08 The Right to Asylum

Article 14

1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Directed by Anna Jones

Noreen has lived for 18 years on the 17^th floor of a high rise block in Glasgow. When the council started housing asylum seekers in her area she got to know many of them and some became friends. The Home Office policy of arresting and detaining asylum seekers whose appeal process was coming to an end meant that suddenly her neighbours were being woken from their beds at dawn, doors beaten down, and taken away in handcuffs. She decided to do something about it.

Arnaud is 18, from Congo but grew up in Glasgow. The estate where he was housed was in a deprived area and some kids used to assault him – as one of the only black faces in the area he was a target. Music has helped him come through difficult times – he is a rapper with a powerful voice and big dreams for the future.

Safinah comes from Uganda. She is in her 20s and when she arrived she was pregnant with her daughter Miriam. She is still going through her asylum process.

This film explores these 3 stories and the sense of powerlessness experienced by those living with the threat of deportation over their heads.