Craig Barnett

 

London to become 'Olympic City of Sanctuary' for 2012

London joined 11 other UK cities in a making the commitment to become a 'City of Sanctuary' for people claiming refuge in the UK with a launch event at St Martin-in-the-Fields last week.

Sheffield became the first official City of Sanctuary in September 2007,with the support of Sheffield City Council and over 70 local organisations. Since then, the idea has spread rapidly, with new groups of local volunteers setting up in cities including Bristol, Swansea, Oxford, Leicester and Bradford.

London is the latest city to form its own group, with the ambitious aim of building a grassroots, city-wide movement of support for people seeking sanctuary in the capital. <!--break>Alexandra Feachem, from the London City of Sanctuary group, said, "Our ambition is to see thousands of London  organisations, from top businesses, football clubs and cultural institutions, to community groups and residents associations, all pledging their support for declaring London as an Olympic City of Sanctuary. Then for the Mayor and the GLA to take up the idea, so that by 2012 we see refugees at the heart of the Olympic Celebrations."

At the meeting on 12th November, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell spoke in support of the new movement from his own experience of supporting a refugee doctor who had been targeted by a death squad in Iraq for his sexuality. Neil Gerrard MP, also welcomed the initiative, as a way of bringing sanctuary for people who are persecuted back into the mainstream of British culture.

Craig Barnett, the national co-ordinator for the City of Sanctuary movement, encouraged Londoners to seize the opportunity to make a difference to the way the UK treats people in need of safety. "Cities are powerful," he said, "a whole city which is committed to offering sanctuary can't be ignored as just another lobby group. By building a network of Cities of Sanctuary across the country we can change the whole debate about refugees, and transform what is politically possible to improve the way we offer them safety and welcome."

Further information about the City of Sanctuary movement at: www.cityofsanctuary.org

 

 

 

Craig Barnett

I just heard from a good friend of mine that his wife and daughter have been refused permission to return to their home in Britain. My friend, who writes a blog under the pen-name ‘Jeremiah', is married to an African woman who was refused asylum in the UK. They have a two year-old daughter together, but the UK government wouldn't allow Jeremiah's wife to stay unless she went back to her own country to apply for a visa. Under the threat of arrest and deportation she finally agreed, after arranging a safe house where she and her daughter can stay in relative anonymity, as it is still unsafe for her to be recognized there. Mother and daughter have spent the last four months in hiding, waiting to get the necessary documents and then an appointment with the British embassy. And then they refused her.

Craig Barnett

When the doorbell rang at 6am Kate, my wife, went to answer it while I stayed upstairs with the children. Even before she got to the door she knew it was Immigration. There were four immigration officers and two policemen, come for our friend Aram, who had been living with us for several months. He had applied for refugee status in the UK and been refused, so he was homeless and couldn't work or claim any State support.

Craig Barnett

In the 2006 film Children of Men, set in the near future, a sudden failure of human fertility has led to global political violence, social collapse and forced migration. Britain is one of the few countries with a still functioning government, but in response to the refugee crisis it has become a semi-fascist society. There is constant propaganda warning citizens not to shelter refugees, and the police round-up and imprison foreigners in huge detention camps.