Whatever Happened to Asylum in Britain?: A Tale of Two Walls

by Louise Pirouet

Overview

Refugees and asylum-seekers are high up on many people's political agenda. Even so, there is a remarkable lack of information. Who are these asylum-seekers? Aren't they almost all "bogus"? How do western immigration authorities decide whether or not they are genuine? Is the UN convention on Refugees out of date and in need of renegotiation?

This book brings insider knowledge to the study of asylum in Britain today. It is based on visits to places where asylum seekers are detained, on working with lawyers representing asylum-seekers and on a close knowledge of many of the refugee organisations. It argues passionately that Britain shall not throw away, through ignorance and misunderstanding, a reputation for providing a place of safety for the persecuted, and the chance of welcoming people who have much to contribute to national life and culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571814685
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	07/01/2001
Series:	Forced Migration , #9
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Louise Pirouet (1928-2012) was Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at Homerton College, University of Cambridge and was involved with refugee concerns for many years both in Africa and Britain.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Foreword

Introduction: A Matter of National Pride

Map 1.1: Distribution of Refugees in Sudan

Chapter 1. Setting the Scene
Chapter 2. The Tamils and the 1987 Watershed
Chapter 3. Making Decisions
Chapter 4. A Right of Appeal
Chapter 5. Without Charge or Trial
Chapter 6. Protecting Women, Children and Families
Chapter 7. Building Walls Around Fortress Europe
Chapter 8. Keeping Them Out: Building a Wall Around the UK
Chapter 9. Supporting Asylum-Seekers

Afterword

Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

“An exceptionally lucid history of asylum issue in the United Kingdom since the mid-1980s.” • International Migration Review

“An unusual and highly successful book: a review of the changes which have taken place in asylum law in recent years, painted in their political context and described in accurate detail, but peppered with the personal experiences of asylum seekers which adds a poignant reality to what might otherwise appear a dry description.” • Nicky Padfield, Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

From the Publisher

Pirouet, a Briton who has taught at universities in Uganda and Kenya, surveys UK immigration policy between 1987 and 1999 and finds that xenophobia frequently has won out, in spite of political rhetoric in praise of giving shelter to those fleeing persecution. "The legislation passed in the last decade has made it progressively more difficult for anyone seeking asylum in the UK and life progressively more uncertain and uncomfortable for those who, against all odds, manage to reach this country," she writes. "A mixed message is coming from government....Britain is now irreversibly a multicultural nation, and the only healthy kind of self-definition must take that into account." Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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