The End!

Well, I've now come to the end of my week living on Section 4 Support and it certainly has not been easy! It's been long and the lack of food, especially whilst I've been in town in the daytime, has made me tired and has definitely affected my concentration. The restrictions placed on you are immense, (the more so considering that I could only spend money in a handful of shops) and you learn not to waste cash on unnecessary luxuries. The cost of a Latte at Starbucks is probably as expensive as around three meals I've had this week! I'm sure some people may argue that £35 a week is not too little to live off and that the UK is even being overly generous with the amount it gives to asylum seekers. You certainly can live off £35 and I think that I underspent this week, my average daily expenditure (excluding transport) being around £1.50. Despite this one must factor in the trauma of actually being in the asylum system itself,  the very real restrictions on what you can and cannot do (asylum seekers cannot work) and the inability to indulge yourself in anyway-you spend money only on the essentials and bulk buying is out of the question. You really only can buy food and toiletries.  A life as an asylum seeker is a life in limbo, endless boredom mixed with the fear of removal.

I think that this is fundamentally what poverty means to me-the lack of choice you have over your circumstances. This is a characteristic of poverty everywhere from those struggling to find work here in Britain, to those living on less than a dollar a day in the developing world, from women being denied a voice to the asylum seeker fleeing all they know to seek safety. Yet we know we can change these circumstances and that poverty is not inevitable  it's rather a result of human actions through the way society has come to be organised. Since poverty is structural it can be changed and those of us who can must use our voice to ensure that everyone has access to the rights too many of us take for granted.

This week has been eye-openning, it's been frustrating but without doubt worthwhile. It's also been fab reading the blogs of those other crazy folk who've been walking for water, living in the dark and losing their right to express their opinion amongst other crazy things. Thanks to everyone who's read my blog!!!

 

 
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Asylum is a Human Right

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14: Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

Today saw a sort of temporary hiatus from my poverty challenge as I travelled to Liverpool to attend the North West regional Amnesty Conference, the rail ticket itself would have set me back quite a bit, a matter made worse by the fact that I bought a single ticket out of the self service machine instead of a return in my rush not to miss the 8:37 train! I know I told some of you that I was going to attempt not to have an opinion today but after having read the struggles faced by others on this challenge and thinking about the practical skills to be gained out of the conference I decided instead to limit my spending today to what would fall within the expenditure of an asylum seeker on UKBA support.

Right thats enough for excuses.....I quoted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the start because it highlights the importance placed on asylum by the United Nations in the declaration that set the tone for all subsequent human rights related thinking and law. Amnesty Internationals slogan is 'Protect the Human' and this is what should be at the heart of any asylum system-the need to protect those fleeing persecution. Sometimes I feel that too much emphasis is placed on trying to route out those that abuse the system rather than treating those within it with the dignity they deserve. Check our Amnesty's own page on refugees and asylum seekers here: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10398

Today I had a pack of crisps from Sainsbury's for breakfast (45p) and was overjoyed when lunch at the conference turned out to be a 'free' all you can eat Chinese buffet! This challenge of living on Section 4 really has redefined how I view food and the quantity of food I eat at a time-lets just say I ate a lot of lunch. After the conference I met one of my good friends from uni who was passing through Liverpool before jet-setting away on holiday and she was kind enough to pay for most of my meal, which very ironically consisted of more noodlely soup from Wagamama-thanks Rachel! Todays total expenditure was thus £3:45.

 

 
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The unacceptable outcome of our asylum system...

Living with no access food or water, no shelter,  no clean sanitation facilities and no electricity. You would think I was refering to the extreme poverty suffered by thousands in the developing world but would it shock you if I said that there are potentially thousands of people in the UK living in these conditions? Whats worse I'm talking about people who have fled their own countries with the hope of finding safety and ending up scraping  an existence on our streets. It's the unacceptable outcome  of our asylum system for too many people-destitution.

Once your claim is rejected the Home Office expects you to return home and cuts off any financial support and accommodation after a 21 day 'grace period'. Some people manage to gather enough evidence to make a fresh asylum claim or may arrange voluntary return which would occur after their support stops, if this is the case they may qualify for Section 4 Support (the support I'm trying to replicate for my challenge) but this is by no means easy to get. Faced with the choice of returning home or destitution many choose destitution. If you have a moment take a look at this harrowing piece which was in the Guardian a few months ago that describes the life of people living off Red Cross handouts some of whom  live in conditions that can be described as nothing other than absolute poverty. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/16/asylum-seekers-survive-on-streets.

