FILM NIGHT - Refugee Youth - 22 Feb
Join us this Wednesday, 22 February, to mark STAR's national day of action, this year focused on refugee youth.LSE's STAR society will be screening a short documentary entitled 'Facing Our Future -- Refugee Youth', followed by the critically acclaimed documentary film 'Lost Boys of Sudan'.
When: Wed, 22 Feb, 5.30pm
Where: D402, Clement House
>Learn more about the film 'Lost Boys of Sudan' HERE.
ATTN: FILM NIGHT MOVED TO THURSDAY -- SEE POST ABOVE!!!
*This is a free educational event open to LSE staff and students*
Be sure to stop by our information stall on Houghton Street earlier in the day and pick up some information about refugee youth, displaced children and unaccompanied child asylum-seekers. Don't miss it!
>See the Forced Migration Online research guide about children and adolescents in conflict situations here.
>See UNHCR's information page on refugee children here.
posted by LSE STAR Committee @ 10:45
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AGE MATTERS! The Truth about Separated Children Seeking Asylum
(information provided by the national STAR network office.)
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In 2004, 2,733 unaccompanied minors arrived in Britain.
Many people who seek asylum in the UK arrive with no travel documents or false papers and therefore have no proof of their age. It is the responsibility of the child to prove their age to the Home Office.
For many separated children their appearance is often the only way their age is decided. Is this right, is this fair?
In the UK, if a child is assessed to be under the age of 18, they are entitled to support from social services (access to schools, etc).
If a child is incorrectly assessed as being over the age of 18, they are treated as an adult seeking asylum and may be subject to detention and interrogation as an adult, they have no right to work and no pastoral care until a decision is made on their case.
In 2004 it was estimated that 4,000 children seen by the Refugee Council’s Children’s Panel were undergoing an age dispute by the Home Office.
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>>The experiences of two children who came to the UK unaccompanied, seeking asylum below:
(*names changed to protect identity*)
-Alexander (Rwanda)
When he was 14, armed rebels raided Alexander’s home, they raped his two sisters in front of him, and destroyed everything. Then they abducted him. For over a year the rebels made Alexander wash and cook for them, and he was forced to watch raids like the one that had destroyed his own home. When he finally managed to escape he walked hundreds of miles before finding safety but was then accused of being a rebel himself and was sent to prison. After nine months in prison, enduring rape and torture Alexander, still only 15, was released only to find his village looted and his mother and sisters missing.
Alexander was 16 when he arrived in the UK but the Home Office refused to believe his age. He was left to negotiate the asylum system alone and felt distressed and suicidal. Eventually the Home Office re-assessed his age and admitted Alexander was a vulnerable child in need of support. He now lives in supported foster care and attends sessions with a child psychotherapist.
-Vikki (Uganda)
Vikki arrived in the UK from Uganda with someone else’s passport, as this was her only was to escape to safety. The passport said that she was 24, but her real age is 16. Vikki was kept in detention. When she was sent to Social Services, they said that they couldn’t help her as her papers said she was an adult. She had to find somewhere to stay and was forced to apply for support as an adult asylum-seeker. She was moved to Margate and then to Newcastle. Even though a pediatrician’s report now confirms that she is a child, she is living on her own with adults.
Vikki has been living like this for months, she needs to see her legal representative but has no money to travel to London. She is desperate to make friends of her own age and to start school or college. She needs that support that a 16 year old girl is entitled to.
Hi everyone,
I just found a fun online documentary on child refugees in Australia. It's an interactive flash movie -- quite clever.
Maybe you already know it . . .
CLICK HERE - 'Long Journey - Young Lives'
Have a look -- it goes well with our refugee youth theme!
Cheers,
Emilie
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