments and frameworks of the United Nations, which hasn’t been the case to date.

We join our colleagues from the legal community in their call for action to the UK government. As a matter of urgency:
1 The UK should take a fair and proportionate share of asylum seekers and refugees, both those already within the EU and those still outside it. The UK’s present offer to accept 20,000 most vulnerable Syrian refugees from outside the EU by 2020 is too low, too slow and too narrow, particularly if compared with responsibilities already placed on Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. Creation of the overcrowded refugee camps in these countries will only prevent refugees from working and leading an ordinary life in the long-term. It will also do nothing to address or curb the death toll in the Mediterranean.
2 Safe and legal routes to the UK, as well as to the EU, need to be established for all refugees. Permitting travel by ordinary means will do much to halt the hazardous boat traffic and will save lives. Such routes ought to include:
i Humanitarian visas – that is to say visas for the specific purpose of seeking asylum on arrival – issued in the country of departure or intended embarkation.
ii Resettlement schemes, accepting refugees directly from the country of persecution or from neighbouring states.
iii Humane family reunion policies, such as allowing child refugees in the UK to be joined by adult family members.
3 Safe and legal routes within the EU, including the UK, should be established. For instance:
i A relocation scheme to take refugees from destitute conditions elsewhere in Europe;
ii Full suspension of The Dublin III Regulation (No. 604/2013).
4 There should be access to fair and thorough procedures to determine eligibility for international protection wherever it is sought.

As social workers, we also wish to urge the government, as a matter of urgency:
5 To ensure appropriate funding of the existing specialist support for refugees and asylum seekers and for co-ordination of volunteer community initiatives.

This should particularly apply to support for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. In 2014, 23,160 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU. This number is only to rise in 2015; according to UNICEF, a total of 110,000 children sought asylum in Europe between January and July 2015, an average of over 18,000 children every month. All unaccompanied minors need to be ensured representation, placed with adult relatives or with a foster family, ensured attempts to trace their family members as quickly as possible, and all other measures that take due account of family unity, welfare and social development of the unaccompanied minor as well as his/her health and safety and opinion when assessing the best interest of the child.

6 Abandon plans to introduce the new Immigration Act. If passed into law, the Immigration Bill will curtail asylum support for those people refused asylum who have previously been supported under section 94 (5) and Section 4(2) of the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act. This will mean people whose asylum claims and any appeals are refused and who have dependents that are minors will not be eligible to receive even the current minimum levels of support. This would clearly not be in the family’s or the child’s best interests and it impossible to see how these proposals will comply with the need to safeguard children

7 End the Detained Fast Track (DFT). Currently, many people arriving in the UK are detained from the minute they claim asylum in the UK. The entire asylum claim is processed while they are locked in a high security immigration detention centre. People whose claims are heard from detention are not dealt with fairly and the decision to detain them is unreasonable, disproportionate and violates their right to liberty. The High Court ruled in July 2014 that the operation of the Fast Track had been so unfair as to be unlawful. Mr Justice Ouseley accepted that there were flaws in the safeguards designed to prevent vulnerable people from being wrongly fast tracked and found that the lack of adequate early access to legal advice was the crucial failing that tipped the system into unlawfulness. Furthermore, in December 2014 the Court of Appeal found that detention of appellants under the ‘quick processing criteria’ was unlawful as it failed to satisfy the requirements of clarity and transparency. The Court of Appeal issued an order requiring that the Home Office assess each appellant on the Fast Track, and only detain those who are considered at risk of absconding. We wish to urge the government to consider all appellants on the Fast Track and from suitable, community-based, accommodation.

Oct 31st 2015

Community-led Housing Conference

Details:
Together Our Voices Matter
Saturday, 21 November 2015 from 12:00 to 15:30

Kilmore Recreation Centre, Kilmore, Coolock, Dublin 5.
Book tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/together-our-voices-matter-tickets-19215143010

The aims of the conference are to:

1) Bring our community together on an equal and open footing.

2) Connect local services and local people together in an effective and appropriate way.

3) Share how we have put those affected first and how this process has worked.

                           ***************** ================= *****************

Speakers will include:

Members of the Irish Housing Network , Those Affected by the Housing and Homelessness Crisis, Local Services.

