Home Affairs Committee
Regional Asylum Activism has developed this template to help capture individual testimonies and case studies for inclusion in submissions to the Inquiry on Asylum.
Questions and prompts:
1. The assessment of the credibility of women, the mentally ill, victims of torture and specific nationalities within the decision-making process and whether this is reflected in appeal outcomes.
(a) Did the UK Border Agency not believe what you had said?
(b) Which part of your account did they not believe?
(c) Did they give you an opportunity to explain?
(d) What happened at the appeal court? Did it lead to a positive decision?
(e) Did you try to make them change their minds at any later stage?
(f) How has all this made you feel?
2. The effectiveness of the 5 year review system introduced in 2005.
(a) Have you experienced a delay in getting Indefinite Leave to Remain?
(b) Has this had an effect on your job prospects, access to benefits, housing or education?
(c) Has this affected your ability to travel?
(d) How has all this made you feel?
3. Whether the system of support to asylum applicants (including section 4 support) is sufficient and effective and possible improvements.
(a) Do you get cash support from the Home Office or the Azure payment card?
(b) How long have you lived on this support? How easy was it to access it? Have you had any period without asylum support?
(c) How do you feel about the amount of support you receive from the Home Office? Please tell us if you can buy enough healthy food, clothes and toiletries for you and your children. Please tell us if there are even things you can’t buy that you need.
(d) Is the support from the Home Office enough for you to eat? How many times per day do you eat? Do you or your children ever go hungry?
(e) Where do you live? Have you lived in more than one place? If so, how did it feel to be moved? Is it clean, warm and safe for you and your children?
(f) How could all this be improved?
4. The prevalence of destitution amongst asylum applicants and refused asylum seekers.
(a) Are you currently living without access to any asylum support from the Home Office? Or have you lived without any asylum support in the past?
(b) How long have you been destitute?
(c) Is this because your claim to asylum has been refused, or for another reason?
(d) How have you been surviving? ie How do you eat? Where do you sleep? Who do you turn to for help?
(e) What impact has this had on your health?
(f) How has this made you feel?
Case Study/Testimony template:
Please use the questions above to establish the focus of the case study/testimony
Testimony 1
Where possible, please capture the following information for each case-study:
Which country are you from? Nigeria
Approximately when did you first claim asylum in the UK? (Month/year, not exact date) 2008
Are you here alone or with your family? Family
What is your current status? Discretionary Leave
The stereotypical approach of the UK Border Agency that asylum claims from certain countries are generally bogus, untrue and unfounded drives a lot of victims of torture, domestic violence and trafficking from such countries underground; and in most cases, leading them to being taken advantage of by greedy and unscrupulous immigration solicitors who end up misleading these vulnerable and desperate would-be asylum seekers into unknowingly making bogus claims for alternative leave to remain.
My case is one good example of such, and once you have entered the credibility trap (I call it trap, because that is the way I see it), getting out of it is impossible, no matter what medico-legal, mental and psychotherapy evidence(s) you produce to support your claim of torture. It looks to me that no one within the UKBA and the Tribunal bothers to read between the lines and evaluate the duress of circumstance victims of torture are faced with, and how these would normally affect their abilities to rationalise things particularly before they are able to receive appropriate help to deal with their trauma.
I personally do not see the point in the use of the Country of Origin Information and Operational Guidance Notes in deciding cases when case owners would make references to such published notes, accept their relevance to the applicants claims, but then turn around to make contradictory decisions, relying on (in most cases) some flimsy inconsistent account of the claimants’ description of the order of events leading to the victims fleeing, and claiming asylum.
In my own case, I was branded a very intelligent man who had researched my case very well, and that as a mechanical engineer, the well over 30 injuries I claimed to have sustained while being tortured (including injuries to my genitals both penis and anal passage, and the three missing teeth crudely pulled out with a pair of pliers, all while being tortured and also raped), were sustained while working as an engineer. The damaging effects of such statements both mentally and otherwise are unimaginable, and I wonder if people dealing with these cases have any understanding of or training on what torture and trauma are.
The other puzzling issue is the way evidences obtained in the UK are disregarded and completely ignored; the volumes of medical and forensic analysis of my injuries backed with series of counselling and psychiatric reports were treated as merely supportive evidence that carried no weight to make impact on my credibility, not withstanding that the onus of proof rely solely on me like every other asylum claimants.
