Yemi Samuels
| When Yemi Samuels left Nigeria to the United Kingdom for university, she was already a British citizen. Originally born in London, she moved to Nigeria for eight for her education, and returned to study law. She is currently interested in family and immigration law, which provides a key insight for her volunteer work with organizations such as the Westminster Refugee Consortium. She understands the struggle of both lawmakers and asylum seekers to maintain the balance between fairness and efficiency. She calls the situation a “Catch-22”; making the system easier for the people in real need opens the doors for those who abuse the system. “Some people take advantage… and [they] don’t go back”. Currently, the process requires documentation (a membership card for political group, government papers etc) or proof that the asylum seeker was forced to leave. Because of the thoroughness of the search required, and the number of searches requested, this can be a long wait. However, the UK provides very generous accommodation unmatched by most countries, with vouchers and adequate shelter until their query is fully investigated. The benefit is that the “true cases get their stay”, and the downside is that some people, during the search or after their work or education stay has expired, go missing. Many get lost in the system, and purchase illegal NI numbers and passports. Yemi recounted a story about an illegal immigrant who became a British citizen after living a couple of years under the radar. Unfortunately, these people are a drain on the system which leads to more problems for immigration officers and legislators, and a negative, and often exaggerated, portrayal in national newspapers and outlets. “The [media] don’t have the true picture of what it’s like”. One of the principle goals of WRC is to communicate an accurate representation of the struggles and process undertaken by refugees and increase “awareness of why these things happen”. Another equally important goal is to provide information for asylum seekers to describe what rights they have and options are available to them, and helping the transition process in to a new country. Often refugees and asylum seekers feel segregated and isolated; the cause of an obtrusive language barrier and pre-existing anti-immigration sentiment. WRC helps them fit in by providing basic services such as language classes, to helping them find schools and even talking to teachers if there are problems with a student. “We basically get them in the system.” Some transitions are especially difficult. Some asylum seekers are escaping torture, such as a 17-year-old girl Yemi worked with. Having been brutally raped and tortured by police in Uganda because of her family’s political affliations, she escaped to the UK but suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. WRC helped her get over the horrifying experience after several years; setting up hospital appointments and finding schools, and now she is much more integrated member of society.
In a time of austerity cuts, where money available to councils is tight and funding has diminished, Westminster council has still provided enough funds to keep running. According to Yemi, WRC has a good relationship with the council, as they know the importance of programs such as the Consortium. However, WRC needs more support: “It doesn’t come free,” Yemi said. With increased reports on cultural conflicts in recent years, Yemi describes it as “good” that people are “more open about it.” Yemi is just one of the thousands of volunteers who sacrifice their time and efforts to help refugees and asylum seekers become integrated within British society and acclimate to British culture. |
