Manchester asylum seekers speak out against hotel protests

• Featured image: Lucy North/PA Wire

Asylum seekers in Manchester have issued an emotional statement in response to the recent protests outside asylum hotels. 

The statement from The Greater Manchester Asylum Group aims to paint a different picture about what life in hotels is really like as opposed to claims made in the media and by protestors.

The statement emphasises the lack of choice asylum seekers have in being given accommodation and the spartan conditions they have to endure.

Protests have become more frequent outside asylum hotels in Manchester in recent months, with some people unhappy at the cost of hotels to the taxpayer. 

In their statement, the Greater Manchester Asylum Group point out that each asylum seeker receives a smaller amount than people think and must live on £9.95 a week. 

“We want to work and contribute,” say the asylum seekers, claiming the government restricts them from doing so. 

Hotel conditions 

They say that conditions in asylum seeker the hotels are far from glamorous, adding that families have a lack of privacy, with people having to share rooms with strangers and being confined to small spaces with their families.

“We have no choice what to eat, and we are not allowed to cook for ourselves or for our children,” they say in the statement. 

The say the food provided in hotels is often unhealthy, such as fried rice and chips. 

‘Living in a hotel is not a life of luxury – it can feel like a prison’

People staying in asylum hotels do not have a choice in where they are to live and are moved around by the Home Office. 

Many asylum seekers do not know how long they will stay in the hotel or where they are to be moved to next, which they say can be very unsettling. 

Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit shared the statement online to dispel what it says are false rumours and to give a more accurate account of the experiences of people staying in asylum hotels.

Online opinions 

Many users have taken to X to discuss the use of asylum hotels and their thoughts on the statement, including Zoe Gardner is an independent researcher and commentator on immigration and asylum policy.

Asylum protests have become more frequent, with the most recent protest in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, over the Halloween weekend.