Please sign the Petition Below
Being an Asylum seeker myslef and a Scholar in Northumbria university i am facing social isolation because of no internet in my house. I live in Asylum seekers housing. Currently all my studies are in online and having limited internet in my mobile i am struggling. SYMAAG has launched this petition and as an asylum seeker I am showing solidarity with this petition.
Please sign and share.
SYMAAG SAID IN THEIR PETITION- Residents in the asylum housing Mears provide have no tenants’ rights, and regularly report damp, ill-repair, rat infestations, and are unable to access repairs as Mears and Migrant Help do not have sufficient staffing or infrastructure to take calls and make repairs under the ‘AIRE’ contract. We have reported and campaigned on this extensively here: http://www.irr.org.uk/news/mears-must… People seeking Asylum in the UK, who live in these homes, are now under ‘lockdown’ due to Covid-19. There is not wireless internet provided in Mears Housing for residents, leaving them disconnected from the outside world, and unable to access medical information, or online resources for home schooling. They are not allowed to work, so would not be able to pay for a WiFi connection.
Being locked down in poor housing is creating a high risk of mental health problems from social isolation. People seeking asylum who live in these properties in South Yorkshire have reported to us that they have asked Mears for WiFi, but this has not been granted. One resident was due to have a tribunal appeal this week, and therefore needs to be in close contact with her lawyer. Her partner (who she does not live with) is seriously ill in hospital with CV19. She said, “We struggle with sorting everything and when we buy data for our phones it runs out very quickly. With Wifi we can watch things on our phones and not feel so lonely and isolated. WE need to access e mails to communicate with our lawyers. I am afraid of missing important, urgent e mails. We also need to keep up to date with everything that is going on and changes with what we are allowed to do, and not supposed to do.” Many residents of Mears housing usually spend a lot of their days out of the home, volunteering and involved in community projects. Now locked away without access to these communities, this creates a very high risk of mental health issues. We demand Mears provide free WiFi in all of their housing urgently, so that residents can contact support workers, family in other countries, access medical information, education and entertainment. SYMAAG.
