Liverpool's bleak sanctuary

Community nurse Michelle Cox treats Liverpool's asylum seekers

As Glasgow struggles to overcome tensions caused by the dispersal of asylum seekers, BBC News Online's community affairs reporter Cindi John finds refugees in Liverpool also facing problems.

A Kurdish asylum seeker who fled Iraq because he feared for his life, Ahmed claims he has faced more danger since coming to Liverpool.

Ahmed said: "There's a lot of racist people. I've been sworn at and once they tried to attack me and I had to run away."

Conditions are appalling, sub-standard, inadequate

Michelle Cox, community nurse

He said he expected a safe haven but had been forced to live in primitive conditions at a tower block, known as the Landmark, in the city's Everton district.

Ahmed said: "We live four or five to one small flat and there is no heating.

Conditions at Landmark are "primitive" say residents and critics

"I don't expect any British citizen or even Iraqi would choose to live in this condition."

The Landmark is separated from its neighbour, the Inn on the Park, by a small courtyard where groups of bored asylum seekers sit around.

'No choice' scheme

The two privately-run properties house around 700 single men and are infamous among Liverpool's 2,000 strong asylum seeker community.

Conditions have drawn criticism from a local refugee organisation, the city council and the Audit Commission.

The tower block residents have been sent there as a result of the dispersal scheme introduced by Labour to reduce the strain on areas surrounding popular points of entry in the UK such as Dover and the London airports.

Rooms at the tower block are said to be cramped

Under the "no choice" scheme, asylum seekers are obliged to go wherever they are sent in the UK or lose all benefits.

Some residents recently staged a hunger strike in protest at their conditions.

Ahmed said he was speaking out because he had recently been granted leave to stay temporarily in the UK and would shortly be moving out of the Landmark.

But he said many others refused to complain publicly for fear of reprisals by security staff employed by the landlords.

Mental health problems

Community nurse Michelle Cox, who often visits patients in the blocks backed up Ahmed's claims.

She said: "Conditions are appalling, sub-standard, inadequate. There's a lot of overcrowding, a lot of young men of different nationalities, different cultures all thrown together.

"We see lots of mental health problems emerging," said Ms Cox.

The accommodation is old and damp but the advantage of this place is that it's not a racist place, you can sleep safely

Bassam, asylum seeker from Pakistan

She supported frequent claims by asylum seekers of intimidation, saying security staff employed by the owners made it difficult for her to get access to her patients.

Ms Cox said: "I have had obstructions a few times when I've been over there to help people with their health problems and I've been questioned.

"Obviously I can't disclose why I'm going to see any of my clients in the building," she said.

Bassam, an asylum seeker from Pakistan, used to live at the Landmark but now lives in Kensington, another area of Liverpool with a large asylum seeker population.

He said the accommodation was not much better than in Everton but at least he did not feel in danger there.

"The accommodation is old and damp but the advantage of this place is that it's not a racist place, you can sleep safely," he said.

'Dumping'

Adding to the asylum seekers' housing problems is the announcement earlier this week by Liverpool city council that it would no longer take part in the government's dispersal programme.

Richard Kemp: "Council needs more involvement in dispersal scheme"

The council's decision has been greeted with dismay by refugee support groups.

A spokesman for the Merseyside Refugee Support Network, Brian Ashton, said they were concerned about the implications.

He said: "As a major provider of services in the area it's important that Liverpool City Council is involved with refugees under the dispersal programme.

"They bring a lot of facilities, a lot of knowledge and expertise," said Mr Ashton.

But Liverpool City Councillor Richard Kemp (Lib Dem) said the council was unhappy with the government's willingness to work with "dodgy" parts of the private sector.

He said the council would still play a part in helping to solve the problems caused by "dumping" asylum seekers in areas such as Everton, Kensington and Toxteth which already have acute social problems.

Lack of facilities

The social problems cited by Cllr Kemp are evident in the area around Everton's tower blocks.

A small park nearby presents the only greenery in an otherwise barren, concrete landscape.

The area has a run-down air with boarded up shops and few leisure facilities.

Mohammed, an Afghan asylum seeker, said the lack of facilities added to their problems.

He said: "I get vouchers but they're only for food. We only get £10 cash which is not very much. It's 70p from here to the city centre one way so it doesn't take you far.

"You can't go out every day and you certainly can't go to clubs or anything like that. There's nothing to do so we just hang around and get bored," he said.

Another asylum seeker, Emmanuel from the Democratic Republic of Congo, echoed Mohammed's sentiments.

He said the lack of things to do added to asylum seekers' frustration.

"You are moved with no choice to an area where you don't know anybody.

"Once you are there you find most of the local population doesn't want you there, and you get little money to get away from the area once in a while," he said.