Asylum Alert

We live in an identity-conscious, word-conscious world.  

Who you are, how you want others to describe you, what is needed for every human being to be treated with dignity and respect – these are matters of great importance in the world today. They are especially important for people who are seen as ‘different’ or at the margins of society. 

People disagree about the right words to use. This isn’t a bad thing if they respect each other’s views and understand the importance of the questions.   

Many people with sensory or learning difficulties reject words like ‘blind’, ‘deaf’ or ‘learning disabled’. They prefer to see themselves on the spectrum of human differences.

Others are comfortable with such words. One of our members, Ali Martin, told us that the word ‘blind’ is part of his identity. 

We asked our Fellow Travellers – how do you feel about the words ‘asylum seeker’? Here are some of their responses:

It’s like a wound. It tells people that you don’t belong.

The words aren’t bad, but they make people see you as an outcast. Asylum seekers aren’t illegal, but politicians and the press treat us as if we are.

It makes me feel ashamed and excluded.

It stigmatises us with other people’s bad behaviour. There are many stereotypes around asylum seekers.

Any mistake or misbehaviour is generalised to the whole population of asylum seekers. 

There’s a lot of ignorance about asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers are treated differently depending where they come from, rather than who they are and what they’ve suffered.

Asylum seekers need to have a voice and speak out.

We shouldn’t care what people say about us. We should believe in ourselves. 

Everyone has a mixed heritage, not just asylum seekers/migrants.

We must always support each other.

How would members prefer to be described?

We prefer to be called “migrants” or “refugees without status”.

Colin Yeo, a barrister at Free Movement, says: “…migrants must be treated as humans.  Seeing them as citizens-in-waiting would be a good start.” Our members have discussed this suggestion of “citizens-in-waiting” as an alternative phrase:

They all agreed that this term carries a greater respect and hopefulness, as it conveys an end point or a destination to be reached. However, most of our members were concerned that this term does not accurately reflect the reality of the situation for many asylum seekers. They asked: “Does the change of the term effect a meaningful change in the treatment and attitudes?” Ultimately, what truly matters is that a change in discourse must be accompanied by a change in treatment.