08.02.1996

Refugee centre

In brief

A network of refugee organisations, church groups, squatters and supporters have occupied the old magistrates court on Stoke Newington High Street, Hackney as an emergency night shelter/refugee centre. The building has been left unoccupied for years and is being made habitable by a team of local volunteers.

Legislation which took effect on February 5 means that thousands of asylum seekers will lose their rights to all benefits. People seeking asylum are often escaping torture and persecution. They are fleeing oppressive regimes such as in Nigeria, Turkey, Algeria - dictatorships supported politically and economically by the British government. These people have a genuine fear of deportation, yet increasingly, they are being harassed and criminalised and face imprisonment in detention centre and jails.

However, this is not simply an attack on refugees. The government is currently attacking all benefits and services - for the young, the disabled, the unemployed, single parents and all workers.

Colin Roach Centre