One Strong Voice lobby parliament

THIS year’s Refugee Week theme is all about community. As a refugee who fled torture in my home country, I know how important community is for those who arrive here with nothing and no one.

Communities can bring people together. They bridge divides, offer support, and show us we’re not alone.

Community can provide people with resilience.

It gave me hope when I had none.

When I first arrived in the United Kingdom it was the smallest acts of kindness that kept me going, a stranger smiled at me in the street, a kind person who helped me fill out a form, someone who simply listened to me.

These moments helped build the foundation of my new life in the UK. That’s what community does, it gives people the strength to rebuild their lives.

Ever since the Second World War the UK has been a proud signatory to international obligations like the Refugee Convention which safeguards the rights of people who have been denied the protection of their own countries.

One of the main goals of the international refugee protection system is to ensure a long-lasting outcome for refugees. If return home is not an option, then that usually means building a new life in the country of refuge.

But now the UK government has made this almost impossible for refugees by effectively banning people fleeing war and torture from ever becoming British citizens, just because of how they arrive.

For most people seeking sanctuary they have little to no choice but to take a dangerous journey because safe routes remain limited and so inaccessible.

Put simply for so many of us there is no other choice. By denying refugees a route to citizenship, it takes away a key part of long-term stability and protection.

This goes against everything the Refugee Convention stands for.

If you’re fleeing for your life with no time, resources or options, you should not be punished for crossing borders without a visa.

This change in direction from a government that professes to champion the rule of law is shocking. And it not only affects refugees but sends a message that goes against the compassion, fairness, and welcome the UK has long been known for.

Imagine finally reaching safety, only to be told you’ll never truly belong.

I know from my own experience how life-changing citizenship can be.

It means protection.

It means recognition.

It gives people a sense of place and future.

All refugees deserve this chance so they can fully integrate and thrive in their new communities.

Through my work with One Strong Voice – the UK’s first coalition of campaigners with lived experience of the immigration and asylum system – I know so many people who’ve been devastated by this change.

Their chance to find stability and acceptance has been cruelly stripped away.

I know many people like me who want to contribute to British society because they share its values, its hopes, and its dreams.

Blocking them from this path is not just unfair but it tells them that they are not wanted and that, no matter what they do, they will always remain outsiders.

This is profoundly wrong, and people across the country – including the parliamentarians who are currently debating the government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill – are standing against it.

We must raise our voices now, loudly and clearly, to demand a fairer future where those who seek sanctuary on our shores are treated with dignity and compassion.

Refugees are not strangers. We are your neighbours, your classmates, your colleagues. We are already part of your communities.

Let us just belong.

• Nadine Tunasi is a member of One Strong Voice.

Campaigners from One Strong Voice and Freedom From Torture took the fight to the Houses of Parliament this week. Visit: https://www. instagram.com/reel/DLCe4NNvbg0/?utm_source=ig_ web_copy_link

One Strong Voice and Freedom From Torture also provided a link for people to email MPs on the issue.

See: https://secure.freedomfromtorture.org/page/168757/action/1?locale=en-GB