Boaz in the press
The Boaz Trust was featured in the Guardian Newspaper last week. It is a fantastic article about Hannah Atkins, one of our generous hosts who offers her spare room to a destitute asylum seeker. Check it out here.
One of the Boaz Trust’s aims is to raise awareness of the problem of destitution which includes getting accurate representations of asylum seekers in the press. This is just one of several great articles about asylum seekers in the Guardian recently (no we’re not getting paid to say this!) but unfortunately, such accurate coverage is rare. All too often asylum seekers are lumped together with economic migrants and illegal immigrants, and blamed for all the countries woes. And sadly, the comments after these articles show that many still do not understand and there can be a real prejudice and hatred towards those seeking sanctuary in the UK.
Statements about all the world’s asylum seekers coming to the UK, flooding the country, taking all our jobs and council houses abound. But in fact the UK is home to less than 2% of the world’s refugees. About 80% of the world’s refugees are living in developing countries, and Europe looks after just 14%. Most immigrants into the UK are not asylum seekers. Out of those who do claim asylum, two thirds are refused sanctuary and given two weeks to leave their accommodation (which was paid for by the Home Office and not the council!) and left destitute, unable to take our jobs, live in our council houses or claim our benefits.
We hope that articles such as this will help to raise our profile and inspire many more people to host asylum seekers in their own homes. If you live in Greater Manchester and have a spare room, why not consider becoming a Boaz host and offering your spare room for a few days, weeks or even months. Our scheme is flexible, according to what you can offer. Get in touch to find out more.
