Harsher settlement rules wouldn’t have stopped me fleeing hell in Syria to reach the UK. Now I’m here, they will just pile trauma on top of trauma
I am a refugee and I am in shock at the home secretary’s announcement that people like me will now have to wait up to 30 years before they can apply for settlement in the UK – a sixfold increase on the current time period.
It feels like a pile-on at a time when asylum seekers and refugees are already facing a barrage of hostility in this country. Even before the announcement, refugees felt under siege. With the withdrawal of the right to ever become citizens for those of us who have “made a dangerous journey” and with frequent reviews of our refugee status to check if we are still deserving enough of protection or if we should be deported, our security in the UK is more vulnerable than ever.
As told to Diane Taylor
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