Refugees and people seeking asylum regularly face multiple layered barriers while settling in the U.K., often preventing them from flourishing in their potential and fully regaining their confidence in our society.
The barriers manifest themselves on personal, social, cultural, financial and political levels.
We often hear about asylum seekers and refugees 'unwillingness' to integrate and contribute to society but less about the barriers they face from the moment they arrive in the U.K., which renders the integration relatively complex.
These barriers are the product of racism embedded within the U.K. immigration system that demonises migrants, particularly vulnerable people, seeking safety in this country. People are banned from seeking employment and have limited access to essential services because of their immigration status and, on top of all, harmful and toxic rhetoric politicians, media and policymakers perpetuate.
In this episode, the panellists delve into Removing Barriers to Power and dismantle existing barriers' main roots.
Azadeh Hosseini hosts this episode with the Refugee Action CEO, Tim Naor Hilton, alongside Mo Omar, the Refugee Action Head of EbE and Partnership, Mery, an EbE and a member of the Pathway to Work program and Halyma Begum, Global Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, Equity and Culture Membership Manager at DIAL Global and one of the Refugee Action's trustees.
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