Like Starting Life from Scratch

This week, we are very excited to announce the launch of a short film made by young people and professional film-makers: Like Starting Life from Scratch. With the launch of this film, we are asking our community to take action with us, for young refugees. A new Bill, the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, is currently going through parliament. As the Bill reaches the ‘report stage’, this is an opportunity for MPs to propose changes to the Bill and get rid of dangerous measures introduced by the previous government. It’s an important moment to create a compassionate asylum system that allows young people to rebuild their lives. Read on to find out more, with a simple action to contact your MP.  

As the young person says in the film, “The only thing I want is safety”. We all want to feel safe. But over the last few years, that has become more and more difficult for people seeking asylum in the UK.   

The young people at Young Roots – as you can hear in their film - have hopes and dreams like all of us. They deserve to be safe and to feel safe. But the cruel anti-refugee laws of the previous government have made young people feel scared and uncertain.  

The good news is that the government is doing something about two of these cruel laws via the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill that is currently being considered by parliament. As part of this new Bill, the Safety of Rwanda Act will be repealed, as will most of the disastrous elements of the ‘Illegal’ Migration Act.  

These measures were brought in as a distraction from the actual problems we’re facing in our society, scapegoating refugees rather than investing in services and housing and fixing our economy – but they have real impacts on people’s lives and wellbeing.   And the third plank of the previous government’s attack on the right to asylum – the Nationality and Borders Act, is not being dealt with at all by the government.  

The Nationality and Borders Act makes it harder for people to be recognised as refugees; puts huge barriers in place for victims of modern slavery and trafficking to receive protection and support; and introduced very dangerous provisions around determining age that affects many of the young people we support.   

As the new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill goes through parliament, MPs have an opportunity to wipe away the damaging legacy of the last government and stand up for a compassionate approach: an asylum system built on kindness. As the government are doing with the Safety of Rwanda Act and much of the ‘Illegal’ Migration Act, they could and should use this new Bill to repeal the harmful provisions of the Nationality and Borders Act. Although the government has not done this in the original wording of the new Bill, the parliamentary process allows MPs to suggest changes to a Bill in the form of amendments. If these amendments are voted through by parliament, they will be included in the final version of the law.  

 It sounds technical, but it’s actually an easy ask – your MP simply needs to vote in favour of “amendment NC27” now the Bill is reaching the ‘report’ stage of the parliamentary process in the House of Commons.

Young people have been through and lost so much. Help young refugees to be able to rebuild their lives - contact your MP and ask them to vote in favour of amendment NC27 to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. We’ve made it easy for you - you can find out who your MP is here and can use this template email below,

Let us know what they say!