The movement is led by people who have experienced the violence of the U.K. immigration system firsthand.
The pandemic also marked the start of hotel detention, the practice of putting asylum seekers into hotels in Glasgow for an indefinite period of time. Whereas conservatives protested that these hotels were an extravagant waste of taxpayer money, the reality of poor, cramped conditions led to the June 2020 George Square protest against hotel detention.
The person who brought up the flip-flops was Nick, who is involved with No Evictions Glasgow and has been an activist for nearly 50 years. As its name suggests, No Evictions has a core aim, which has shifted and expanded over time. It is led by people with lived experience of the asylum and immigration system.
At the start of the pandemic, in an apparent victory, the lock-change evictions were paused. This was after repeated appeals from Glasgow City Council to the Home Office, citing health concerns and the council’s inability to offer support. Failed asylum seekers, along with any new arrivals, were then moved en masse into local budget hotels. Some people were also forced from apartments they had lived in for several years into hotels.
Migrants Organizing for Rights and Empowerment, or MORE, another prominent grassroots group in Glasgow, responded quickly to hotel conditions at the start of the pandemic. Yvonne Blake, one of MORE’s founding members, describes it jokingly as a “military operation.” She is hard to pin down, good-humored and deadly serious at the same time. Along with other MORE founders and members, Yvonne has lived experience of the asylum system.
On June 26, 2020, a man named Badruddin Abdalla Adam stabbed six people in the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow, and was shot dead by police. He had sought help with his mental health 72 times. The night prior to the attack, Adam had told another resident that he wanted to stab people, and the resident reported this to hotel management, who took no action.
Unity Sisters is often welcoming new arrivals, as well as saying goodbye to those who have had their status approved. As a community group, they hold sewing groups and collect donations for specific cases. Group meetings serve as a kind of therapy, and also a way of spreading important information — from where to buy food or learn English, to explaining legal rights. New asylum seekers are not given much information, although there are serious repercussions for things like working illegally.
The practice of clandestine hotels makes it harder for asylum seekers to access already limited support. MORE’s biking volunteers for example cannot make it much further than Paisley. Isolation from immigrant communities also means new arrivals are less likely to hear about groups that provide support. Nick didn’t even know there were hotels outside of Glasgow until he got a call from a young man looking for medical help in East Kilbride.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
An Underground Railroad museum is reopening in South Jersey after 3 yearsAfter three years of closure due to COVID and a lengthy list of repairs, the Lawnside, N.J., home that was refuge to formerly enslaved people on the Underground Railroad is welcoming visitors again.
Read more »
Cardano Blockchain Releases Update to Enhance Network Communication.Cardano blockchain has released its new node version v.1.35.6 that's expected to bolster the network. By shauryamalwa
Read more »
T-Mobile 5G: Everything you need to know about T-Mobile's 5G networkT-Mobile is arguably ahead of the pack when it comes to rolling out its 5G network. Here's everything you need to know about T-Mobile 5G.
Read more »
10 alleged gang members charged in violent Marion Gardens drug-dealing networkSince March 2021, members and associates of the Marion Gardens street gang have committed numerous acts of violence, including three homicides, authorities say.
Read more »
Feds seized $2.7 million of Chinese billionaire’s money from Trump-aligned social networkGuo’s arrest calls into question his influence at the company.
Read more »
KBS makes the decision to restrict Yoo Ah In's appearance on their network | allkpopAccording to reports by News1, KBS announced that it has decided to temporarily restrict Yoo Ah In's appearance on their network.KBS bans celebriti…
Read more »