NILE SITE

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NILE site

Historical Background

There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. According to the two sources, there are many countries, especially among developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where ordinary people have no say in whatever the governments do. There are problems of political repression. Even under so-called democratic countries if one criticizes, the government, politicians, their policies the general tendency is to persecute them. This persecution process includes arrest, indefinite detention, torture, and death at the hands of paramilitary groups and so on. There are also many countries in the world where there are conflicts due to ethnic, religious and linguistic rivalries. People from non-majority backgrounds are continuously and regularly discriminated against. Then there are autocratic regimes like Taliban which impose no education or employment for women, no religious practices other than their own sectarian Islamic versions and so on.

The ordinary people who suffer as a result of these conflicts, discriminations and wars are many millions. There are many claims about asylum seekers that give them a bad name and one of these dubious claims are that Britain is the land of milk and honey for asylum seekers, (Giese 2006) and that they can what they want here. Is Britain really the land of milk and honey for asylum seekers? Asylum seekers are not allowed to claim mainstream welfare benefits. If they are destitute, the only option for some is to apply for support with the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), the Government department responsible for supporting destitute asylum applicants. NASS support is very basic indeed.

It is irrational to suggest that asylum seekers embark on arduous and often dangerous journeys to the UK for that amount of money. From 8th January the Government will withhold support from the majority of people who apply for asylum once inside the UK, rather than at a port. According to housing and welfare experts, this is likely to lead to chronic destitution and homelessness. There is no sound factual basis for discriminating against those who claim asylum once they are in the UK - in fact the Home Office's own figures show that around 65 per cent of positive decisions are given to in-country applicants. A joint study by Oxfam and the Refugee Council shows that the asylum system, far from making the UK 'a land of milk and honey' for asylum seekers, institutionalizes poverty.

Question 1

The source is NCADC; the topic is analyzed by one of the members of this site. Many people keep journals and write diaries, autobiographies, and business and personal letters, some of which are written explicitly for posterity and the historical ...