Maria Wilby reports on the work of Refugee, Asylum seeker and Migrant Action (RAMA), based in North East Essex.

For so many people the news that its Refugee week is an unpleasant reminder. A reminder of what? That there are so many conflicts still going on around the globe? That inevitably the climate crisis will, and already is, increasing numbers of people fleeing countries stricken by rising sea levels, increased water shortages and failing crops – which in turn lead to inequalities and often conflict?

However, a recent Lancet paper reported: “The World Bank predicts that climate change will force more than 216 million people across six continents to move within their countries by 2050.” Internal displacement because of climate change is already a factor in the UK. We are an island nation and rising sea levels will have an impact here.

Maybe it’s a reminder that many of the organisations we assumed we could rely on to protect people and prevent these crises are now largely powerless and often have internal conflicts of their own (UNHCR and NATO, to mention just a couple).

For others there may be reminders of the hate-fuelled media articles and comments and possibly a little bit of anxiety around these ‘hordes’ descending on our country by small boats – a niggling feeling that we are running out of room and resources to cope with these numbers and we should be prioritising our ‘own’.

I would love to reassure you. I would love to say things are getting better. And depending on your perspective you may find hope in the following statistics.

Most people fleeing their country go to a neighbouring country after several internal displacements. Only a small percentage get as far as Europe. The percentage of first time asylum applications relative to the UK population in 2024 was 0.124. In 2024 47% of claimants were granted leave to remain, down 37% from the previous year. We had fewer claims than 16 other EU countries. We are not where everyone wants to come.

What we should be concerned about is how we treat the relatively few people who make it to our shores. Remember, we are an island, and there is no convenient, legally attainable border at which to make a claim.

So, getting here is hazardous and causes loss of life, hardship and trauma. For people who have already experienced these hazards and their subsequent costs to wellbeing and mental health, we often find that the biggest negative impact for them is the system they arrive in.

The Hostile Environment Policy may not be actively pursued by our current government but until it is actively dismantled it remains in place within every statutory organisation and sometimes in the voluntary organisations they fund. When a person gains immigration status their case will have been scrutinised by the Home Office, potentially for years, yet the Department for Work and Pensions often implement a habitual residence test when these people apply for benefits. This can delay a claim for weeks. Given that when you gain status your support can stop as early as 28 days later, a delay of any kind means that at this time, when you could and should be celebrating recognition of your claim, you could face destitution.

The wait for immigration status can be a long one. Here in Colchester, there are clients who have still had no decision for four years. Syrian cases are all paused now and yet we know how volatile things remain in that country.

Even if the wait is not long, it can deprive you of dignity, a sense of purpose and any way to feel engaged with the country in which you are in.

Take, for example, the lives of the disabled asylum seekers we work with in Tendring (one of the least resilient and highest scoring areas of multiple deprivation in Europe.) Placed in an old care home, now devoid of basics like a hoist, doors that open automatically, shower chairs and hospital beds, we support as best we can the lives of up to 70 asylum seekers at a time.

Dumped at the facility, some of the people we meet have had dual sensory loss (mute and deaf, deaf and blind, etc), paraplegia, strokes causing mobility issues, amputations of limbs following conflict, wasting diseases, and many have high-level mental health issues.

They live on £9 a week. Now, you could think that’s enough if they have an all-inclusive stay. However, when you throw into the mix the fact that we have found glass, rusty wire, large frozen lumps and pubic hair in the food, you will start to understand that it’s not a suitable place.

One client with cerebral palsy needs his food liquidised and so we brought a food processor for his mother to use. It was removed from their room – they are not allowed electrical items. We brought a hand-operated version but his mother is also disabled and could not use it. Eventually the local church kindly offered use of their kitchen for a few hours a week so she could prepare food.

If you or I had a disability, there would be extra benefits we could claim. However, there is absolutely no extra support offered to disabled asylum seekers.

This month we saw the first suicide of a client in Colchester since we have worked here (coming up for ten years). This client ended his life at our train station. Many people have since told us we are lucky he was the first ‘successful’ suicide. We do not feel lucky. His brother, a client for over three years, who did everything he could to protect him, does not feel lucky. The poor support he received for his mental health was one factor, the torture and exploitation he suffered in Libya on his way to the UK was another factor; but the 27 months wait in the asylum system was possibly the most negative factor in his case. It broke him. He gained immigration status. He died with a right to remain here in the UK.

We are not lucky, but RAMA does acknowledge our work as a preventative of greater decline in both the physical and mental health of our clients.

Our clients are more resilient than some within the asylum system. Those who are resilient have access to support, activities, friendship, food, extra money and advocacy. Resilience means that when any of us face deprivation, or are marginalised and vulnerable, we can still feel we have a purpose, a person who hears us and is on our side, and we can keep busy and learn, and move forward.

When the far right declared in the Autumn they would be coming to Colchester, some of staff who wear hijabs or have lived experience of forced migration were hesitant about going out, as were our clients. What those who went out reported was that they felt more people smiled, chatted and showed them more positive attention than usual. Our city is becoming a City of Sanctuary and its amazing inhabitants have learned alongside our clients how the best can come from learning from each other.

Our clients will one day be your teachers, shop assistants, lawyers, carers, your children’s partners, your best friends and more. How we make them feel on arrival will never be forgotten.

Maria Wilby is Operational Lead of RAMA – Refugee, Asylum seeker and Migrant Action based in NE Essex with 5,000 clients from 134 countries. They provide casework and advocacy for all clients and have an immigration team to assist people with human rights claims. Many staff have lived experience of the asylum system and of being a migrant here in the UK.

Top image: A wall mural at RAMA HQ with 46 languages telling our clients WELCOME. Both images c/o RAMA.