August 2009’s edition of Catholic Voice reported on the “Walk for Justice” on July 9th, an event organised by Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary, an alliance of faith, refugee and citizen groups. The walk highlighted concerns for people who are seeking sanctuary and who have no money, or very little money, having to walk from Middlesbrough to Stockton to comply with statutory requirements.
“Local reporting centres for local people”, the main focus of the action, led to Jeremy Oppenheim – North East Regional Director of the UK Border Agency – agreeing to come to Trinity Centre North Ormesby to discuss the injustice of people having to travel to Stockton, twice weekly in some cases, others weekly, fortnightly, monthly, three monthly, to fulfil UK Borders Agency requirements. Research shows that some people have to make a round trip of between seven and fourteen miles involving crossing slip roads to the A19/A66 and crossing the River Tees in order to comply with the regulations and that 77% of people seeking sanctuary reporting to Stockton Police Station actually live in Middlesbrough. Sixteen trained citizens negotiators met with Jeremy Oppenheim and colleagues on 28th July and heard a strong case for change. One of the most powerful statements made was from a Catholic who stated he takes his inspiration from the Gospel and in particular the methods of the Young Christian Workers – See, Judge and Act. People seeking sanctuary gave their own testimonies during the presentation of the report; Jester a 53 year old woman from Zimbabwe gave details of the impact the monthly walk on her health. “When I have finished I ache so much that I still feel pain for days afterwards. When I fled the dictatorship in Zimbabwe and sought sanctuary in the UK, I didn’t think I would be treated like this”
The response was positive. Mr Oppenheim gave the group assurances that changes would take place by September 14th. There will be a local reporting centre in Middlesbrough and, for anyone who has to travel more than three miles or who has health problems, help with transport costs but only for those in receipt of support (which is due to be reduced from £42 to £35 week) or food vouchers. Unfortunately this does not include those whose appeals have failed and who receive no support and yet still have to sign. There are people seeking sanctuary whose claims have been exhausted but for whom it is not safe to return to their homeland. These people are destitute and will not be entitled to the help offered by Mr Oppenheim. They rely on the work of volunteers and especially the Mary Thompson Fund.
Both Jeremy Oppenheim and Colin Flynn, who accompanied him to the meeting and is responsible for Newcastle and Teesside, agreed to meet with us regularly and to monitor the situation closely. We felt that we had established a relationship with people within the Border Agency that will afford us the opportunity to campaign for further policy changes.
The success of our first local action has provided great encouragement for future campaigns. Tees Valley Citizens for Sanctuary would like to thank Jonathan Cox from the Citizens Organising Foundation for the advice and training given, we would also like to thank staff at the Trinity Centre, those who supported the walk, especially the clergy and all those who walked and prayed for the success of this action.
Securing justice for people fleeing persecution. Rebuilding public support for sanctuary. www.citizensforsanctuary.org