‘We are all migrants’: photos show protestors marching near Hove lawns following plan to close asylum hotel
Photos showing protestors marching near Hove lawns have been sent to this newspaper today (Saturday, October 17).
The images show demonstrators walking behind a large banner that reads ‘We are all migrants’.
The protest was organised by Brighton Says Yes, a coalition of city residents and community groups that aim to ‘defend our refugee friends and neighbours’.
The coalition announced the ‘emergency demo’ at brightonsaysyes.info, saying that the start time was 11am at the Peace Statue at Hove lawns.
The post said: “Our refugee neighbours are part of our community – we will defend them!
“The Home Office wants to force refugees out of our city. This month they plan to close the hotel where families and single women seeking asylum are being housed.”
It continued: “These are our friends and neighbours. They feel safe here. Some of them have been here for years, have given birth to children here, become part of our community.”
In September, the leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Bella Sankey, wrote to the Home Office to share residents’ concerns about plans to disperse people from a hotel in the city.
The council’s statement at www.brighton-hove.gov.uk said: “With the government committed to ending the use of hotels – a policy supported by this council – it was recently announced that a hotel in the city would no longer be used for asylum seekers.
“That decision means that within a matter of weeks, those who have been living there – including some families who have been staying at the hotel for a significant period of time – will be moved elsewhere.”
Councillor Sankey asked the Home Office to ‘provide reassurance’ that dispersal plans would not unfairly disadvantage those affected.
She said: “I fully welcome the Government’s commitment to ending the use of hotels to house people seeking asylum; the use of hotels for extended periods of time is inhumane and not conducive to community cohesion.
“However, I am increasingly concerned about the impact that current arrangements are having on women and families living in Brighton & Hove, many of whom have spent considerable time in our city and have developed strong connections to local schools, health services, support organisations and community networks.”