Behind the statistics are thousands of skilled and talented individuals
June 17th, 2009 by Nick Scott-Flynn Posted in Refugees
When the British Red Cross first commissioned a survey into attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers we already knew there was a gap between perception and reality. We were pretty sure the results would show why Refugee Week, with the aim of celebrating and highlighting the positive impact refugees have on life in the UK, was so necessary.
But, despite working with refugees and asylum seekers every day, and hearing about the prejudice against them first hand, even we were shocked when we found that 95 per cent of people are unable to say to within 5,000 how many people apply for asylum in the UK each year. That almost a quarter of people think 100,000 or more people apply for asylum in the UK each year (the actual figure for 2008 was 25,670). And that people believe the UK is home to a quarter of the world’s asylum seekers.
But the more we looked at the figures, the more we realised that the numbers people carry with them in their heads – often vastly inaccurate guestimates – are a camouflage. A convenient way of hiding the individuality of the people they relate to.
By referring to people simply in terms of numbers and labels is to deny them their humanity and ignore both their suffering and their contribution to society.
People like Eric in the video below, who escaped death threats in Rwanda to live on £10 per week in the UK. Destitute, the Red Cross provided Eric with food and clothing, and as his situation stabilised he began volunteering for us – distributing food and water to people affected by the Gloucester floods in 2007. He now works for the Red Cross full-time.
People like Aldijana, who together with her family fled for her life from the war in Bosnia when she was a teenager. Today she is a solicitor in Nottingham.
People like Titcha, who sought sanctuary in the UK after being forced to leave Zimbabwe. She now volunteers for the Red Cross, works in a nursing home for the elderly and is studying for a degree in social care. As she says herself, she didn’t want to leave Zimbabwe, but now she is in the UK, she wants to contribute to society.
The more we focus on the figures, the more we fall into the trap of dehumanising vulnerable individuals capable of extraordinary contributions. We must not allow the figures in people’s heads to obscure the humanitarian needs and contributions of individuals, especially given how distorted those notional figures have been shown to be.
We need to look beyond the numbers and concentrate on the individuals involved. We should be proud of the UK’s role offering refuge to people in desperate need of safety, and celebrate the skills, talents and contributions people seeking sanctuary bring to the UK.
Look Beyond the Label: Refugee Week 2009- Eric Nkundumubano from British Red Cross on Vimeo.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oxfam GB.
