By Europe correspondent Barbara Miller
Monday, August 19, 2013
As the issue of asylum seekers remains one of the most popular topics
heading into a national election in Australia, the debate in Britain
has shifted.With a drop in the number of asylum applications, the
political debate in Britain is now more concerned with levels of
migration from within Europe.
Almost 16,000 asylum claims were lodged in Australia last year compared to double that number in Britain.
But Australia is receiving more applications than Britain per head of population.
About
10 years ago there was a massive spike in asylum seekers reaching
Britain via France, until the camp - a large red Cross centre called
Sangatte from which they made their nightly attempts to hitch a ride
across the Channel - was closed.
Now, the drop-off in the number
of people seeking asylum in Britain has coincided with a surge of
migrants from new European union countries.
'Fast track' system failures
On
July 1, Croatia became the latest country to become part of the EU, and
seven nations, as well as Kosovo, are waiting in the wings to join the
European Union.
EU nationals are entitled to work, for an employer
or as a self-employed person, in any EU country without needing a work
permit.
Politicians including Nigel Farage, of Britainâs
right-wing Independence Party, have run on political platforms arguing
against such European migration.
"We have a massive oversupply in
the unskilled labour market at a time when a million of our 16 to
24-year-olds canât find work," he said.
One such asylum seeker,
Liiban Shakat from Somalia, lived inside Britain while waiting for his
asylum application to be processed.
He is among the 90 per cent of
asylum seekers in Britain who wait for applications to be processed,
while roughly 10 per cent are put in high-security detention centres,
processed under a 'fast track' system.
But Rachel Robinson, policy
officer with civil liberties organisation Liberty, criticised the
system as a fast track to removal from the country.
"In the fast
track you have very little opportunity to present your case and if your
case is refused by the home office, again you have very little
opportunity to prepare for an appeal," she said.
Asylum seekers supporting families at home
Mr Shakat was made redundant from his job as a cleaner, and is struggling to find work.
He has just applied for a supermarket vacancy, competing with dozens of other applicants.
"It
wasn't only me that was interviewed, it was like one job for 30 people,
so they will take the best one. I hope I am the best," he said.
Mr Shakat had never been on a plane before making the journey to Britain.
After leaving his native Somalia, he travelled on a fake passport acquired in Ethiopia.
Mr
Shakat has carried the expectations of his entire family, who sold
everything they had to fund his attempt to escape the poverty and
violence of his homeland.
"Imagine if I go back straight away," he said.
"It is going to be a disaster."
For asylum seekers such as Mr Shakat, getting papers can be just the beginning in a long process in seeking a better life.