Resource

This briefing provides an overview of the mental health issues faced by people who are seeking protection in the UK, including survivors of trafficking, and their treatment needs. It then looks at the experiences of Helen Bamber Foundation clients who are Albanian nationals and the risks they might face if forcibly returned to Albania.

There have been several positive developments under the Labour government, including decisions to scrap the Rwanda plan; to not open Scampton; to close Bibby Stockholm; and the decision to progress the asylum claims that had been put on hold. Yet, there is currently no firm plan or timeline for the closure of Wethersfield, despite the Prime Minister committing to do so before the general election and extensive evidence of the harm the site causes to those moved there.

Helen Bamber Foundation is extremely concerned that the UK government has decided to suspend decision making in Syrian asylum cases. The government is in no position to assume the safety of individuals in such a volatile and developing situation. Helen Bamber Foundation has supported survivors who were tortured by sectarian militias and who would have feared both Bashar al-Assad and sectarian militias, such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The reasons for Syrian nationals claiming asylum in the UK are multi-faceted, complex and in no way limited solely to the atrocities committed by the Assad regime.