South Wales charity launches major fundraising drive: #SaveAsylumJustice
A local South Wales charity is launching an emergency appeal for funds to ensure the life-saving service it delivers can continue. Asylum Justice provides vital legal services to people in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport facing return to torture or death in some of the worst affected war zones in the world. From Afghanistan to Iraq, Syria to Zimbabwe, clients come to the charity for one reason: there is no other service out there that can help.
The charity’s fundraising drive, #SaveAsylumJustice, will be officially launched at 7.00pm on Wednesday, 25 May at Waterloo Tea in Wyndham Arcade, Cardiff.
Asylum Justice is at the coalface when it comes to fighting for justice for some of the most vulnerable in Wales, helping to reunite families torn apart by war and securing support for unaccompanied children seeking safety.
Aziz[1] is a refugee from Syria: “When I got refugee status last year I immediately looked for someone to help me do a family reunion application so my wife and daughter could join me, but the solicitors wanted £800. I hadn’t found a job yet and the application was too complicated for me to do on my own, so when a friend told me about Asylum Justice, I went to their drop-in session and met the legal director. She took my case details and then did the application. Now, finally, my wife and daughter were able to travel safely to the UK.
“All the other clients I know have had this level of service – we are really struggling to reunite with our families we’ve had to leave behind in Syria, and Asylum Justice are the only people able to help us.”
The charity is run by a team of dedicated volunteers – some of whom have benefited from the charity’s services in the past – who support the one full time member of staff, Legal Director Ruth Brown.
Over the past year, the charity has supported more than 400 clients, yet has been unable to secure the funding to continue its service after October 2016. This means that the charity will have to close to any new clients from June to ensure all cases are dealt with in time, and will close its doors finally in the autumn.
Many of the cases which Ruth and her team deal with focus on reuniting families, like Aziz’s, torn apart by war or persecution.
Ruth Brown, Legal Director of Asylum Justice, said: “We are living through unprecedented times. More people than ever are seeking safety from war or persecution, whilst at the same time we have governments cutting back the support, and legally accessible routes to safety.
“We’ve been able to support so many people so far and it’s heart-breaking to think what will happen to those we’re not able to help in future without adequate funding.
“Rather than sit around and despair we’ve decided to do something about it; we’re launching a major fundraising drive to#SaveAsylumJustice. We know that the people of Wales are caring and compassionate, so we’re asking for their help.
“Please come along to our launch, or make a donation via the website, or if you have time, why not organise your own event? Every penny and every pound will make a difference and will save lives.”
The fundraising launch event has a limited number of tickets available. For more details about the launch event or to register for a ticket, please email: [email protected]. The evening will include talks from Asylum Justice’s clients, a short film, music and a raffle. To find out more about Asylum Justice, or to make a donation, visit https://asylumjustice.org.uk/fundraising/.
Donations
One off and regular donations can be made via the Asylum Justice website at: https://asylumjustice.org.uk/fundraising/. We will be launching a crowdfunding site on 25 May – details to follow. You can also make a donation of up to £10 by texting AJUK33 (plus the amount of the donation) to 70070 (e.g. if you wish to donate £5 to Asylum Justice then text “AJUK33 £5” to 70070).