Timeline:

12.00pm – Welcome and Introductions

12.10-1.10pm – Plenary “What are the Problems”?

1.10-1.30pm – Break

1.30-2.30pm – Workshop “Creating Safe Spaces for Community Solutions to the Housing and Homelessness Crisis”

2.30-3pm – Proposed Solutions and Actions

Community-led Housing Conference

Details:
Together Our Voices Matter
Saturday, 21 November 2015 from 12:00 to 15:30

Kilmore Recreation Centre, Kilmore, Coolock, Dublin 5.
Book tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/together-our-voices-matter-tickets-19215143010

The aims of the conference are to:

1) Bring our community together on an equal and open footing.

2) Connect local services and local people together in an effective and appropriate way.

3) Share how we have put those affected first and how this process has worked.

                           ***************** ================= *****************

Speakers will include:

Members of the Irish Housing Network , Those Affected by the Housing and Homelessness Crisis, Local Services.

Timeline:

12.00pm – Welcome and Introductions

12.10-1.10pm – Plenary “What are the Problems”?

1.10-1.30pm – Break

1.30-2.30pm – Workshop “Creating Safe Spaces for Community Solutions to the Housing and Homelessness Crisis”

2.30-3pm – Proposed Solutions and Actions

Voices From The Frontline: A practitioner’s perspective on PREVENT.

 

Exploring The Role Of Social Workers In Tackling Radicalisation

(Prevent is part of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. The aim of the strategy is to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism).

Young people are often ‘searching’ for an identity, but also a meaning to life so that they can ‘fit in’. Young people want answers to questions, and when they cannot get appropriate answers with proper reasoning they move their attention elsewhere. Sometimes the groups that young people turn to for guidance are misguided themselves, which exacerbates the problem. When incorrect information is delivered to young people that convinces them that no other opinion matters, they accept it as being the truth. Problems continue to arise when young people move away from these groups, and when they begin the rehabilitation process afterwards, because they now carry a guilt that they have to live with.

Social workers have to take a sensitive approach when they complete an assessment for a troubled young person who has been identified as being radicalised. This involves understanding the young person’s motivations behind contemplating acts of terrorism. Equally, it is important to understand the ‘self’. The word ‘self’ has two meanings here, firstly, understanding how the young person sees themselves and secondly, how they perceive the world around them. By doing this, the practitioner is able where necessary to challenge the perceptions of the young person. However, it is key for the practitioner to be trained and to have the correct knowledge and skills to get the young person to critically reflect upon their actions, and to get the young person to understand the consequences of any wrong-doing. The key in all successful intervention is indeed communication.

Policy developments such as CONTEST are perhaps a positive step in the right direction, but obviously not enough to deter young people from contemplating acts of terrorism. The government needs to stop putting up barriers and labelling young people as ‘terrorists’, this is not helping at all. Getting social workers to take the lead and to some degree police young people is not the answer. This is creating a “them and us” situation, which makes it difficult for both the practitioner and young person to challenge power differences. The government’s CONTEST strategy is failing: there are unanswered questions particularly about risk, thresholds and when practitioners should intervene.

There is a fine line between appropriate work and invading someone’s space and privacy. Practitioners frequently come across some harrowing situations, which can challenge their own value base, and the solution here is for those working with vulnerable people to be fully equipped with the right knowledge, skills and for regular good supervision to take place. Gaining trust; relationship building; motivating and encouraging radicalised young people is uniquely difficult because challenging the value base that they have absorbed is not a simple task. It takes time and a great deal of energy, particularly when you have a high caseload of complex cases. The social worker has to have an understanding of culture, religion and be able to support the young person, whilst also dealing with the wider concerns of parental and wider family support, the groups that they associate with and safeguarding the young person’s best interests.

It is an easy option for the government to let social workers take on the work in some respects, because practitioners do work well with young people. However, the government has failed to focus enough on “community cohesion”; rather it has undermined the community it wants to reach and support. Revising the Prevent strategy doesn’t address the bigger problem!

There is no doubt that social work must be open and accepting of change in the types of work it is expected to take on. However, no-longer can social workers sit back silently and allow government policies to negatively impact upon their work with vulnerable people, and it is important that practitioners continue to raise their voice and critique policies where required. Perhaps through innovation and confidence we can get the government to understand that social work can and will answer back!

