Charity organizations have announced that during a contract change at the Home Office the financial support was cut off. As a result of this, thousands of asylum seekers were unable to receive money to buy food for several days.
According to NGOs, after their Aspen cards, helpless persons, including families with women, children, and babies, are being compelled into a homeless state.
For asylum seekers, an Aspen card is issued so that helpless families can get basic supplies.
The problem has raised after the Home Office decided to terminate the Aspens card agreement with Sodexo and sign a new deal with the fintech company Prepaid Financial Services.
The action occurred a few days ago. The refugees have said they would not have access to money until the end of the week. They should receive £8 weekly payment if they live in the Full Board Hotel and £39.63 if they live in a house due to higher costs.
On Wednesday, NGOs said that many people have yet to receive new cards or cannot activate them.
According to activists, the situation could be completely avoidable, and that the move to the deal had to be checked before being sent to the United Kingdom at the end of the week.
Asylum Seeker in London
Migrant Help, a charity contracted by the Home Office to give customer service to asylum seekers, has been inundated with calls from people who have no access to money.
In a meantime, NGOs need to fill in the gaps to support those who cannot afford food and meet their other necessities.
An asylum seeker who does not yet have an Aspen card said to The Independent that his family survived on staple foods without fresh vegetables and fruits, spending their last cash on diapers for their son.
According to a citizen of Bradford, he doesn’t have food and is able to provide basic supplies for his son. He also added that he stores the remaining vegetables for his son while he and his spouse are just eating pasta or bread.
The man with his family came to the United Kingdom in December due to death threats. He contacted Migrant Help and was promised that the organization would try to arrange urgent cash for him. However, this will need to approve by the Home Office first.
In the meantime, Migrant Help transferred him to the UK Red Cross, but when he called the charity, they told him they were unable to do so because they were overwhelmed with other asylum seekers seeking their help.
Another Similar Story
There is another testimonial by a woman who also hasn’t received the Aspen card yet and currently lives in East London. According to her, she doesn’t have much food left, adding that half of the asylum seekers living with her were hopeful for the new card.
The 50-year-old woman said she waited three hours for help from migrants on Wednesday before giving up. She is confident that If they pick up the phone, they can help, but she thinks the line is busy because many people are trying to call as they also have the same issues.
Moreover, sometimes, the asylum cards are posted to false addresses, hotels, or properties to which the person moved out from a few months ago.
According to charity Care4Calais, some Aspen cards were sent to the hotel they used to live in and left two months ago, while several cards were sent to a London hotel that ceased operations in February.
Clare Moseley is the founder of the charity. She said that it is terrible that there is no security system within the Home Office and that they should not rely on charity organizations like hers to keep helpless people from starving.
Asylum Matters campaign leader Emma Birks said, “Thousands of vulnerable families across Britain have now been left for days without any cash for food and other essentials.”
She also said that “With so much at stake, the transition should have been thoroughly tested before being rolled out across the whole of the UK over a single weekend, with … contingency plans put in place”.
Migrant Help’s Side of the Story
In Glasgow, Robina Qureshi said that the company got over 130 phone calls and text messages from those who faced these type of challenges in the past few days.
According to the Migrant Help spokesperson, the hotline was very busy over the previous few days. She apologized to those who faced trouble in the communication.
According to the Home Office spokesman, a new financial assistance service for asylum seekers was started on Monday, and they are assisting everyone involved to ensure quick access to their payments.
Anyone who faced issues or does not know how to activate an asylum card can get in touch with the migrant assistance service. At the same time, hosting providers can make it easier to pay with cash in case of an emergency.
However, regardless of this, it is a matter of fact that migrants all around the world are undergoing inhuman treatment due to their status as asylum seekers. Many of them are coming from countries outside Europe. Some of them has decided to leave their motherland because of a war, while others due to financial and personal reasons. Nevertheless, there are also many charities worldwide that are working hard to address their needs.