Since 2006, Bristol Refugee Rights has been supporting refugees and people seeking asylum across Bristol and the South West, now working with more than 1,800 people a year. In recent years, hostility towards people seeking sanctuary has risen, taking the form of hostile immigration policies, anti-migration riots and protests, and dehumanising language in the mainstream media.
The hostile environment
Refugees and asylum seekers travel to the UK in pursuit of sanctuary from war or persecution in their home countries. Once here, they are prevented from working or claiming benefits and must rely on housing provided by the Home Office on a no-choice basis. Those placed in hotels receive just £9.95 a week – far from enough to meet their essential needs. They often wait years for the Home Office to process their asylum claim, during which time they are provided with little to no practical support or guidance.
This lack of support, unsafe housing and poverty are caused by immigration policies which are becoming only more hostile. In recent years, Parliament has passed the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and the Illegal Migration Act 2023, while the former Rwanda plan and the government’s latest proposals to change the asylum system have made the situation even more antagonistic towards those needing shelter. At Bristol Refugee Rights, we see the very real and immediate impact that policy changes can have on the lives of refugees and people seeking asylum.
When people are already living in precarious conditions, a policy change can very quickly cause homelessness and destitution and increase the risk of deportation. We also see significant mental health impacts – refugees and people seeking asylum are much more likely to suffer psychologically, both from poverty and unsafe housing resulting from hostile immigration policies, as well as from social isolation, discrimination and trauma following their flight from war and persecution.
Media coverage
Immigration is dominant in the media, particularly the topic of small boats and the government’s use of hotels to house asylum seekers. The disproportionate focus on small boats compared to the actual number of crossings creates a sense of crisis, and language such as ‘illegal migrant’ dehumanises those seeking asylum. This has created public misperceptions about immigration: The Immigration Attitudes Tracker found that the UK public believes that asylum seekers make up 33 per cent of people migrating to the UK, and 56 per cent think that net migration increased last year. The reality is that only 14 per cent of migration was for asylum last year, and net migration actually halved.
Far-right protests and violence
The words of the media and politicians are powerful, and across the country, we are increasingly seeing their impact in the form of anti-migrant protests and hate crimes. A study by the Runnymede Trust highlighted the key role politicians and the media played in fuelling the far-right violence of August 2024. Since then, far-right and anti-migration protests have continued; there have been five anti-migration protests in recent months in Bristol alone. The counter protests are always bigger, and the people seeking asylum with whom we work tell us this helps but doesn’t completely counter the harm. They say they feel scared and unsafe, and the protests make them stay indoors all day, feeling stressed and isolated.
Our response
At Bristol Refugee Rights, we support refugees and those seeking asylum to feel welcome, live free of poverty and rebuild their lives. We provide crisis and wellbeing support through our Welcome Centre, while our Advice service provides casework and advocacy to resolve the underlying causes of poverty, homelessness and destitution. Our specialist services provide tailored support to some of the most vulnerable sanctuary seekers in our community – Pride Without Borders for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and Project CLEAR for those facing multiple disadvantages (e.g. severe health conditions, disabilities, long-term homelessness and survivors of domestic violence).
Last year, we supported 1,819 people with a high success rate: 91 per cent of advice cases were resolved or made significant progress; 90 per cent report improved wellbeing; 97 per cent say they feel welcomed and supported.
“When I came to the hotel, there was no guidance. It was very helpful when your people came. Every time, no matter race, religion or nationality, you helped us. I will never forget your people.” – Person seeking asylum supported by Bristol Refugee Rights
Since our foundation in 2006, we have grown into Bristol’s largest refugee and asylum seeker charity, and over the coming year, we will draw on our experience of successfully navigating many challenges and policy changes to continue to provide impactful services that meet the needs of the people we support. Our partnership work with Bristol Refugee and Asylum Seeker Partnership (BRASP), Bristol City Council and local forums will be key to this, as will our prioritisation of voices and leaders with lived experience.
Our monthly Member Voice Group enables our beneficiaries to provide feedback on our services, tell us what they need from Bristol Refugee Rights and inform our decision making, and our Lived Experience staff groups ensure decisions are informed by those with real experience of seeking sanctuary. 45 per cent of our trustees and 36 per cent of staff and volunteers have this experience.
We couldn’t do what we do without grants and donations from trusts and foundations, companies and individuals. We are hugely grateful to Bristol University Press for its support and solidarity over the last year.
To find out more and support our work, please visit our website: www.bristolrefugeerights.org/
To stay up to date, please sign up to our newsletter or follow us on social media (Instagram, Facebook)
Jess Hughes is Fundraising Officer at Bristol Refugee Rights.
Bristol University Press/Policy Press newsletter subscribers receive a 25% discount – sign up here.
Follow Transforming Society so we can let you know when new articles publish.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog site are solely those of the original blog post authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Policy Press and/or any/all contributors to this site.
Image credit: Mehdi Sepehri via Unsplash