After Return

Recommendations

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1. Introduction In 2015, 3,043 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children claimed asylum in the UK, with Eritrea and Afghanistan being the two most common countries of origin (694 and 656 applications respectively), followed by Albania (456), Iran (208) and Syria (186).3 The Home Office defines unaccompanied asylumseeking children as persons who are under 18 years of age when their asylum application is submitted; who are applying for asylum in their own right; and are separated from both parents and not being cared for by an adult who in law or by custom has responsibility to do so. 4 The vast majority of these young asylum seekers are temporary form of leave to remain in the UK until their 18th birthday (see Chapter 2 for more about the status granted to these young people). Refugee Support Network provides education support for just under 400 unaccompanied minors and former unaccompanied minors across London, through its educational mentoring, specialist support work and access to higher education programmes. In 2012, RSN staff members began to receive telephone calls and text messages from young people they had worked with in London who had been forcibly returned to Afghanistan after reaching the age of 18. It subsequently emerged that the majority of information available about life after return was anecdotal, or based on a very small number of cases - but that no rigorous monitoring of outcomes for young people forcibly removed to Afghanistan was taking place. RSN began this research, as a part of its Youth on the Move programme, 5 in an attempt to contribute to this research gap. This report builds on our previous report, Broken Futures, 6 which explored young asylum seekers’ experiences of turning 18 in the UK and becoming Appeal Rights Exhausted (ARE), whilst also providing an initial overview of experiences post return. This report provides more detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of outcomes after return for a greater number of young Afghans over a longer period of time. The report is rooted in the conviction that we have a special duty of care to former unaccompanied minors as care leavers, regardless of their immigration status or geographical location. From an international perspective, former unaccompanied minors fall into the category of ‘youth’, defined by the United Nations (UN) as persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. The UN has called for the development of specific youth policies which address the needs of young people who are particularly vulnerable as a result of their current circumstances, political conditions, or long histories of social exclusion or discrimination. 7 It seems clear to us that former unaccompanied minors constitute one of these groups. 3 The Refugee Council. 2016. 4 Coram Children’s Legal Centre. 2013. 5 RSN’s Youth on the Move programme aims to help ensure young people facing forced removal to Afghanistan are able to exhaust all legal routes to remaining in the UK and stay in education for as long as possible. Where young people are returned to Afghanistan, they were given the option of meeting with RSN’s Monitoring Officer in Kabul and participating in this research project. 6 Gladwell, C. and Elwyn, H. 2012. 7 UNDESA. 2012. After Return 8
Introduction Photo credit: Emily Bowerman (RSN) After Return 9
Page 1 and 2: After Return documenting the experi
Page 3 and 4: Table of contents Acknowledgements4
Page 5 and 6: Acknowledgements and Abbreviations
Page 7: Executive summary Unaffordable cost
Page 11 and 12: Forced return 22 in 2015 2,018 657
Page 13 and 14: Afghanistan overview in individual
Page 15 and 16: 4. Methodology Interview transcript
Page 17 and 18: 4. Methodology Photo credit: Emily
Page 19 and 20: 5. Reintegration returnees are know
Page 21 and 22: 5. Reintegration One explained that
Page 23 and 24: 6. Networks and support Case study
Page 25 and 26: 6. Networks and support Support for
Page 27 and 28: 7. Safety and security Samangan (4%
Page 29 and 30: Data collected demonstrates that in
Page 31 and 32: 7. Safety and security Case study 2
Page 33 and 34: 8. Education and training Case stud
Page 35 and 36: 8. Education and training Case stud
Page 37 and 38: 8. Education and training Conclusio
Page 39 and 40: 9. Employment hand in a CV or make
Page 41 and 42: 9. Employment Young people told us
Page 43 and 44: 9. Employment Conclusions Without s
Page 45 and 46: 10. Health and wellbeing Several yo
Page 47 and 48: 10. Health and wellbeing Case study
Page 49 and 50: 10. Health and wellbeing Photo cred
Page 51 and 52: 11. Plans and reflections Leaving a
Page 53 and 54: 11. Plans and reflections Advice to
Page 55 and 56: Recommendations Photo credit: Sara
Page 57 and 58: Glossary of terms One of the terms
Page 59 and 60:
Bibliography ILO. 2015. Afghanistan
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