Early one Monday morning in August my mobile phone rang. Monday morning calls are rarely good news – usually they are referrals for accommodation that we do not have, or requests of some other kind. But this one was different. It was very good news. One of the ladies who came to the very first Destitution Project back in 2003 was ringing to tell me that she had just given birth to a baby girl & that, after nearly 5 years of destitution, finally she had been given leave to remain.

Now, we can’t claim that it was all our doing, far from it. But her story of injustice was featured in our very first newsletter in 2004. We asked people to pray for her. Subsequently I went with her to her MP. Later my wife Shona & I visited her in Styal prison, where she had been taken for working in a pizza parlour without documents. She had just come out of the prison hospital after trying to kill herself by drinking disinfectant. None of our efforts, on their own, got her refugee status, but I am sure that it helped her keep going when everything seemed futile, & I am equally sure that the prayers of the saints did reach heaven, & move the hand of God to intervene.

Just one week later another friend, who can still be seen in our literature collecting his weekly food parcel, was also given a UK visa. Again, we can’t claim any major part in that, but, like the previous lady, Maron was one of the first to come to the Destitution Project. I remember it so well, because he had not eaten for 3 days. It was there that he met his future wife, who was working for the Red Cross. We have kept in touch, prayed for him & his family, & offered what moral support we could. More importantly, many others have prayed for him too. And God has answered those prayers.

I write this as an encouragement to us all never to give up, until we attain our goal, which is the total eradication of destitution amongst asylum seekers in the UK. It is a big task, but we have a big God, who has invested everything in His church, & expects us to work with Him to bring about His will on earth. That’s why Paul the apostle writes to the church in Galatia

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing IF WE DON’T GIVE UP.”

Whatever we feel like, however long it takes, whatever it costs – for the sake of people like these – GIVING UP IS NOT AN OPTION!

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The BOAZoffice has moved to Harpurhey Community Church – this promises to be a very exciting venture as the church has an established weekly ‘drop in’ Coffee Shop for the community which would allow the Asylum Seekers we work with to be built into the local community.

The new office is also near to some of our houses & this would allow ease of access with the possibility of improved advocacy & casework (something we have planned for some time).

We can still be contacted on the usual mobile numbers & emails.

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The BOAZRoadshow has now been presented a number of times.

Repeatedly we have heard “I didn’t fully realize” even from those who are regular supporters or involved in asylum work.

The BOAZRoadshow is a multi-media event lasting approximately 1 hour 15 minutes including refreshments with a quiz, video, drama, an interview with an Asylum Seeker, presentations & a ‘question & answer’ session - & can be adapted to fit into a Sunday morning worship service or as an evening event. The event has been revised & adjusted, & we have been encouraged to continue with a further series of presentations around the Greater Manchester area – with the aim of alerting people to the situation.

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One of the biggest difficulties faced by those working with asylum seekers is the confusion that reigns in the public consciousness. The term ‘asylum seeker’ is often misunderstood. Asylum seekers are routinely muddled up with economic migrants from the new EU countries in Eastern Europe, immigrants who have overstayed when their visas expired & others who have been illegally trafficked to the UK on the promise of a well paid job. Despite the best efforts of charities & caring individuals to disentangle the confusion, & despite a growing awareness in the general public of the unjustness of our asylum system, it sometimes feels like the water is muddier than ever.

This year there is an even greater challenge to keep the issues of asylum injustice – especially for those who have been made destitute – at the top of the agenda. What makes it so hard is that there are several very worthy causes competing for media & public attention. On the back of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, & supported by high-profile celebrities like Daniel Bedingfield, the Stop the Traffick campaign has successfully highlighted the plight of those trafficked to the UK. I pray that it will succeed in stopping a trade that has no place in a supposedly just society.

Then there is the Strangers into Citizens campaign which is calling for the regularization of those who have been working illegally in the UK for many years. While this campaign has merit, my concern is that it does nothing for those who have been refused asylum. Indeed, their cause is submerged amongst the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who keep our takeaways, restaurants & car-washes operating at a knock-down price. What an injustice it would be if economic migrants were allowed to stay, & those fleeing persecution were not!

That’s why we must take every opportunity to bring the issues of asylum injustice back where it is visible.

Recent reports on destitution have been immensely helpful in quantifying & qualifying the issue. The article in the Big Issue on Darfuris living on the streets of Manchester, & the God-inspired visit of Ian Duncan-Smith to our Eritrean women’s house have been important steps in raising awareness, & I would urge you to pray for these coming events, which may prove crucial to winning the battle both in the media & politics.

June 7th: I will be giving evidence at the Symposium on Persecution of Christian Asylum Seekers in London. Many Christian converts from other religions are being sent back to face persecution & perhaps death. Please pray that the Home Office will discontinue these deportations.

June 22nd: The Still Human Still Here campaign run by the Refugee Council is organising solidarity sleep-outs across the UK. Please pray for the Manchester Sleep-out to generate media coverage & public support.

October 17th: The Independent Asylum Commission comes to Manchester: topic for discussion – ‘Destitution’. There will be a lot of preliminary work to be done: please pray that the findings of this commission are incorporated into government policy. It could be the biggest breakthrough in our fight against destitution.

And thanks for your continued support & prayers – without you the work of the BOAZ Trust would be impossible!

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