One Year On: United Against Division
Summer should bring rest - holidays, trips to the beach, BBQs and long sunlit evenings. But last August, the season was marked by something much darker.
Far-right riots broke out across the country. This rise in anger was fueled by hatred and misinformation, which exploded into violent aggression, targeting some of the most vulnerable in our communities.
One year on what has changed? What have we learned? What remains the same?
The new Labour Government has now been in power for just over a year, but the landscape for refugees is no less hostile:
More people are crossing the Channel in small boats.
Many wait years for a decision on their asylum claim.
People seeking asylum receive little financial support, cannot work, and can be detained indefinitely.
Unaccompanied children face uncertain futures.
Even after being granted refugee status, many face homelessness and destitution.
Refugee families face huge challenges in reuniting after separation whilst seeking sanctuary
At the same time, we must hold on to the key facts:
Around half of asylum claims are granted protection at the initial stage
Refusals are often overturned on appeal
Resettlement programmes provide a lifeline for the few who can access them.
Source: Refugee Council – Key Stats on Asylum and Refuge .
Violence like the recent attack outside the asylum hotel in Epping is a stark reminder that, in addition to the massive economic, psychological and systemic challenges refugees and people seeking asylum continue to face, there remains a dark threat – and not only from the far right, but also embedded in political systems and rhetoric that retraumatise.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, said there was “frustration, huge frustration, that is shared by the government”.
It can be difficult- even for those of us working in the sector - to hold onto hope: given the trauma that people seeking sanctuary have faced in their countries of origin, along the journey, and again within the UK’s hostile environment; given the threat of violence from the far right; given a political system that retraumatises and a rhetoric that dehumanises.
At Trauma Foundation South West, we witness the toll this takes every day. As well as providing long-term 1:1 and group therapy, we also support the sector through therapeutic supervision and training. In all our work we try to embody our three core values:
Care – We believe that every human being deserves a sense of safety, belonging and dignity. We care about those seeking sanctuary in this country and want them to find a place of welcome. We care for those working in the sector and work to ensure that their passion, compassion, and inherent worth can be upheld.
Compassion – We walk alongside people in their pain, grief, fear and trauma. Trauma brings clients to our door, and trauma – both immediate and vicarious trauma – brings workers and volunteers to our door. Everyone is welcome and everyone will be heard and seen.
Courage – We will go to the dark places as well as the light. We will stand in solidarity with people as they navigate their internal journeys and equally stand in solidarity as they navigate their external world.
We are facing massive challenges, but we are not alone. In August 2024, thousands stood up to hate in Bristol and across the country. That resistance continues; we are still in our thousands today. That is our hope and that is our strength. In love and in justice.
From 31 July to 5 August, we’re joining Migrant Voice’s #UnitedAgainstDivision campaign. Together, we’re flooding social media with messages of unity. We’re saying no to hate. No to division. Yes, to justice, care and community.
Please join us. Take a photo or short video with a message of solidarity. Download a sign and add your voice. Let’s show what it means to be one community.
“There’s a rage that gives us clarity about when our boundaries are being crossed, a rage that gives us critical information that we’re in danger, that someone is harming us or someone we love. There’s a rage that demonstrates to us how interconnected we are…. This form of rage is sacred. It’s a rage that clarifies what we care most about in this world, about what we will put our bodies on the line to stand up for. The distinction is that we let this sacred rage motivate us into action, but when we act, we move from love.” – Meggan Watterson
Let’s move from love.
In solidarity,
Trauma Foundation South West