“Life goals, dreams and aspirations are stranded because they can’t access opportunities to study”
Belfast Council is backing a women’s refugee group, who are asking Stormont for “targeted education” for young refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.
Elected representatives at a City Hall committee have backed an Alliance motion calling for a pilot scheme in Belfast.
At the council’s August meeting of the Belfast Council People and Communities Committee a motion was forwarded by Alliance Councillor Micky Murray.
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It states: “This council endorses the Stranded Dreams report launched by Anaka Women’s Collective on the need for targeted education provision for young refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland, and agrees to write to the Ministers of Economy and Education to outline our support for the recommendations, including a pilot scheme for the Greater Belfast area.”
Councillor Murray said at the meeting: “Anaka Women’s Collective support refugee and asylum seekers, primarily women, but they have an education part to their organisation, supporting people to access education and the English language.
“They have put together this report which shows multiple issues with education that negatively affects their service users, issues like the content of existing courses, courses not being fit for purpose, and a system creating more barriers than opportunities.”
The Stranded Dreams report states: “For teenagers and young adults who arrive in Belfast, fleeing war and persecution, the relief of a fresh start is often quickly overtaken by feeling abandoned by our education system. Their life goals, dreams and aspirations are stranded because they can’t access opportunities to study, to integrate with peers and to contribute to a better future for themselves and the community they have made home.”
It states: “The experience of fleeing war or persecution is hugely disruptive to the lives, education and wellbeing of these young people. Unfortunately, this often continues on arrival here.
“Once they reach Northern Ireland, young people in the asylum process may face many months or years before their claims are decided. During this time, they are housed in temporary accommodation, often contingency hostels in former hotels. This could be for weeks or months, even though it has been judged unsuitable for more than emergency housing.
“Accommodation is often cramped, with families housed in one or two hotel rooms, and living on £8.86 each a week for transport, toiletries and other essentials. People are denied the right to work and they may be moved repeatedly. When refugee status is granted, families are moved at short notice from the Home Office, often to NI Housing Executive temporary accommodation, potentially far away, disrupting schooling.
“While children seeking asylum are entitled to attend school, often there are delays, lack of spaces and problems accessing uniform, transport or language support to make this possible. Those arriving in the second half of the academic year can face particular barriers to securing a place.”
The report proposes a two-year flexible, rolling programme for those aged 16-24, allowing newly arrived young people “to start quickly and to accommodate their varied needs and the challenging situations they have endured.” They propose the programme should offer three levels of English taught at recognised A1, A2 and B1 levels, and the opportunity for progression for those starting out with minimal English.
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