Each and every one of us has a responsibility to build a better future for all to live in peace. Together we will bring change and make a difference!

Imran A. Mohammed 

Mental Health Charter with Updated Signatories – A Resource for All

Since then, the Charter has provided the basis for much joint work with other interested parties and we encourage all those interested in campaigning on this issue to make use of it.

The Charter states that it “describes reasons for the current crisis and suggests what needs to be done to resist and build alternatives. It seeks to be a starting point for discussion and action rather than a definitive statement. SWAN invites those who support the broad perspective described here whether as an individual or on behalf of service user and community groups, campaigns, trade unions and services to endorse the Charter but also to develop further resources from it. More importantly we hope the Charter will be a useful campaigning tool for activists to help build alliances of resistance and to contribute to the development of more and better support for those with mental health needs.”

Please see the attachments below.

“Why Do You Sit By and Allow Me To Live Like This?” – The Story Behind the Pictures

 
 
 
“Stand Up to Racism organised a makeshift stage, and speakers from both the refugee community and solidarity groups took to the stage to express outrage at the situation in Calais.
 
 
The protest was mostly refugees, with groups from France, PCS from UK, Stand Up to Racism groups from Birmingham & London, trade union groups from Portsmouth, Leicester, Glasgow, Stop the War Coalition Scotland and our SWAN student group from Merseyside. 
 
 
The banner in this pic was from a French coalition solidarity group, CISPM, it says ‘freedom of movement and settlement for all.’ : 
 
 

We students were able to spend time with refugees individually and listen to their stories, we were able to express our solidarity and were well received- those we met were warm and welcoming. We walked into the camp a short way. Although the ingenuity of the communities and agencies on the ground means that there is a sense of organisation- with new, sturdier shelters going up, the conditions are horrendous. Tents surrounded by rubbish and mud. It was raining whilst we were there, I can’t imagine how much worse it will get as the seasons change.
 
 
I am stunned that this degree of inhumanity and indifference on behalf of our governments exists so nearby. 
 
 
I knew before we arrived that the majority of the refugee community in Calais are young men, trying to find a better situation in the hope that their families will join them afterwards. I was shocked then to meet the children who live in the jungle, one of my pics shows three children holding a banner. Two of them seem momentarily happy, despite the situation, but the little girl on the right just stared at me- I read so much more in her unsmiling face; I imagine her asking me, across our language barrier, why do you sit by and allow me to live like this?” 
 
 
Jemma.
 
(Please note: permission was sought for every photograph).

Official Statement – Help and Support for Refugees in the UK and Europe

Here, you will find that our intention is to continue highlighting the need for more humane and responsive social policies from the UK  government. As social workers expected to deliver such policies, we will lead the call for change. 

 

SWAN statement and a call for action – help and support for refugees in UK and in Europe

We are witnessing an almost unprecedented movement of people in the world due to political conflict. Based on the IOM and UNHCR data, an estimated 590,000 refugees (labeled as migrants) entered the EU by the sea in the first 9.5 months of 2015.[i] Due to the approaching winter months, there is an urgent need to respond to their plight appropriately, which hasn’t been the case to date.

We join our colleagues from the legal community in their call for action to the UK government[ii]. As a matter of urgency:

  • The UK should take a fair and proportionate share of refugees, both those already within the EU and those still outside it. The UK’s present offer to accept 20,000 most vulnerable Syrian refugees by 2020 is too low, too slow and too narrow.
  • Safe and legal routes to the UK, as well as to the EU, need to be established for all refugees. Permitting travel by ordinary means will do much to halt the hazardous boat traffic and will save lives. Such routes ought to include:
    • Humanitarian visas – that is to say visas for the specific purpose of seeking asylum on arrival – issued in the country of departure or intended embarkation.
    • Resettlement schemes, accepting refugees directly from the country of persecution or from neighbouring states.
    • Humane family reunion policies, such as allowing child refugees in the UK to be joined by adult family members.
  • Safe and legal routes within the EU, including the UK, should be established. For instance:
    • A relocation scheme to take refugees from destitute conditions elsewhere in Europe;
    • A suspension of the ‘Dublin’ system, save for the purpose of family reunification.
  • There should be access to fair and thorough procedures to determine eligibility for international protection wherever it is sought.

