As faith communities we are used to getting involved in our communities and helping people in practical ways. We may be less familiar with being a campaigner or an advocate for change. But if we care about supporting refugees and people seeking asylum then we need to be willing speak out against injustice and call for policies that will welcome and protect people seeking sanctuary. Our voices matter, and it’s more important than ever to make the case for welcoming and compassionate communities.
See our Campaigning and advocacy page for a list of campaigns past and present that SFAR have been involved in.
How can we do this? Ways to campaign can include:
Contacting you Local Politicians
Reach out to your local representatives and ask them them to outline what they are doing to help refugees. Some advice for writing to politicians are:
- Keep it short: don’t send a manifesto, keep it focused
- Have clear asks: advocate for specific things, not general pricnples
- Speak from the heart: don’t be shy to share why this matters to you
- Understand what representatives can and can’t do: see below a list of possible topics for different kinds of politician.
- Be respectful: even if you disagree with the politician insulting language will go nowhere
- Make sure you get a reply: if you don’t then follow up your contact. As your representatives they work for you and are accountable to you.
Even more effect than writing can be meeting in person. If you can why not invite them along to a community event or a meeting so they can meet other members of your group. This allows you to build a connection and get your case across.
This can have a huge impact. For example, a local group reached out to Christian Wakeford MP to discuss his previous comments on asylum seekers. This later lead to a full apology from Wakeford, claiming that the experience had open his eyes.
It’s important to direct your messages to the right person. Write to your Westminster MP on issues relating to Home Office policy and International Development policy:
- The right to work for asylum seekers and the level of support they receive
- The quality of accommodation and access to services
- Policies of dawn raids and detention
- Destitution
- Decision-making in asylum cases and legal processes
- The numbers of refugees resettled directly from conflict zones
- The administration of family reunification and to offer resettlement in the UK to unaccompanied asylum seeking children
- Commitment to the 0.7% target for aid spending
- Ensuring that money is spent well and on humanitarian relief and protection
Write to your Holyrood MSPs about:
- Promoting support for refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland as it relates to their wellbeing and integration
- Tackling racial and religious hatred
- Promoting respect for diversity in the education system and in public life
Write to your local councillors to:
- Ensure that your local authority is doing everything it can to participate in UK wide programmes to offer a home to asylum seekers and refugees. This might include participating in asylum dispersal, receiving more people under UK resettlement schemes, and / or offering help to unaccompanied asylum seeking children, transferred from other parts of the UK or resettled from places such as Calais or camps around Syria.
- Ask that they are committed to making your local area one which is safe for everyone.