Closed for good! NCADC's North East & Scotland Office

My farewell message as NE Co-ordinator for NCADC is written with a great deal of personal sadness and a degree of incredulity that we live in a climate where the fundamental principles of our democracy are being systematically dismantled by the very people who I thought would protect and strengthen them..

In any other area of life, the quality of service that NCADC provides for the people who access it - underpinned by the hard work and dedication of a small team of staff and a voluntary Management Committee - would bring rewards. If we were a business we would win accolades for our effort, efficiency and value for money! 

Over the last few weeks I have been explaining to our friends seeking asylum that NCADC faces complete closure because we cannot attract sufficient funding to continue our work. They have asked "But what will happen to us?" and I have told them that although offices may close, the people who care about them are still here fighting, and will continue to support them in any way they can.

Unfortunately, when you commit your energies to trying to protect frightened, vulnerable people, victims of injustice who deserve to be helped and supported, the response from potential funders is not what it should be. Far from recognising the value of our work, we are regarded by many funders as 'a risk', an unpopular cause that needs to be kept at a distance.

When we look back on the last decade of our history and how our government has treated asylum seekers, we may well look back with shame (and I truly believe that in the future we will), but NCADC can be proud to have been one of a small number of organisations that have defended humanitarian values against the effects of political injustice, public hostility, ignorance and racism.

The grant from the Community Fund, now exhausted, enabled NCADC to provide 6 years advice, support and campaigning expertise to people facing deportation or forced removal from the UK - building on the excellent work first established on a voluntary basis back in 1995 which had grown steadily since, thanks to small grants from a number of sympathetic charitable sources and personal donations from supporters.

It seemed for a while that the value of our work was at last recognised and the needs of the people we were trying to help were legitimised and respected.

My three years with NCADC has made me feel both encouraged and angered; events have filled me with both hope and despair.

Lowlights:
* Witnessing the relentless assault by the Government on the most beleaguered and demonised people in our communities. Although the campaigns I have worked with through the North East office were not exclusively refused asylum seekers, most were, and they were bemused and hurt by the culture of disbelief that has evolved.

* Successive amendments to immigration legislation that have resulted in hardship and discrimination - cuts in the legal aid budget and the calculated introduction of a professional threshold that has forced the closure of many immigration solicitors in the north east, making it harder for asylum seekers to obtain legal representation and win the right to remain; sections 54 & 55; withdrawal of healthcare for people whose applications have been refused; the 5 Year Plan; the Section 9 pilot, withdrawal of the right to work and the heartless legislation that requires loving couples to seek permission to marry.

* The iniquitous 'snatch squads' that terrorise and humiliate innocent human beings in the interest of 'effective immigration control'. What an indictment on our society that we allow little children to be taken from their beds and put into prison while our elected politicians seem powerless to prevent this shameful practice.

* The appalling conditions in which we hold detainees. The proven incidents of ill treatment and abuse perpetrated by those who are responsible for their care while in detention.

* The sorrows of losing people - families and individuals that have been forcibly removed. Amazingly, their gratitude for the work of NCADC is palpable. Some have maintained contact, others, having been returned to danger; we fear are imprisoned or even dead.

Highlights:
* Winning! Experiencing the tremendous power of knowing that the collective energies of a dedicated group really can make a difference. We didn't always achieve leave to remain, but stopping a removal and giving someone the chance to re-engage with the legal process is, in itself, a victory for justice. It has been good to watch 'seasoned campaigners' grow in confidence and share their experiences with others.

* Building positive relationships with the press - despite the irresponsible and inaccurate reporting of asylum issues by some sections of the press, the local media in the North East and Scotland have been totally supportive of our campaigns and have consulted us for opinions when new legislation has been announced - a measure of mutual trust.

* The emergence of 'communities of resistance'. I am humbled by the kindness of ordinary people who support campaigns, collect money to alleviate destitution and even take those whose asylum applications have been refused into their homes - a triumph of humanitarianism over draconian policy. It is wonderful to watch people becoming politicised, taking to the streets and holding their elected politicians to account.

What have I learned?………..that human beings have the capacity to inflict unspeakable suffering on one another - not just under the vile regimes from which many people flee, but here, in our so-called 'civilised' democracy where we deprive people of their dignity and self-esteem as we question their credibility and deny the essence of their experiences.

I am frequently shocked at the arbitrary judgments that determine whether an individual is granted leave to remain in safety or must return to danger. Some decisions seem to be made with little regard for human rights and can contain cultural insensitivities and cruelly subjective judgements, based on flawed information.

I have also learned a lot about my fellow human beings. The people I have met who are seeking asylum are amazing. I have heard their stories of courage, shared their grief and pain and wept with them as they have relived horrific experiences of torture, bereavement and dispossession.

Yet somehow they find the strength to go on, because they know they deserve justice. They are an inspiration to us all.

I have met wonderfully caring colleagues in the organisations that support and campaign for people seeking asylum, both in the statutory and voluntary sector. I have been privileged to work with people from the local community, faith groups, Trade Unions, political organisations, campaigning groups, schools and colleges and I thank them all for their support and encouragement over the last 3 years.

I am grateful for the advice and professional co-operation of numerous legal representatives and MPs who have been prepared to make a stand on behalf of asylum seekers.

I thank them all and wish them good luck in their future work.

I have been lucky to work with brilliant colleagues at NCADC over the last 3 years - quirky, but brilliant! I hope and pray that the messages of goodwill and individual donations that have come in since the announcement of our funding crisis will culminate in the continuation of core work.

A Member of NCADC's Management Committee who is himself still campaigning for the right to stay said " If you give your friendship to a person who is seeking asylum, you will change his life for ever".

Never give up!

Kath Sainsbury
Tuesday 28th February 2006

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