That people seeking asylum are human is a fact – not something it is necessary to assert. Should we oppose destitution merely in relation to people seeking asylum or because destitution itself is wrong?
To focus on people seeking asylum in the debate around destitution is to reinforce the government's policy of isolating them from the rest of the community. The declaration that “Asylum Seekers Are Human Too” is a weak and shallow response to the government's vicious anti immigration agenda. If we are really serious about taking action against destitution, it's time to tighten up the arguments and widen the dialogue.
RAPAR was one of the first organisations in the UK to analyse the Home Office's policy of dispersal, the way it cuts people off from their friends and supporters, and how the policy leads to eviction into destitution and even deeper isolation.
We believe that the government's recent attacks on all people existing on low incomes makes it even more important to embrace a wider approach to the fight against destitution. The bedroom tax and changes in the benefits system mean that increasing numbers of people will be evicted into destitution – people seeking asylum need to be an integral part of the resistance to it.
The government is building on the policy of evicting asylum seekers into destitution to force other sections of the population out of their homes and onto the streets. Organisations which work with people seeking asylum should not seek to fortify government policies which separate them from the rest of the community. We should instead work with others to fight destitution itself – to do any less, is to collaborate with a government which seeks to divide and enfeeble us.
Let's take some real shared action by linking up with other people in our community who are at risk of eviction and fighting destitution together.