The desperate situation of 100 people who have been refused asylum, and face eviction from their Ypeople accommodation ("Homeless fear for Glasgow's asylum seekers", The Herald, April 3), unfortunately does not come as a surprise.
The reality is that Ypeople has no contractual obligation to house refused asylum seekers. But Ypeople has until now taken the view that, as a charity, it has a moral imperative to offer housing, at its own expense, to those who have no legal way to support themselves.
In the public debate, asylum seekers whose claims are refused are often perceived as having somehow abused the system.
Yet many would have qualified for some form of protection had they applied for asylum in another country or applied in the UK in the past.
The majority of people who are forced into destitution by the UK Government are from just a few countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Zimbabwe and Somalia; countries to which they could not have safely or logistically been returned when their claim for protection had been turned down.
While we, along with many other support agencies across the city, are putting in place emergency measures – in our case additional surgeries with the British Red Cross for those who are destitute – this will not stop the continued flow of those who find themselves destitute in our city and across the UK.
We need a UK asylum system that offers proper protection to those who need it rather than inhumanely forces people into limbo.
John Wilkes,
Chief Executive,
Scottish Refugee Council,
5 Cadogan Square, Glasgow.
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