Day of action success

Hannah Blythyn, Student Action for Refugees

On a rainy day in Edinburgh, students are outside having a ‘sleep out’. On Merseyside students dressed as immigration officials challenge others to citizenship tests. In Bristol, children’s shoes across campus represent the number of children asylum seekers currently detained in the UK.

These are some activities of Student Action for Refugees’ national day of action in February raising awareness of young asylum seekers’ experiences in Britain.

Students and young people lobbied MPs with hundreds of letters, calling on the government to replace the current process for determining a child asylum seeker’s age — often based on their appearance — with an independent body focused on the child’s needs.

STAR is a network of university-based groups and youth members aiming to raise awareness of refugee issues, campaign for refugee rights and to support refugees practically through volunteering.

For more information visit www.star-network.org.uk.