A GROUP of human rights supporters from Amnesty International met in Ilkley on Saturday, November 5, to highlight the plight of asylum seekers who are arriving in the UK after fleeing persecution and war.

They spoke to local residents and visitors to the town and handed out ‘fact checking’ leaflets designed to challenge some of the inflammatory government rhetoric and in some cases misleading information presented by the media.

The response was very positive with many people they engaged with keen to learn more as well as expressing their own feelings of distress about the situation.

Amnesty member Alison Tribe said: “We wanted to start a discussion about the appalling way asylum seekers are being treated, who after having to escape their own countries in such a traumatic way, are being met in the UK with hostility, more persecution, horrendous living conditions, criminalisation and the threat of being deported to Rwanda, a country that itself has a record of serious human rights abuses.

“We were pleasantly surprised and encouraged that many people we spoke to agreed that the manner in which these people are treated is simply inhumane and wrong, and that pressure must be put on the government to change the situation.”

On its leaflet, the group shared the Refugee Council’s six-point plan to address the tragic situation. These include a task force set up by the government to clear the backlog of 120,000 asylum seekers who are awaiting processing which is currently costing an estimated £5million a day in hotel costs, and a committed attempt to find suitable accommodation for people seeking asylum.

They are also asking for a humane reception for those arriving in the UK and to allow people to apply for a humanitarian visa at embassies and other sites abroad so they do not have to entrust their lives to criminal gangs – there are at present no legal routes for people to seek asylum in the UK. Furthermore, they would like the government to agree to urgent talks with the French government, which already accepts considerably more asylum seekers than the UK, and with other countries, for example Albania, to discuss the refugee situation and how to crack down on people smugglers.

To find out more information about Amnesty International and the refugee crisis, contact Ed Carne from the Wharfedale Amnesty group on 01943 600612.

The group meets every second Thursday of the month at 7.45pm at the Christchurch Coffee Centre in Ilkley and new members are always welcome.