 

Additionally, the government should also ensure, as a matter of urgency:

  • Appropriate funding of specialist support for refugees and asylum seekers and for co-ordination of volunteer community initiatives.
    • This should particularly apply to support for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. In 2014, 23,160 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU.[iii] This number is only to rise in 2015; according to UNICEF, a total of 110,000 children sought asylum in Europe between January and July 2015, an average of over 18,000 children every month.[iv] All unaccompanied minors need to be ensured representation, placed with adult relatives or with a foster family, ensured attempts to trace their family members as quickly as possible, and all other measures that take due account of family unity, welfare and social development of the unaccompanied minor as well as his/her health and safety and opinion when assessing the best interest of the child.

 

  • Abandon plans to introduce the new Immigration Act. If passed into law, the Immigration Bill will remove section 95 of the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act. This will mean people whose asylum claims and any appeals are rejected and who have dependents that are minors will not be eligible to receive even the current minimum levels of support. Such plans create serious safeguarding issues or place additional burdens for local authorities to provide such families with support under section 17 duties under the 1989 Children Act – all while facing severe budget cuts due to austerity measures.

 

  • End the Detained Fast Track (DFT). Currently, many people arriving in the UK are detained from the minute they claim asylum in the UK. The entire asylum claim is processed while they are locked in a high security immigration detention centre. People whose claims are heard from detention are not dealt wit fairly and the decision to detain them is unreasonable, disproportionate and violates their right to liberty. The High Court ruled in July 2014 that the operation of the Fast Track had been so unfair as to be unlawful. Mr Justice Ouseley accepted that there were flaws in the safeguards designed to prevent vulnerable people from being wrongly fast tracked and found that the lack of adequate early access to legal advice was the crucial failing that tipped the system into unlawfulness. Furthermore, in December 2014 the Court of Appeal found that detention of appellants under the ‘quick processing criteria’ was unlawful as it failed to satisfy the requirements of clarity and transparency. The Court of Appeal issued an order requiring that the Home Office assess each appellant on the Fast Track, and only detain those who are considered at risk of absconding[v]. We wish to urge the government to consider all appellants on the Fast Track and from suitable, community-based, accommodation.

 

[i] http://www.iom.int/news/mediterranean-arrivals-near-record-600000 ; http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/regional.php

[ii] http://www.lawyersrefugeeinitiative.org

[iii] http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&pcode=tps00194&language=en

[iv] http://www.unicef.org/publicpartnerships/files/Refugee_and_migrant_children_in_Europe_-_Sept_2015.pdf

[v] Data via Detention Action, 2015 (www.detentionaction.org.uk)

Convoy Update – 4 Days to Go!!

We think there will be just over 50 people from SWAN groups travelling on the day. Groups are booked on a variety of boats and trains, but need to arrive at the jungle before 1pm local time.
 
Some general (though perhaps obvious) information: 
 
First, remember your passports!!
 
Second, make sure your vehicle is road worthy and meets French requirements!
 
Third, it will be a long day. Plan for breaks, share driving, take food and water. We will aim to be at the jungle no later than 1pm. After we have dropped material and handed over money we will make our way to the demonstration. The demo will be over by 18.30 French time. Some of you may have to leave before that. Plan to give yourself plenty of time to get through the checks and back on your train or boat.
 
Folkestone and Dover 
 
If you are taking the Eurostar, people are booked on a variety of trains. 
 
Dan will be our SWAN contact point here – although he is booked on the 09.50 train. He will be there early and will have contact with other groups. Dan’s number is 07989432570
 
The directions from the Sangat exit in France are:
 
From the tunnel, you head toward Calais and follow all the signs toward the port/ferry…. you look for exit 2 called ‘Z.I. des dunes/Oye-Plage’ which is an industrial estate. As you exit, you can see the jungle on your right. Park just beyond the bridge on the grassy area or any of the side roads before the camp. Lock your cars and walk over to the camp where we will meet up with stewards, people living there and French organisations. 

 
If you are travelling from Dover we are aiming for the 9.25 sailing with Brittany Ferries. Michael is our lead in Dover. His mobile is 07739729214.
 
