Tees Valley of Sanctuary Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees c/o Justice First 135 Norton Road Stockton on Tees

Tees Valley of SanctuaryDarlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees

• c/o Justice First• 135 Norton Road• Stockton on Tees

• TS18 2BG• Tel: 07419 375 807

• [email protected] [email protected]

• http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/tees-valley

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/tees-valley

A City of Sanctuary• Developing a culture and climate of

welcome• Not the development of a ‘hostile

environment’• The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather in 2013 disclosed

that the Coalition government had set up an inter-department ministerial group: “On the explicit instructions of the prime minister, it was called the hostile environment working group,” Teather said, “its job being to make Britain a hostile environment to unwanted immigrants.”

http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/jul/12/sarah-teather-angry-voices-immigration

What is a City of Sanctuary?• Mainstream grassroots movement building coalitions of organisations

from all sectors of society• Public commitment to welcoming people seeking sanctuary and

refugees, and fully including them in activities• Creating opportunities for relationships between local people and

those seeking sanctuary • Seeks to influence the political debate on sanctuary indirectly through

cultural change, and does not usually engage in political lobbying or anti-deportation campaigns directly

• Offers a positive vision of a culture of hospitality for those in need of safety, by encourage communities to take pride in offering a place of safety for people whose lives are threatened, and celebrating their contribution to our towns and cities.

What does a City of Sanctuary look like?

• Flexible and non-descriptive• Relevant to local situation and

needs• Working at own pace• Added value NOT competition

Streams of Sanctuary• Statutory Authorities• Faiths / Churches• Schools• Musicians• Lawyers• Businesses• Communities• Choirs• Book Clubs

Tees Valley of Sanctuary

• Steering Group• Constitution• Resolution of Support• Fund Raising• Admin/IT Apprenticeship

Resolution of Support• "We support the initiative to make the Tees Valley

a recognised ‘Area of Sanctuary’ that welcomes those fleeing violence and persecution in their own countries. We recognise the positive contribution that refugees and people seeking sanctuary bring to the Tees Valley, and we are committed to taking practical steps to welcome and include them in our activities. We resolve to actively seek ways of supporting them wherever and whenever we can. We are also willing to be contacted by the Tees Valley of Sanctuary group with further ideas for how we can

turn this pledge into practical action."

British Social Attitudes Survey

• In a recent BSA report the proportion of people who admitted to being racially prejudiced had risen from 25% in 2001 to 38% in 2013. The two main areas where racism has grown over the last decade are Islamophobia and hostility to immigrants.

• Possible increase in this prejudice in the lead-up to the 2015 UK general election

Media Reporting• The Daily Express• ‘Middlesbrough at breaking point over asylum seeker

numbers’• ‘A town flooded by a sudden surge of asylum seekers can

no longer cope, angry locals claimed’• ‘…it has become a magnet for penniless arrivals’• “The schools and nurseries are full because of all the

foreign kids who have come to the area” local resident• There needs to be some kind of control put in place in the

town because local people are starting to feel part of a minority. In the past year it has been very noticeable that number of Poles, Kurds and Romanians have shot up.” local resident

Supporters / Partners• Justice First• Mary Thompson Fund• British Red Cross• North East Coalition For Asylum & Refugee Rights• North of England Refugee Service• Everyday Language Solutions• Open Door• Arrival Medical Practice• Methodist Asylum Project• Regional Refugee Forum



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• According to Article 1 of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is someone who has

• “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, nationality, religious belief, political opinion or membership of a particular social group; is outside the country of his (or her) nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country;….”

• An asylum seeker is someone who has applied to be recognised as a refugee and is waiting for a decision

• The right to seek asylum is enshrined in international law

• It is recognised that using false documents is sometimes necessary

• There is no such thing as an “illegal asylum seeker”

Who are Asylum Seekers / Refugees?• A doctor who was complaining about institutional

rape by state authorities• A woman whose husband was involved in an

opposition political party in a general election• A preacher targeted and threated by an alternative

religion or sect• Someone under threat by a non-state agent and

believes the state will not protect them• Fleeing from a civil war or armed conflict• People fleeing due to a fundamental lack of human

rights and a democratic system

People seeking asylum in UK2013

• 23,507 asylum claims received (excl dependents – approx 3,500)

• UK ranked 12th out of the EU 15 countries as a percentage of the population

• an 8% rise on 2012 (21,785), which was:

• a10% rise on 2011 (19,600)• Has been as many as 100,000 (2002)

Refugees Worldwidefirst half 2014

• 330,700 (24%) increase on 1st half 2013• If continues, 700,000 asylum applications in

the world’s 44 industrialised countries: highest in 20 years

• 264,000 in the 38 European countries, of which;

• 216,300 in the 28 member states of the EU (a 23% increase).

Refugees Worldwidefirst half 2014

• Germany: 65,700 applications• USA: 52,800 applications• France: 29,000 applications• Sweden: 28,500 applications• Turkey: 27,000 applications• UK: 14,300 applications (7th)• Top five refugee sending countries:• Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Serbia

• At the end of 2013: 2,609 asylum seekers were being supported in the north east (about 0.08% of the region’s 2.6 million population)

• Almost 70% living in the Tees Valley

• 133 in Hartlepool• 978 in Middlesbrough• 670 in Stockton• 2-3 in Redcar and Cleveland

• Total number of people supported in the Tees Valley for the whole of 2013:

• Hartlepool: 173 (133)

• Middlesbrough: 1622 (978)

• Stockton: 1160 (670)

• Redcar and Cleveland: about 10 (2-3)

• Total in the Tees Valley:2965 (1784)

• Total in Tyne and Wear: 1403 (828)

• Total North East: 4358 (2609)

Students Businessperson TeacherHousewife Retailer AccountantEngineer Administrator HairdresserElectrician Manager ChefMechanic Taxis driver NurseSales Computer Technician VetInterior Designer Journalist DancerDental Hygienist Doctor Lecturer

In Summer 2004 the North Of England Refugee Community Integration Project carried out a consultation with over 130 asylum seekers and refugees across the

North East. Participants were asked to state their occupation in their country of origin. The above responses

were given.

Media Reporting• Media research between 2001 and 2006

showed:• 7 UK tabloids published 713 articles that

referred to ‘bogus asylum seekers’, and;• the words ‘crime and asylum’ appeared

together 945 times• In an opinion poll, 72% of respondents

thought there were more than 100,000 asylum applications in 2009: when there were 24,485

Don Flynn – Director ofMigrants Rights Network

• Here is a dilemma well worth pondering on: we live in societies which have been evolving in directions which are more global in terms of the economic and political principles which animate them, and yet our mental frameworks for understanding our identities and the conditions of our lives seem to be reverting to stridently nationalistic modes of thinking.

Migrants Charter

• End the ‘hostile environment’• Protect a right to family life• Give European migrants a fair deal• Improve the immigration system for all• End the exploitation of migrant workers• Protect the interests of international

students

Support in the Community

• Faith Groups• Schools• Statutory Services• Businesses• Voluntary Sector• Individuals

Recap

• People seeking asylum have fled from persecution and are seeking safety

• Less than 24,000 UK applications in 2013• Almost 3000 people supported in the Tees

Valley in 2013 – the biggest dispersal area in the whole of the UK as a percentage of the population

• Refugees are entitled to the same services and support as UK citizens

• Most people in the UK support asylum seekers (but don’t know it yet!)



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Documents

Tees Valley of Sanctuary Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees c/o Justice First 135 Norton Road Stockton on Tees