Warwick STAR host Refugee Week

Action Week hit campus last week to raise awareness about the UK’s detention system for asylum seekers and the conditions that they live in.

The week was organised by Warwick Student Action for Refugees (STAR). STAR is part of ‘Still Human Still Here’ – a coalition of more than 50 organisations that are campaigning for a fairer asylum system where poverty and destitution are not inherent. Warwick STAR is calling on the Government to make the support system fairer and ensure that all asylum seekers have enough money to live on.

With support for asylum seekers having recently been reduced as a consequence of the Coalition Government’s austerity measures, the events hosted by Warwick STAR during this year’s Refugee Week proved to be particularly relevant.

Students were challenged to survive the week on a tight budget of under £5 a day in order to highlight the insufficiency of the funds allocated to asylum seekers under current asylum legislation.

A Facebook group was set up for students to log their experiences. The fete proved difficult, with one student recounting how he “spent £3.40 on the bus and £1 on an ice cream” but was still “very hungry and mistakenly bought a double cheese burger for £1.49… and an apple and cherry pie”.

On Tuesday Kate Blagojevic from Detention Action, an organisation that raises awareness about the flaws in the UK detention system, was scheduled to speak. Alongside Blagojevic, local asylum seekers were to share their experience and speak about the challenges faced by refugees in this country and what students can do to help.

Unfortunately, due to travel arrangements, the guest speaker was unable to attend and the event was cancelled. The event may be rescheduled for a later date.

Wednesday saw the signing of a petition to lobby MPs to alter current detention policy. A talk facilitated by Bhopinder Basi, CEO of Refugee Centre, was also held informing students and staff about the UK’s detention policy.

On Thursday there was a screening of _Persepolis_, a Poignant coming-of-age story of an outspoken Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution. The week culminated in a lively social held at Varsity.