Community InfoSource stands with all asylum seekers and refugees fleeing conflicts, persecution and oppression including those fleeing Ukraine.
We welcome the UK Government’s programme for Ukrainians but it does not go nearly far enough. Particularly, we must ask that if this can be done now for Ukrainians, why not for all others fleeing equally horrendous conflicts and trauma in other parts of the world?
Also, there are people displaced in Ukraine who do not have Ukrainian passports who need refuge. The UK Government must respect the UN Refugee Convention and offer safety to people of all nationalities who are forced to flee from Ukraine.
As other countries in Europe have speedily done, the UK Government should immediately waive the need for visas – there is no time to apply for a visa when you are running for your life. We urge the UK government to offer safe and legal routes for all Ukrainians and all those escaping conflicts around the world. As with the Ukrainian programme, we call on the government to give everyone seeking asylum in the UK the right to work and access to benefits and services.
Despite some welcome elements of the Ukraine programme, the UK Government is still driving its hostile anti-refugee agenda through its xenophobic ‘Nationality and Borders Bill’ currently going through parliament. This will criminalise both the asylum seekers arriving through non-formal routes (including those from Ukraine who are not eligible for a visa waiver) and those who try to help them.
We call on the public to tell the UK government to help all refugees and scrap the Nationality and Borders Bill which threatens refugee and asylum seeker rights in the UK  Sign the petition We call on all MPs to vote against this immoral bill.
CIS will work hard to welcome and support Ukrainian asylum seekers and refugees to Scotland, as we do and have done for all asylum seekers and refugees for many years. We will work with the Scottish Government and others in Scotland to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all.
We invite volunteers with knowledge of Ukraine and who can speak Ukrainian or Russian to join us. We also welcome links with Ukrainian community organisations in Glasgow and wider in Scotland. Please contact us on info@infosource.org.uk

We are very sad to have to inform you that Andrew Minshaw, Community InfoSource’s Asylum Seeker Housing project (ASH) Volunteer Coordinator and Caseworker, passed away in hospital after a brief period of severe illness, on Friday night, 7 January 2022. Andrew had had some underlying ill health for a while but it has been a huge shock as his health deteriorated so suddenly over the New Year.
 
Andrew started with CIS as a volunteer caseworker in 2014 and he volunteered for a few years until we secured funding in 2016 and then for 5+ years he has worked as ASH Volunteer Coordinator and Caseworker and made a significant contribution.

Andrew was such a dedicated member of our team at ASH and Community InfoSource – someone who loved his job, who went the extra mile and helped many many people. Andrew was valued by the CIS Board, staff, volunteer colleagues, colleagues in other organisations and friends. Andrew had a kind heart and loved to work with and help people. He will be sorely missed by us all and leaves a massive hole in our organisation and team.
 
For all of us who have had the privilege of working with him, we acknowledge his significant contribution to improving the lives of many asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow and thank him for his commitment and dedication to this role.

Our heartfelt condolences are with his family, his friends and his work colleagues.

Ako Khalil Zada                                     Gillian Wilson
Chair, Board of Directors                         Chief Executive
Community InfoSource                            Community InfoSource

​Community InfoSource is saddened and angry about the terrible loss of 27 precious human lives in the channel due to their boat sinking. Our thoughts go out to their families and friends who will be grieving and to those who tried to rescue them and face trauma dealing with their bodies.

The UK government’s inhuman and hostile immigration policy, which does not allow for legal routes for people to claim asylum, is driving people to take these risky routes and increasing the likelihood of such tragedies. There are many reasons why people around the globe flee their homes, including conflict, persecution, loss of livelihoods and poverty from climate change and many other factors. Those seeking safety do not make this decision to leave everything behind lightly and our country should be a safe place welcoming those in need.

Our government’s focus on coastal safeguarding rather than rescuing desperate people is appalling and we have seen the public’s largely negative reaction to Nigel Farage’s campaign against those such as the RNLI and others who are working to rescue those in danger in the channel. CIS strongly opposes the proposals in the UK Government’s new Nationality and Borders Bill 2021 which, if implemented, will result in an even more hostile environment for those seeking asylum and safety in the UK.