There are some 8,000 and 9,000 Afghan refugees staying in hotels in the United Kingdom after fleeing from Kabul following the Taliban takeover in 2021 and under the British government’s new plans, humanitarian groups have warned that they are at risk of homelessness.
What does the government plan to do?
The government announced, on Tuesday (March 28), that it would move the refugees out of temporary hotel accommodation and into permanent homes on the condition they accept the first offer made to them.
The government has said Afghans living in “temporary bridging accommodation” in the UK under the two settlement schemes will be given additional support to find settled accommodation after 18 months in hotels, reported the Guardian.
The veterans’ affairs minister, Johnny Mercer, told MPs that it was an “unsustainable situation” that “needs to change,” referring to the temporary hotel accommodation. He added, “Bridging hotels were not and were never designed to be a permanent solution…we have a duty to end this practice.”
The veterans’ affairs minister also noted that those in hotels will begin receiving letters in April saying that they have three months to find a settled accommodation, reported AFP. The UK government will also provide extra support, advising on how to rent in the private sector and find jobs, said Mercer.
However, the veterans’ affairs minister has also said that those who do not accept the first offer will not be offered a second alternative. This has since sparked concerns that many around 8,000 refugees, half of them children, could end up homeless. Meanwhile, Downing Street has insisted that refugees will be forced onto the street.
“This is about how we’re accelerating support for Afghans who have been forced to remain in hotel accommodation for sometimes more than a year,” said a Downing Street spokesman. He added, we have made a “large commitment” to support them and make a new life in the UK and this will be the “next stage of that.”
What are the concerns raised?
“We are deeply concerned about many elements of these plans, in particular the risk that they could lead to people who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan being left homeless and destitute on the streets of Britain,” said the chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon.
Solomon also slammed the government saying that while hotels are not the right place to live for refugees, the fact that the government has left them there for months is a “consequence of government mismanagement and a failure to work successfully in partnership with local councils and other agencies” to find homes for thousands of refugees.
He added that expecting to suddenly move them by putting pressure on Afghan families “risks causing great misery and anxiety for those who have already experienced trauma and upheaval.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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