Analysis: The Syrians we’ve seen have survived the worst persecution imaginable
Dr Russell Hargrave of Asylum Aid on the horror Syrian refugees have survived – and the obstacles to their safety in Europe.
"Amnesty International is right to raise concerns that too little is being done to help Syrians. People are fleeing for their lives, but only a tiny fraction are reaching safety in Europe.
"Syria is falling apart, something we can see on the news every night, but the overwhelming majority of people are either trapped inside the country or are huddled in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon.
"Asylum Aid has seen and helped fewer Syrians in the UK than we might expect – a clear sign that people just can’t get out of the region. But the Syrians we have seen have survived some of the worst persecution imaginable.
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"We looked after one woman who has now, thankfully, been recognised as a refugee and has been allowed to stay here. But she was held for months at the beginning of the conflict in Presidents Assad's network of underground torture cells, beaten and whipped each day until she begged and bribed her way out. She was left for hours in the pitch dark, listening to the screams of the people sharing her cell. It is a testament to her courage that she has rebuilt her life here, but thousands more are stranded without even the chance to ask for help here or elsewhere in Europe.
"Asylum Aid has joined with other refugee charities and called on the government to resettle 5,000 Syrian refugees in the UK. This would allow us to focus on those most in need and with existing links here, and would send a strong signal to Syrians and to the rest of Europe that we can take concerted steps to help people in such desperate need. We can't offer a new home to millions of people, but we can do this.
"The Home Office has confirmed that there were around 600 asylum applications from Syrians in the last twelve months. Most of those people have been allowed to stay here – certainly well above the average for all asylum claims. Given what we know about death and destruction in Syria, anything else would be absurd.
"But the government’s approach to asylum still puts countless barriers in their way. First they have to get here, which as Amnesty has shown is the toughest barrier of all. Then they will need a good lawyer, but the current legal aid regime actively encourages quick, slipshod work. They will need a fair hearing at the Home Office, and then a sensible decision.
"This doesn’t sound too complex, but it is. On average, asylum officials get a third of their decisions wrong."
Dr Russell Hargrave is the communications & public affairs officer at Asylum Aid, and co-chair of the Communications Group at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. He has previously worked as an aide to his local MP and as a researcher and teacher at the University of Cambridge.