Money
 
If you are taking money we suggest you pay it into the SWAN national account. We will then hand over cheques to the organisations we are liaising with: (a) Secours Catholique, (b) L’Auberge du Migrants and (c) Salam
 
If you are paying in money please do the following.
 
1. Send the money to Social Work Action Network, Coop Bank, sort code 089299, account number 653211151. Please mark payment ‘Calais refugee support’
 
2. Once you have done this please send a text to Michael (07739729214) confirming the amount paid in.  We will then pay the total sum to the organisations on Saturday.
 
Banners
 
Please take banners, flags etc with you. We want a good show from SWAN on the demo!
 
This has been a fantastic effort by SWAN groups across the country. Well done!
 
See you Saturday.

 

Recovery In The Bin – Letter to Luciana Berger

The letter challenges and highlights the link between neoliberal politics and mental health experiences in the UK. Please take the time to read it. Please find attached the Recovery In The Bin network’s 18 Key Principles, if you wish to know more.

 

Dear Luciana Berger - Shadow Minister for Mental Health,

We are writing to you to raise our concerns and priorities for Governmental Mental Health care and provision in the UK. We enclose the first of a number of our "position statements" that we intend to send to you.

We are a User Led Mental Health Activist Facebook Group campaigning for Social Justice and Equality in MH care and practice, with a focus on critiquing and challenging mainstream 'recovery' ideology. At the time of writing our membership stands at 474 and this is growing by the day.

We believe 'recovery' has been colonised by MH services, commissioners and policy makers. We reject the new neoliberal intrusion on the word 'recovery' that has been redefined, and taken over by marketisation, language, techniques and outcomes. Some of us will never feel "Recovered" living under these intolerable and inhumane social pressures.

We believe access to quality housing and disability benefits designed for mental health claimants would give people a stable and secure environment to raise their quality of life and health. This would enable efforts towards going back to study, work IF people choose / aspire to this. Allowing people to volunteer indefinitely and claim benefits if this improves their quality of life and MH - and recognise how valuable this work is to society.

Our first "position statement" is about the Welfare State and Social Housing.

We will cover the following issues: -

• Work Capability Assessment (WCA)
• Benefit Sanctions
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Employment
• Voluntary Work
• CBT in Job Centres
• Social Housing & Homelessness

We look forward to hearing from you about the matters we have raised.

Yours Sincerely,

Recovery In The Bin

Copy: Jeremy Corbyn MP and Leader of Labour Party.
John McDonnell MP and Shadow Chancellor.
Owen Smith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Mental Health Resistance Network.
Social Workers Action Network (SWAN).
Psychologists Against Austerity.
Critical Mental Health Nursing Network (CMHNN).
Critical Psychiatry Network.
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC).
The Peoples Assembly.

SWAN Convoy Update – 1 Week To Go!

 

 

Travel details for Saturday 17 October delegation to Calais are as follows:

If you are taking a car or van, purchase a ticket on the 10.50am (or closest) service ASAP to make sure we can arrive at the same time and please email info@standuptoracism.org.uk  (and copy SWAN in) once you have booked. Please tell them how many cars you have and how many people. Tell them you are part of the Social Work Action Network contingent.

You will be able to meet others from the delegation in the Eurotunnel carpark in Folkestone after check-in. 

Alternatively, you can travel by ferry from Dover but please try to book a service that will arrive before 1pm (French time). The Liverpool group are travelling on the 9.25am sailing. Again email info@standuptoracism.org.uk and copy SWAN in. Again please list the number of cars or vans and number of people travelling and tell them you are part of the SWAN contingent.

There are plans for a send off from Dover activists who are planning an antiracist day of action in the town on the day. Groups in Calais need cash in particular. You can either bring this in Euros or, if you wish, send this in advance to Stand Up To Racism who will transfer it (that way we will save on the costs of money transfer).  We will post up the bank account details for SUTR over the weekend.

This is a large convoy event. There is no obvious reason for the police to stop and question cars and vans going to the continent. But give yourself plenty of time at Dover and the train station in case they want to ask what you have on board!

Over the weekend we will post up final directions – but if you have emailed ahead you should be traveling ‘in convoy’ once you disembark and just need to follow the designated lead cars! 

Please bring SWAN banners, or local community, campaign , trade union banners for the demo.