Home and Away

The Mission Committee held its last Home and Away Evening for 2011 on Wednesday, 19^th October.   The speaker from the London Churches Refugee Network was not well enough to attend so Jane Wilkinson outlined the work of the group.  There are many misconceptions about Asylum Seekers, who are often thought of as illegal immigrants.   The following definitions may help: 

REFUSED ASYLUM SEEKER

A person who:

•hasn’t been able to prove that they

  would face persecution back home

•has had their application turned down

•is told to leave the country after the

  authorities say ‘no, you can’t stay here’

ECONOMIC MIGRANT

A person who:

•has moved to another country to work

•could be anyone from an Albanian

  Builder to an African nurse

•strengthens the workforce

•could be illegal or legally resident,

  depending on how they entered the

  country

•might have a legal work permit

•or may be working illegally

EUROPEAN MIGRANT

A person who:

•is a member of a country that belongs to the

  European Economic Area (EEA) just like us

•has the right to live in the UK so long as they are

  studying, are working or have enough money

  to support themselves

•usually has the automatic right to work in the UK (but

  if they are from one of the new accession countries like

  Poland, they may have to register with the government

  first, or if they are from Bulgaria or Romania they may

  need a work permit depending on the type of job they

  want to do)

ASYLUM SEEKER

A person who:

•flees their homeland

•arrives in another country

•makes themselves known to the authorities

•exercises their legal right to apply for sanctuary

REFUGEE

A person who:

•has proved that they would face

  persecution back home

•has had a successful asylum application

•is allowed to stay in that country after the

  authorities say ‘yes, you can stay here’

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

A person who:

•has arrived in a new country

•has either not made themselves known to the

  authorities OR has stayed in the country longer

  than they were authorized to

•has no legal permission to be there

•is going to get in real big trouble when

  they’re found out

The London Churches Refugee Network seeks to help Asylum Seekers, who often find themselves in difficult and uncertain situations in this country.    The Mission Committee has supported their work by a donation of £1,000 this year.

The second speaker of the evening told of the work of Action for Children, which Trinity regularly supports through collection boxes, special coffee mornings and the carol singing around local streets to take place on Sunday, 4^th December this year.    It is encouraging to hear that over £750,000 is raised each year from the collection boxes, which people have in their own homes.

Carol singing around the streets near to the Church on Sunday evening, 4th December raised £200 for Action for Children.