By Iman Hakimi, Comms and Advocacy Volunteer To close Refugee Week 2022, Asylum Welcome partnered with the Oxford Festival of the Arts to host ‘Cultures, Crossings, and Communities’, an All-Day Bazaar at Magdalen College School. Festivities were followed by a panel discussion chaired by BBC political correspondent Rob Watson, with local councillors and
By Iman Hakimi, Comms and Advocacy Volunteer The Oxford Alternative Walking Tour: an informative and convivial event which magnified the interconnectedness of charity, community, and solidarity. To kickstart celebrations for Refugee Week 2022, Asylum Welcome organised an Alternative Walking Tour of Oxford on Saturday 18th June: three guided tours led
Dear Friends, Many of you will have seen the news yesterday announcing the government’s plan to reopen Campsfield House as an immigration removal centre. The announcement very much fits with the policy of treating asylum seekers as illegal immigrants that has been provided for in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 that we all
In December 2018, Campsfield immigration detention centre in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, was finally closed, 25 years after it opened. As an organisation, Asylum Welcome was born out of the community campaign to close Campsfield, having run a visiting programme for those held in the centre. We have seen first-hand the trauma and harm done by detention
To mark World Refugee Day 2022, watch the interview that Nuha Abdo, our Refugee and Migrant Community Support Coordinator, made with Nadine Kaadan, children’s author and illustrator, who penned the story for Little Amal’s visit to Oxford in October 2021. Kaadan’s story, ‘Amal Meets Alice’, brought the companionship of Amal
More than 20 events are taking place in Oxford and Reading this year to mark Refugee Week 2022. There is something for everyone: exhibitions, film screenings, a guided tour, a pop-up marketplace and a quilt making workshop! During Refugee Week, we celebrate the positive impact that refugees have in our society - an impact
The controversial plan to begin removing asylum seekers to Rwanda has been given the go-ahead, pending a high-court appeal on Monday. The first flight is expected to leave on Tuesday (14th June). Under this new scheme, anybody who arrived in the UK after the 1st of January by routes deemed ‘illegal’ by the Nationality
This is a dark time for us as refugee advocates, but it's also a chance to regroup, reflect on our achievements, and reaffirm our commitment to treat all refugees and asylum seekers equally, with dignity and respect, regardless of how they arrived here. Following nine months of debate, significant opposition
So the parliamentary ping pong-continues…. On Tuesday (26th April), both the Lords and the Commons debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in a rapid-fire exchange of parliamentary ping-pong. The Lords voted on eight amendments to the Bill, passing three and adding to the string of defeats to the Bill in
The Nationality and Borders Bill returned to the House of Lords for the second time on Monday 4th April where the Lords stood firm on their previous amendments to the Bill. In total, the Bill suffered 12 defeats, with only one win for the government. The Lords reaffirmed their commitment
