Devon & Cornwall Refugee Support

The plight of refugees is a huge dilemma at the moment as thousands of families continue to flee from war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and other countries. More than 600 thousand people have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean and Aegean this year in the hope of starting a new life in the safety of Europe. The scale of the current crisis is immense but ever since the 1951 Refugee Convention following World War II, when millions of people were displaced, national organisations such as British Red Cross, The Refugee Council and  Refugee Action have been trying to help asylum seekers who have escaped from horrific conditions.

Many local charities have also risen up in response to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in their community. One such charity is Devon & Cornwall Refugee Support (DCRS) based at the Masiandae Centre in Plymouth. Samuel Moinina Kallon founded  DCRS in 1999 with his wife Isetta, when refugees in the neighbourhood started knocking on their door asking for advice. Sam and his wife had fled to the UK and been granted asylum after escaping from Sierra Leone when civil war erupted in the 1990s, so they understood all the issues facing asylum seekers. In 2000 Plymouth became a Home Office dispersal centre for asylum seekers so a group of committed local supporters helped Sam to formalise DCRS as a charity and secured premises for a centre at Wesley Methodist Church. Sadly Sam died of cancer in 2002 but his legacy continued and DCRS now has a centre in Whimple Street where it aims 'to provide a culturally sensitive practical response to the needs of the refugee community'.

An asylum seeker is someone who has fled persecution in their homeland, made themselves known to the authorities in another country and has a legal right to stay in that country while they apply for asylum. A refugee is someone who has been granted asylum and is allowed to stay in another country having proved it is not safe for them to return home.

There are an estimated 126,000 refugees living in the UK, which represents 0.19% of the total population. Asylum seekers in the UK are interviewed by the Home Office and then dispersed to a number of towns where they are given free but basic accommodation and £36.62 per week to cover food. Six to eight people share a house and often the occupants come from different cultural backgrounds. If their initial claim is refused and they appeal, then the same weekly amount is issued on a card, which they can use at a restricted number of shops. Plymouth receives 20 to 30 new asylum seekers each month and the Home Office aims to process their application within 6 months, but this is not always the case.

When asylum seekers first arrive in Plymouth, the Red Cross organises an orientation programme to show them where to find the police station, the post office, shops etc and then they bring them to the DCRS centre as it is the locally recognised support network for asylum seekers and a place of safety to come for help and advice or just coffee and a chat. One of the most important aspects of DCRS's work is one-to-one interviews with clients to support them in submitting a successful asylum application and help them find appropriate evidence to substantiate their case. Approximately 60% of first applications in the UK fail, very often because there is insufficient evidence to prove the case rather than because the reason for claiming asylum is invalid.

DCRS has two registered members of staff who provide OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) level 1 immigration legal advice to asylum seekers and it can also provide help with housing, financial, health, education and cultural issues. The centre offers English conversation classes with ESOL trained staff, as refugees are not entitled to formal ESOL courses until they have been in the country for six months. Asylum seekers can access internet facilities at the centre to keep in touch with relatives in their home country as well as research evidence to support their asylum application. DCRS  also organises sports and fitness activities, craft and music workshops and local events such as Bonfire Night in Calstock, or environmental work parties at Lopwell Dam. In addition the centre runs a food and clothing programme to  support refugees, so that at times of special need a Project Support Worker can authorise the collection of an emergency food parcel.

DCRS works closely with a number of other charities in Plymouth such as British Red Cross, Start(Students & Refugees Together) and Plymouth Hope Festival who all endeavour to improve the lives of refugees living in Plymouth. DCRS does not receive any government funding and depends entirely upon the generosity of the community with donations of cash, food and clothing in order to continue its work.

If you are able to make a cash or food donation (clothing is not presently required) or are interested in being more involved in the work of DCRS then please contact: DCRS, 7 Whimple Street, Plymouth, PL1 2DH; Tel 01752 265952; Email dcrsc@btopenworld.com; Website: dcrs-plymouth.org (Drop-in service open Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri 10am-1pm)

Rosemary Best