We are GMIAU’s action group of people on the 10-year route to settlement. The 10-year route is an immigration pathway that requires us to renew our temporary leave to remain in the UK frequently, every 2.5 years, and pay high visa fees, until we have built up 10 years and can finally apply for indefinite leave to remain.
As an action group, we want to speak out about how this month’s racist riots made us feel. This is a collective statement with some individual quotes, which are in italics.
Exhausted.
Angry, so angry, and scared.
Shocked. I never thought I would experience this.
Very very frustrating, very distressing.
I didn’t leave my house for over a week, because I’m scared.
I’m Black, I’m a migrant, I’m a Muslim. I can’t hide my skin tone if I go out.
What do we tell our kids?
We want to highlight that this isn’t over: people are still living in fear and worry about it happening again.
It’s not just about the people rioting. We’re angry at the government for describing migrants in certain ways, putting us in certain groups. Using us as scapegoats, as usual and always.
If it wasn’t for migration, the UK would not be where it is today. We shouldn’t constantly have to justify our presence in this country, or be exceptional migrants, or work in roles helping other people. We just want to live our lives.
Our message to the government:
Call this violence out for what it is – it’s racist, it’s Islamophobic.
We are here and we are paying our dues as migrants, according to the law of the land. We pay our taxes, and we pay double tax – our visa fees, the NHS surcharge. The 10 year route is making us feel less secure given what’s happened. It feels like we’re the first ones to be attacked – not just by rioters but by them as an establishment. Being on the 10-year route affects our mental and physical health. It impacts our relationships and families.
We have British kids, we are part of British society. We are all going through the same cost of living crisis, the same issues you’re going through. We struggle to pay our bills but we make our way. So no, we’re not going anywhere.
Our message to the anti-racist organisers and comrades: Thank you for everything that you’ve done. It gave us so much joy and hope.
I feel like I can leave the house now and someone’s not gonna kick my head in. Thank you.
And our message to every single person of colour, to everyone who has experience of the hostile environment, the immigration system, racism: we completely get it. We’re in the same place, we feel the same way you’re feeling, from feeling angry, to feeling hopeful that we can build a better country.
We’re going to keep calling out racism where we see it.
Racism can be very passive in this country in a way that allows people to ignore it. It’s important we shut it down, don’t laugh it off, don’t let it pass – don’t entertain passive racism to make people comfortable.
And we’re going to keep educating people.
My neighbour and my childminder know so much about the 10-year route and how much we pay to stay here, and about No Recourse to Public Funds, because I’ve been telling them, and they tell other people about it.
There’s many more people that stand with us than against us. We know it will get better.