Protect Asylum Seekers: Why We’re Calling on the Government to End the Use of Hotels

​Asylum seekers come to the UK seeking safety and a chance to rebuild their lives. Instead, they find themselves trapped in hotel accommodations that are not fit for long-term living. These facilities, originally intended as short-term solutions, have become overcrowded, unhygienic, and unsafe. The long-standing issues of vermin infestations, inadequate food, and poor hygiene conditions in these hotels have been well documented, and for years RAMFEL clients have complained about the pitiful standards in which they are housed. These images of unappetizing, inadequate meals are a stark reminder of how successive governments have failed these vulnerable people.

But now, these already dire conditions have been compounded by a new and terrifying threat—racist and Islamophobic violence. This terrifying violence was mostly tacitly, but at times overtly, encouraged by politicians from across the spectrum. Yes, Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman may be the poster boy and girl for the most extreme and dehumanising language, but make no mistake: with a few notable exceptions, the entire political establishment has failed to call out this rhetoric for what it is – racist, Islamophobic and dehumanising. In such an environment, and with people increasingly fed more and more misinformation through social media, the racist riots of early August were perhaps inevitable, with these hotels turned into targets for terrorist attacks.

The tragic irony is that those who fled war and persecution now find themselves once again in fear, not in the war zones they escaped, but in the very so-called “safe” country where they sought refuge.
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The riots should have been a cause for reflection. All politicians should have taken stock and considered how their words, their actions, their silence, their inactions led us down this dark alley. Instead, the Labour government seems determined to repeat its predecessor’s mistakes: more so-called deterrence, more harsh language, more detention without trial and still no mention of expanding safe routes to the UK.
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Despite the Labour government’s desperately disappointing response, this approach does not reflect the values or will of the British public. When racist extremists threatened asylum seekers in hotels, people across the country stood up, flooding the streets to protect these vulnerable communities. The public has shown that they reject hatred and division, standing instead for compassion and justice.

This is why RAMFEL is calling on the government to end the use of hotels as accommodation for asylum seekers. These facilities are unsafe and isolating, and now they’ve become targets for hate. We need real solutions: community-based housing, faster processing of asylum claims, and an end to the hostile environment and politics of division that pits people against each other.

At the heart of this crisis is a failure of political leadership and a growing disconnect between successive governments and the public’s desire for compassion and justice. We must make it clear that the current approach is not acceptable. Just as we all stood up to protect people in hotels and migrant communities, we must continue to push for policies that reflect the values of dignity, safety, and compassion.

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