News Flash

September 7, 2015

It has been announced that the UK government will resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020.*

With money going from the Foreign Aid budget given to councils to house them, it seems unlikely that we will be relying on them staying in people’s homes. But thank you for the offers of support. If you wish to foster unaccompanied minors –children who come to the UK without their parents, then you can contact Gloucestershire County Council on 01452 427531. A fostering charity in the area is Community Foster Care, you may wish to look into as well.

Here in Gloucester, we have already started making preparations to resettle Syrian families direct from camp. We will need more support to do this, in terms of people befriending, providing extra financial assistance and practical support. If you would like to be added to the mailing list about this, please email info@garas.org.uk with details about how you’d like to be involved.

Thank you for your support and interest which has brought us to this point, and we look forward to your continued interest and working together.

* This means those currently in Calais and others travelling there will be unaffected by the government’s change in policy. If you feel further action would be appropriate, please write to your MP and No 10.

Listen again

September 7, 2015

To Adele, Director of GARAS being interviewed, along with one of our Syrian refugee clients, on BBC Radio Gloucestershire.  It comes just after the 8am news, about 67 minutes into the programme.

BBC Radio Gloucestershire

September 4, 2015

On Monday 7th September 2015 at 8am will feature Adele Owen, our Director.  Listen in to BBC Radio Gloucestershire.  Talking about our work, what we do, the situation reaching crisis point at the moment, and how you can be involved.

Comments

September 3, 2015

“If nothing else I would just like to be involved somehow, offering support to those you help. Both my grandmothers spent their early years in refugee camps in Eastern Europe so I have grown up listening to their stories.”

Today, Thursday 3^rd September 2015 at 3pm, we will host a conference at GARAS entitled,

“InHumanE Rights? What is happening in Asylum?”

Our main speaker will be Dr Nick Gill from the University of Exeter. He will present on ‘Inhumanity in our time: Perspectives on border control and asylum in Britain’. There will then be some updates on immigration policy changes from the GARAS team and tea and cake afterwards. If you’d like to come, please RSVP to info@garas.org.uk .

In the week leading up to this, we’ll be posting snippets from emails into the GARAS inbox, showing some more of the positive, caring, compassionate response to the migrant crisis well documented in the press. All emails have been received in the past month.

Lost at sea

April 20, 2015

Another boat over full of desperate people have met the tragedy of enormous loss of lives.

What does it mean to us? How should we react?

We have heard and felt outraged and sickened by the words of Kate Hopkins, but what about us?

We are in the midst of an election where promises are being made to improve our lives and choice between those who may most closely match our idea of what we want.

You see that’s what we all want, a better life for ourselves and those we care about. And we sit indifferently on the sidelines watching others who want to do the same for themselves.

We treated as heroes those involved in the Arab Spring, we idolise those who reach the pinnacles of their careers and yet we treat as villains, those who want to do the same for their families.

It’s desperate, and we need to shout out, we need to ask our candidates what their response to this is, and we need to re engage with the rescue missions in the Mediterranean, because the current policy is just not working.