Yvette Cooper called for end to ‘cruel’ pause on Syrian asylum decisions | Immigration and asylum

Syrian asylum seekers left in limbo after the Home Secretary said the government was pausing their claims have called the decision “cruel” and called on officials to resume processing their cases.

More than 700 refugee organisations, including Care4Calais and Refugee Action along with many UK-based Syrian groups, have expressed “deep concern and opposition” to the pause on the 6,500 claims currently in the system, The Independent has reported.

Last week, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, told MPs: “Let’s be clear, most of the demands, many of the demands that have been made, have been made against the Assad regime for asylum, which are clearly not in place. It would therefore not be appropriate to grant asylum decisions in these cases under the current circumstances.”

She added that the situation was “very volatile at the moment” and said the government was monitoring it.

The Guardian spoke to two Syrian asylum seekers who were horrified by the government’s decision and feared being forcibly returned to Syria at a time of huge instability. Both said that after a day of euphoria after Assad’s fall, fear set in about what would happen next in their country.

Sara (not her real name), a 27-year-old journalist, sought asylum in Britain earlier this year after she was targeted by the Syrian regime for making critical comments about it.

“My father works for a humanitarian NGO in Syria and has seen a lot of terrible things. My country has probably experienced one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world. Now that the regime has been overthrown, it has been replaced by a lot of uncertainty. I am very cautious about what will happen next in Syria. The situation remains very dangerous.”

Sara was called for her asylum interview at the Home Office headquarters in Croydon a few months ago, but after waiting for more than half an hour she was told the interview was no longer taking place. It was rescheduled a few days after the fall of the Assad regime and then canceled a second time.

Sara said: “As asylum seekers the Home Office speaks to us in a very harsh tone. Between night and day your life can change and suddenly be in danger. I have a good support network in the UK but it all gave me a panic attack. I have nightmares about being sent back to Syria The Ministry of the Interior is treating us in a cruel way at a time when we are in a very vulnerable situation.

“My family in Syria is very traumatized. There is a lot of shooting in the air at the moment, which makes everyone very scared. They were driving in their car a few days ago and one of those bullets hit their car. We are asking the government to give us permission to stay during this very intense period so that we have some security and are not forced to continue living in limbo.”

Muhamed (not his real name), 24, has been in the UK since May 2022. After a difficult journey through Europe, he crossed the Channel in a small boat and sought asylum. His family’s house was destroyed during bombing. His sister and brother were imprisoned in one of Syria’s notorious prisons, and since the fall of the Assad regime, his family has not been able to find them, so he does not know if they are dead or alive.

He arrived in Britain shortly after former Home Secretary Priti Patel announced the Rwanda scheme, although the news did not reach him until he sought asylum. Muhamed was one of the asylum seekers on the list for Rwanda and spent a few weeks in a detention center after interior ministry officials told him he would be sent to the East African country.

“My asylum application was not processed because of Rwanda. I finally did my interview with the Home Office a month ago but received no decision. Now I’m waiting again because the government has put decisions on hold. I have been waiting for more than two and a half years.

“Syria remains an unsafe country for people like me. I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow. This decision not to address our claims is an injustice.”

The Ministry of the Interior has been contacted for comment.