Christians highlight the plight of thousands of destitute refugees

Supporters of the many people seeking asylum in Manchester who are homeless and destitute will be communicating a simple message at Cathedral Gardens on Wednesday 17 October.

Ten faceless, ghost-like people will be using t-shirts to literally spell out that the thousands of people refused asylum are "Still Human" and they are "Still Here", at 10:30am and 5:45pm.

The protest has been organised to let people in the region know that there are many people in their midst who have been refused asylum and are left destitute by the UK Government. It coincides with the Independent Asylum Commission's Public Hearing at Manchester Town Hall on the same day.

Dave Smith, one of the organisers, said "We work with many people who are not allowed to help themselves through paid work and end up "stuck" in a ghost-like existence.

"Their only "crime" is to be unable to return to their country of origin. We want to reach out to the people of the region to let them know that thousands of people in this situation are in their midst. We know of 400 people registered at British Red Cross projects, but there are many more."

Alan Thornton, from Church Action on Poverty, who are also supporting the protest said: "Many people seeking asylum in the UK are ending up destitute rather accepting, however reluctantly, to return to poverty and human rights oppression in their country of origin, once their asylum request has been turned down.

"Often they end up dependent on food parcel handouts and the hospitality of friends here- their alternative is homelessness, with consequent illness, both physically and mentally.

"The current situation is forcing people into the illegal and informal economies, sexual exploitation and crime. Extending the principle of "work for those who can, support for those who can't" to everyone in Britain would be good for society, the UK economy and the desperate people refused asylum."