Asylum seekers must be treated with more respect and humanity

CHURCHES at their best are often at the heart of community life, and can be at the forefront of working with the most marginalised and vulnerable people.

This includes people who come to our shores seeking sanctuary from persecution or violence in their home countries. Church congregations across the country, where they can, offer protection and support to people in their hour of need.

So we know what it is like for many asylum seekers trying to live in Scotland today, not because of some abstract reflection on injustice, but because we talk to, work with and live alongside those people that society finds it hard to make room for. And because they have difficulty in having their voices heard by those in power, we try to speak up for them.

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has consistently and repeatedly highlighted the appalling situation facing people seeking sanctuary.

The deaths at the Red Road flats are tragic, and while the family may well have had unique problems, their fate confirms that people who seek asylum face incredible stress and anxiety, often following the most horrific persecution, torture or sexual abuse that they have endured in their home country. I'm angry that people seem to have chosen death in part because of the pressures involved in the asylum system.

Refused asylum seekers like Serge Serykh, his wife Tatiana and her son, who fell to their deaths, are given very little in terms of state support. They are forced into destitution, and are treated as problems that need to be got out of the way rather than as fellow human beings.

We have obligations, not only under the international agreements that our country has committed to, but obligations as decent human beings, to offer sanctuary and protection to people fleeing persecution and fear.

These people seek our help, and all too often find instead suspicion and distrust. Instead of helping our neighbour we make them feel alienated and afraid.

An official inquiry published on Thursday by Lady O'Loan found that the UK Border Agency had failed to properly investigate allegations of abuse against asylum seekers.

The report highlighted the case of a 32-year-old Cameroonian woman who was handcuffed in hospital when she was undergoing surgery for a lump in her breast.

That case and that of the Red Road tragedy reminds us forcibly that there is an urgent need for all people to be treated with respect and humanity. It is also a clear sign that something must be done to improve the system.

Reassurances from the UK government that they will endeavour to ensure that such things can never happen again will be met with scepticism until there is evidence that the UK Border Agency is being directed to prioritise the principle and practice of humane treatment for everyone, and particularly the most vulnerable. This includes the children of asylum seekers.

The detention of children continues to be a cause of outrage. There is no reasonable explanation for why we continue with this practice.

Asylum seekers with families don't go into hiding. They are very unlikely to abscond. All we are doing is creating additional trauma for children and families at their most difficult time. Credible alternatives to detention must be sought immediately.

The detention of children and families for immigration purposes is wrong, and this practice is shaming to our society. Election or no election, it's time for some action from those with the power to do so.

• The Rev Ian Galloway is convener of the Church and Society Council, Church of Scotland