The blatant refusal by the UKBA case owners and the Tribunal to put any weight to medico-legal forensic analysis of injuries and psychiatric assessments/evaluation because of the credibility test (even when qualified and professionally trained experts in the field of trauma have provided credible explanation on how trauma can make survivors of torture act in certain ways) is misguided, and this potentially drives many already mentally impaired survivors of torture off the wall, leading to inclined thoughts of suicide, and in some cases leading to some acting on their suicidal impulse.
Testimony 2
Where possible, please capture the following information for each case-study:
Which country are you from? Brazilian
Approximately when did you first claim asylum in the UK? (Month/year, not exact date) 2010
Are you here alone or with your family? Alone
What is your current status? Asylum
I was born a male gender but very soon I saw many differences, then I could really explain, in that moment I couldn’t recognise know one same as me. I had living in Brazil for 30 years, I was a adoptive son, but with gender problem, then I was really disowned by my “family”, they never treated me well, I thought because of my sexuality, later on I discovered it was because that adoption. I studied so I have got already 3 degrees, I m nurse, classic ballet dancer and hairdresser but with a very good financial situation (finally with well of, I could be no more GAY, then I was transgender, it was the first time in my life I had felt complete) and with my Italian partner after living in many places/states on Brazil (because of being transgender its really different from surviving being gay), I had been robbed and abused for that Brazilian cops for many times, and we have not more social life or friends or job . We decided to went to Italy but in Italy we couldn’t marriage legally, he lived in London in his past years, then in 2010, we move to London, I had no family, no friends, but very easier to find friend there than in Brazil, where I suffered lots of abusive and humiliations ... ends of 2011, I had knowing my partner was illegal, and he couldn’t live in England, and I was HIV, I found a solicitor and asked for his help.
1. The effectiveness of the UK Border Agency screening process, including the method of determining eligibility for the ‘Detained Fast Track’ procedure.
Being in my friends saloon, where I use to visit, in one day of UKBA works, they found me there, sitting in a desk, they ask me about my ID, check me out by phone, and very discrete I toll them about my papers, in UKBA and please to not comment “why” with people there, they’ve done 3 appreciation and deported, but when they were living there, they just comment in front of one Brazilian person why I was staying.
2012—UKBA, putted me in the jail for 4 hours to deport me, my papers was 100% ok in that waste time .
- — The use of Country of Origin Information and Operational Guidance Notes in determining the outcome of asylum applications.
In Brazil, we have a very largest gay party, but believe, gay Brazilian party, doesnt includes Transgender or travesties, that prejudice still in all segmentation.
- — The assessment of the credibility of women, the mentally ill, victims of torture and specific nationalities within the decision-making process and whether this is reflected in appeal outcomes.
I never had being treated as Sara by UKBA, and always they really try to say my male name clearly. This things made me fell for many times very sick and vulnerable in front of many . I have not relatives and cannot have a children, why the rest of my life must to be treated as a “shit”?
- — The effectiveness of the 5 year review system introduced in 2005.
I cannot give my opinion about those changes in the laws, because I think in any area of world things becomes better and quicker as the modernity .
- — Whether the system of support to asylum applicants (including section 4 support) is sufficient and effective and possible improvements.
The time if being fighting for my rights, I mean, my rights to be a surviver, could be so easy if I had chance to spend my time working and creating a normal life.
- — The prevalence of destitution amongst asylum applicants and refused asylum seekers.
The UKBA provide me house, gas, electricity and £ 36.64 per week, my clothes and lts of things that I had before living in London, I had to donated or put away when I said I have no more money to keep myself and ask them for help, living in Liverpool, I have very good friends, I “work” as volunteer twice a week for two great organizations then I could keep my mind and life closed as a normal, then I ve done some friends as well ... it makes me very happy !
- — Obviously, I had no chance to survive in my country, I tried it hardly in my past, if anyone just take few minutes to see any international newspaper, you can check by yourself, in Brazil has more death per year than IRA war, politics and famous people still keeping they safety, Brazil has more riches than any country in 2014 but none says, we have no more poverty, Brazil to make the next Olympics games put away ancient Indians living in their areas for all they lives, now, they having no where to go! Brazil has a women president, from ex dictatorial leader, she’s against abortionist and contraceptives methods, and unfortunately the Human Rights representation in Brazil, is a leader of protestant church who is openly racist and homophobi!
I’m not from there! Shame, sad and dark, these my feelings about that place !
Sahir House
April 2013