Local hostilities, red tape, stigma and isolation are just some of the things young refugees face when arriving in Britain. To help them, the Home Office recently launched a consultation strategy on refugee integration and made 5.5m available for the work, including 1.2m for youth projects (YPN, 28 July-3 August, p6).
Challenges ahead
The Government's plans to integrate refugees through civic engagement and volunteering have been welcomed but the dispersal of refugees into specific areas has proved challenging for youth projects, which act as a buffer zone for young refugees. The integration of young refugees and asylum seekers into communities is not easy.
Refugee Action in Liverpool has worked with about 300 young refugees from countries such as Angola, Iraq and Turkey in the past three years.
Julie Kashirahamwe, a youth and community project manager at the organisation, says a multi-agency approach is key to improving integration. Refugee Action works with the local Connexions partnership, the youth service and voluntary groups in the area. "Young refugees are only a problem if they are not seen as young people first," says Kashirahamwe.
The language barrier can be a particular problem and translation costs can be high. She stresses the importance of putting basic project information on a leaflet for young people and following this up with visits and outreach work. "A lot of refugees are not familiar with the concept of youth services," says Kashirahamwe. "In some countries, youth groups have political connections, so they need to understand what it is about."
Open sessions, firmly enforced anti-racist and equality policies and allowing young people to be involved in the planning of services are also crucial, she adds.
Local hostility also needs to be handled carefully. Kashirahamwe recommends working with local young people and young refugees separately to discuss issues openly and raise awareness of refugee issues before bringing the two sides together.
The Children's Society runs a project in Newcastle upon Tyne that unites young refugees and local Asian young people. Ali Soyei, the project leader, explains: "We felt that young refugees would be able to relate to young Asians who have come from a different culture and settled in the UK. A lot of friendships have developed from the young people working together."
Foreign environment
Tesfai Verhane, project co-ordinator at the Lambeth Young Refugee Development Project, which works with 30 young refugees, believes accessing services is the key to integration. "Young refugees have to deal with settling into an alien environment as well as issues such as loneliness, bereavement and other traumas," he says.
The problem of refugee integration has been particularly acute in Glasgow in recent years. In 2001, a Kurdish man was fatally stabbed in what was believed to be a racially motivated attack.
The Prince's Trust Scotland runs a project in the city that tries to defuse tensions between locals and immigrants. Ken Imrie, area manager for Glasgow at the trust, says that security is of such concern that the trust provides free transport to and from the project. Many young refugees or asylum seekers hide their status, preferring to describe themselves as students. Loneliness and isolation are also big problems.
Nicolette Muzazi, 23, arrived in the UK two years ago as an unaccompanied refugee from Burundi. It was an intimidating experience, she recalls.
"I only spoke French and I felt completely lost," says Nicolette. "I needed someone to talk to but it was difficult to know what to do or where to go."
She is now about to become a volunteer peer mentor for Refugee Action and hopes she can help break down barriers between locals and young refugees.
"I was surprised to find that even young people in Britain have problems with drugs and poverty," says Nicolette. "But if you put local young people and young refugees together, they start to see that they have the same ambitions, dreams and interests."