Destitution should play no part in our asylum system and the very fact so many are forced into it suggests that the system is in need of comprehensive change. Forcing conditions of extreme poverty on people already traumatised by what they have already experienced is just inhumane. Sorry for the rant here but the fact that this is happening in this country is outrageous and I feel people need to be made aware of it!

As for my day I basically did what I've been doing the last few days, had next to no lunch (pack of rather expensive crisps 49p) and then came home and had more of those strange yet yummy instant noodles (61p)! Budgetary restraints made themselves most noticed today when I missed my bus and was stood in the driving rain waiting for the next one yet when it showed it was a flashy Stagecoach which wouldn't accept by bus-pass for the cheaper Finglands service. Normally I'd have just paid the 3 pounds just to get out of the rain but instead had to loiter around for the Finglands. Poverty in the UK strikes me as being faced with the possibility of choice but denied the means to actually make any of those choices.....more on this in the next post!

Off to the Amnesty Conference in Liverpool tommorow so will need a new Poverty challenge any suggestions??

 
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Rainy Day Campaigning Mk2

I thought I'd open this blog out a bit today and ask you all what your perceptions of asylum seekers and the asylum system are? Do you think the amount given to asylum seekers is enough or do you think it should be more or do you even think that we should cut down support levels? To help you these are the current support levels given to asylum seekers who are waiting for a decision on their claim and have no financial savings that they can rely on: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/asylum/support/cashsupport/currentsupportamounts/

The 'support' I'm currently trying to experience is Section 4 support, which to an asylum seeker would consist of shared accommodation and the restricted spending allowed through the use of the S4 payment card. This is for those who have been refused asylum and cannot return home for reasons beyond their own control (see second blog post for details!). 

After just 4 days of living on the equivalent of S4 support I can honestly say that it does not feel like enough money to live on, yet what would that amount be? Do the current support levels trap already vulnerable people in a life where choice is restricted and lives put on hold or are we too generous with the amount given to asylum seekers, which afterall comes direct from the government budget? I certainly fall within the first bracket and feel that the system leaves the individual with so little choice that it disorientates people who are struggling in what has been described as an adversarial system. Great to hear your views on these things!!

As for my day I managed to get away with spending nothing! Was bought a lovely honey roast pork bun from Wong Wong bakery (thanks Ronnie!) which was only a pound! Seriously if you're in Manchester go there. Had an awesome evening campaigning in the soaking rain with Amnesty International outside violinist Nigel Kennedy's gig at the Bridgewater Hall. This was in aid of Burma's political prisoners in the run up to the upcoming elections there. Burma is a country rife with human rights abuses where people are regularly displaced by the actions of the military junta. Kennedy even came out, shook our hands and played an impromptu mini set in the rain to the shock of the gig goers inside! If you want to find out about Amnesty's Burma campaign check this out: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11780

On another note very interesting debate on the Green Movement, nuclear power and GM crops on Ch4, catch it on Iplayer. (watch the debate the actual program goes on a bit!)

 

 
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Boots Meal Deal....

I've realised today that the biggest threat to me not completing my poverty challenge lies not outside but rather inside the safety of my own home. After a long day at college, which included a  talk by a lady from the Land Registry, I stumbled home to find my mum cooking the nicest smelling prawn curry ever. Parents it seems don't understand poverty challenges and my mum attempted to sell me a few prawns for a pound (how extortionate!) before telling me I should eat the curry anyway. I was this close (imagine hand gesture) to giving in but instead picked up another saucepan and boiled some trademark pasta all the while staring at the curry on the opposite stove!

Just looking round the kitchen I was pretty amazed at how much food resides on the shelves . Chocolates, sweets, random wasabi peas (!) and a fridge full of rice and curry. People living in poverty  don't often have the luxury of pre-planning meals and the opportunity to have a snack whenever they fancy it. Shopping, for asylum seekers usually consists of a bulk buy of cheep food which offers little variety or buying one meal at a time, which is what I've been trying to do.

On a positive note I treated myself to the Boots lunchtime meal deal- a wrap, crisps and some crucial lucozade all for £3! It certainly beat yesterdays miniscule  apple slices. This has however reduced by budget to £9.56........

 
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