MP backs fair rights for young asylum seekers (From Haringey Independent)

MP backs fair rights for young asylum seekers

11:46am Monday 22nd June 2009 in Top Stories By Elizabeth Pears

MP backs fair rights for young asylum seekers

THE MP for Hornsey and Wood Green is supporting a campaign calling for fairer rights for young asylum seekers.

Liberal Democrat Lynne Featherstone met with young people in Haringey on Thursday to hear their stories about their journey to the UK.

The young people have all fled their home countries in fear of their safety.

But once they arrive in the UK, they are often unable to go to university or be employed until their application for refugee status is granted under rules enforced in 2002.

And with the Home Office sometimes taking up to ten years to reach a final decision, the wait can be damaging to young people’s self-esteem and future.

The Brighter Futures Campaign, supported by Save the Children, aims to highlight the difficulties young asylum seekers face.

It is calling on the Government to allow asylum seekers who have lived in the UK for six months to have access to education or be allowed to work as they wait for a decision.

In this way, the charity said, they have the opportunity to be financially independent and contribute to the economy through income tax.

Being self-sufficient would also relieve the burden on the benefits system which is the only source of income available to them under current laws.

Having these rights would also help challenge negative perceptions of asylum seekers, according to campaigners.

Lynne Featherstone has now signed a motion calling for the issue to be debated in the Commons.

Ms Featherstone said: "It's been inspirational to meet these amazing young people, who have gone through so much to end up here in Haringey.

"But meeting them has also made me angry. When waiting for a decision that will determine their entire future, they have no chance to live a normal life and build up the self-esteem and sense of pride that you get from education and from working.

"That’s not right and that’s not fair. They deserve the chance to grow intellectually, financially and psychologically, and I will continue fighting to get them that right."