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At Herts Welcomes Refugees we do not recognise the picture painted by the Rt Hon Lewis Cocking, MP for Broxbourne, that proposals to become a Council of Sanctuary would mean “rolling out the red carpet and sharing a how-to guide to help [asylum seekers] exploit our system.” [Refugee sanctuary plan is 'grandstanding', says MP]
As a charity working with and on behalf of asylum seekers and refugees across the county, we can state categorically that people are not given preferential treatment to access our public services. Indeed, the opposite is true. The majority of people who arrive here are traumatised and endure hardship whilst waiting for a decision on their status. They must not be blamed for a system which is far from perfect but is not one of their making. Council of Sanctuary recognition is not about opening the doors to more people. It is about making a commitment to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for people who are already here. It is about fostering community cohesion, not destroying it. It is also about enabling our local authority to network with and learn from other organisations and councils taking similar steps. We agree with the leader of Herts County Council, Cllr Steve Jarvis, when he says that he can see no reason why Hertfordshire would not want to be a welcoming and inclusive place for people seeking sanctuary. Local authorities have no power to change national immigration policy, nor to unilaterally make decisions on where asylum seekers are housed, so becoming a Council of Sanctuary will have no effect on decisions by the Home Office and their contractors on the number of people arriving being placed in asylum accommodation in the county. From our experience, the people of Hertfordshire care about those who have arrived here, many of them with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. Herts Welcomes Refugees is proud of the fact that 200 Hertfordshire residents volunteer for our charity (which incidentally recently received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service). Despite protests outside at least one of the hotels in the county housing asylum seekers and increasingly negative media coverage, the charity has, over the last year, seen a significant increase in the number of people wanting to volunteer for our charity. People choose to volunteer with us because they want to do something positive to counteract hostility being stirred up by irresponsible and factually incorrect statements such as those expressed by Mr Cocking. We are constantly impressed by the resilience, warmth and friendliness of the people we support. Most just want to live in safety, learn English, educate their children, integrate into their local community, work to contribute to society and pay their way. We are proud to work closely with many other agencies across the county, and to live in such an inclusive and welcoming place – and believe that most Hertfordshire residents feel the same. Comments are closed.
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