Ready to build a life: stuck in the system
April 17, 2026
Image created by Finn Souter with photo from Pexels
Motaz Amer reflects on the barriers refugees face and the need for change
I’m 20 years old and originally from Yemen. I’ve spent most of my life since arriving in the UK, studying, working, volunteering and building my future here.
That’s what real integration looks like. But the truth is, it is the current asylum system makes that almost impossible for thousands of people.
It’s already slow, expensive and completely unable to deliver quick, fair decisions.
These new proposals won’t fix that. Under the government’s plan 2025, refugee status could become temporary, settlement may be delayed for years, and access to support and family reunions would be restricted.
They won’t speed anything up. They won’t save money. They won’t help communities. They’ll simply extend the same delays that leave people stuck, wasting public funds and blocking people from rebuilding their lives.
But the point stands, if a system is slow and costly now, how will adding more barriers suddenly make it faster or cheaper?
If we want real integration, we need a system that lets people move forward, not one that traps them for years.
Other countries prove that fast, fair decisions work. They save money. They reduce pressure. They help people contribute sooner.
When people feel secure, they get involved, volunteer, work and build real connections
But the government is cherry picking their role models
We can choose a system that divides, or a system that delivers. A faster and fairer approach is the only one that works for the most vulnerable, public, for communities and for the country’s future
Language like this doesn’t just sit on a page or a TV screen. It filters into our streets, workplaces, schools and neighbourhoods.
When politicians frame people fleeing war and persecution as temporary, separate or “here only for now”, it reshapes how communities view them. It feeds uncertainty. It fuels mistrust. And it makes integration harder for everyone.
We’ve seen the opposite too. When people feel secure, they get involved locally, learn the language, volunteer, work and build relationships. Stability creates connection. Not suspicion.
That’s why the narrative matters.
It sets the tone long before any policy is implemented.
If the story we keep telling is that refugees are a crisis, a cost or a pressure point, then public anxiety will rise no matter what the facts say. And none of this helps ordinary people with the real challenges they’re facing.
- For practical and emotional support when seeking asylum: British Red Cross
- For guidance on rebuilding life and integration: International Rescue Committee UK
- Motaz works with Amnesty International UK on advocacy and protection for refugees, including people from Yemen
