Abstract

Asylum seekers are often destitute upon their arrival in the UK and, thus, they depend primarily on the UK government to support them. Yet, the UK government has been enforcing the destitution of asylum seekers through socio-political and economic mechanisms. Socio-political mechanisms of destitution relate to repressive asylum policies inhibiting asylum seekers’ access to mainstream benefits, employment and their ability to do meaningful activities, while economic mechanisms of destitution relate to an insufficient asylum allowance that leaves asylum seekers destitute. This article uses 50 interviews conducted with asylum seekers, refugees and staff from various organisations to explore asylum seekers’ experiences of enforced destitution in Glasgow. Findings indicate that socio-political mechanisms of destitution underpin experiences of destitution and are the precursor to the economic mechanism of destitution. Findings also show that economic mechanisms of destitution challenge asylum seekers’ ability to meet their subsistence needs. Furthermore, the UK government’s enforced destitution of asylum seekers has caused asylum seekers to depend upon the third sector to fill the gaps in meeting their basic needs.

中文翻译：

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英国寻求庇护者被迫陷入贫困

摘要

寻求庇护者抵达英国后往往陷入贫困，因此他们主要依赖英国政府的支持。然而，英国政府一直通过社会政治和经济机制使寻求庇护者陷入贫困。贫困的社会政治机制与抑制寻求庇护者获得主流福利、就业及其从事有意义活动的能力的压制性庇护政策有关，而贫困的经济机制与庇护津贴不足导致寻求庇护者陷入贫困有关。本文通过对寻求庇护者、难民和各个组织的工作人员进行的 50 次采访，探讨了寻求庇护者在格拉斯哥被迫贫困的经历。研究结果表明，贫困的社会政治机制是贫困经历的基础，也是贫困经济机制的先兆。调查结果还表明，贫困的经济机制挑战了寻求庇护者满足其生存需求的能力。此外，英国政府强迫寻求庇护者陷入贫困，导致寻求庇护者依赖第三部门来填补满足其基本需求的缺口。