Features
Public sector workers spend their lives trying to make the UK a better place for all of us – including kids fleeing war-torn countries
In search of sanctuary
All children need to be nurtured and encouraged by sensitive and understanding
adults. None more so than refugee children, many of whom have had difficult
and troubled experiences in their short lives.
There are an estimated 69,000 refugee children in school in Britain and
more that don’t yet have access to school places. Many of these are
unaccompanied minors who arrived here without their family, sometimes
knowing no-one.
And at schools, hospitals, councils and in the voluntary sector, members
of UNISON are among those who come into contact with these vulnerable
young people.
Viv Jackson is a UNISON member and youth outreach officer for STAR (Student
Action for Refugees), as well as working as a volunteer at a Refugee Council
drop-in centre for unaccompanied refugee children.
The young people she sees have come from all over the world, fleeing
conflict and in fear of persecution. And they come to organisations like
the Refugee Council with a variety of needs and concerns.
“There are very practical issues,” explains Viv. “Most
of them want access to education and not all of them are able to get that.”
Lack of school places, the age of the child and the time of year they
have arrived all play a part in the speed at which they can get into school.
And recent government proposals to educate asylum seeker children in accommodation
centres rather than schools will make it even harder for them in the future.
Unaccompanied refugee children also face housing problems and while some
are fostered, many live in hostels or unsupported housing. And some find
themselves made homeless once they reach 18.
Language is a big issue for refugee children when they first arrive.
Organisations dedicated to working with refugees have their own translators,
but in wider society not being able to communicate is a massive obstacle
for these young people.
“Often the people that they want to speak to, even if it’s
just to get a train somewhere, won’t be able to translate for them,”
says Viv. “So it makes navigating their way through the asylum system
– and through daily life in the UK – quite tricky.”
Young refugees may also suffer extreme stress due to their experiences
in their home country and their isolation here. Some may have been physically
hurt before fleeing, and many will have lost their families or simply
not know where their families are.
“It can be the first-hand, nasty experiences that come from war
or it can be just the fact of having left their family behind and being
very, very young and not having any contact with them,” says Viv
of the difficulties they face.
But she is also keen to stress the fact that, like all children, refugee
children need space to enjoy themselves, to play and to laugh. This is,
she believes, why the Refugee Council drop-in centre has proved successful.
“The reason that people seem to come back is that it’s fun
and you’re not just there through being a refugee you’re there
because you’re young and it’s a distraction,” she explains.
In her work with STAR, Viv has been involved in a youth programme for
16 to 18 year olds from all backgrounds. The project hopes to bring together
young people to support refugees in their local community.
“It’s really exciting that when you give young people an opportunity
to contribute positively, a large number get really excited about it.
So many young people do want to get involved – in massively creative
ways.”
And this solidarity between young people has been seen elsewhere in Britain
as schoolchildren have been instrumental in campaigns against the deportation
of asylum seeker children at their schools.
“People have realised the human element in being a refugee or asylum
seeker,” says Viv. “Their classmate, their friend, is being
denied their human rights.”
And it is this ‘human element’ that UNISON members can offer to refugee children a long way from home.
Contact the article's author Helen Taylor
CELEBRATE KIDSThe December issue of U magazine sent free to every one of UNISON's 1.3million members has a special kids theme. It is hard not to sound like a trite pop song when we say ‘children are our future’ but nothing is more important than understanding this. UNISON members work tirelessly for this future in schools, social services, community groups and health care. Here on In
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