Hello, The last 12 months really have been the darkest of times. I joined Asylum Welcome in April last year – just as the pandemic took hold. So many of our clients were facing exceptional difficulties – unprecedented legal, housing and financial worries, unemployment, isolation, domestic violence, and of course Covid-driven health challenges. I’m truly
A personal reflection from Asylum Welcome’s Services Director, Almas Farzi (known as ‘Navid’). About thirty years ago, fearing for my life, I fled Iran. I certainly fitted the UN Refugee Convention description of having a well-founded fear of persecution – so immediate was it, that even though my wife was eight months pregnant we
A Letter to the People of the UK: Speaking from the Heart about Napier Barracks Taken from Hastings Community of Sanctuary, on 16 March 2021, at: https://hastings.cityofsanctuary.org/2021/03/16/a-letter-to-the-people-of-the-uk On 15th February, HCoS Campaigns Team and Hastings Supports Refugees co-hosted an online event to inform interested participants about the circumstances and conditions surrounding the use
This video is in Tetum. The translation to English below was kindly provided by Dr Emma Sidebotham. “Hi everyone. I am Emma and I am a doctor that has previously lived and worked in Timor Leste. This message is to help ensure that as many people as possible from
In the interests of human rights and the health and safety of the population, the Hostile Environment in the NHS must end. Temporary offers of safety are not enough to undo the decades of harm caused by policies that have embedded immigration controls into public services. We signed this call to the Department of Health
The people who visit Asylum Welcome’s offices in Oxford come from across the world and from all walks of life. A university professor fleeing persecution, a boy whose parents
Guest blog in AVID: Volunteering with “foreign” nationals in prison AVID is the network of voluntery organisations providing support for people in detention. You can find the original blog here. For an extract, please click here. Asylum Welcome's Huntercombe Visiting Project is possible thanks to the support from The Bromley Trust.
COVID-19 has been incredibly challenging for us all, and particularly so for our clients. But not everything is as hopeless as it first looks. Thanks to you, our supporters, we have managed to keep our services running throughout the pandemic and to provide our community with the support they need. We are helping a particular group
“We form each other’s family: mother, brother, sister and friend” - helping refugee and migrant community groups better support their own communities By Mark Goldring, Director at Asylum Welcome, posted on Oxfordshire Community Foundation How many of us are aware that there are several thousand people from East Timor living in
Oxford’s EU citizens are urged to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme before the deadline of 30 June 2021, and to contact the Europa Welcome service if they need help with their application. Those who have not applied by the deadline will lose their legal rights to live, work and access benefits in
