What’s the cost of losing sanctuary?

By Grace Watt

As the weather turns and the mornings grow colder, it feels like we have more than our Christmas shopping on our minds. Tis the season for Wales to decide what kind of nation it wants to be.  

We have a lot of reasons to feel hopeful to the idea that Wales wants to continue its legacy based on community and the values of decency and respect. But despite this positivity, the Nation of Sanctuary vision remains at risk.  

The Nation of Sanctuary seeks to create an environment where those seeking refuge and asylum are met with a warm Welsh welcome from day one.  As a volunteer with Sanctuary Coalition Cymru and the WRC, I spent the autumn at the forefront of the conversation around refugees and sanctuary seekers.   

The Sanctuary in the Senedd events, a set of practical and engaging sessions, enabled political representatives to come together to really understand how sanctuary can work for Wales.    

How does sanctuary work for Wales?

Integration to strengthen communities

The Nation of Sanctuary’s community focussed integration and language support programmes facilitate a smooth transition, getting people into the community, ready to work and paying taxes. This enables everyone to contribute to Wales in a way that strengthens and empowers us all.    

Unlocking Wales’ strength through a pathway of contribution 

Sanctuary seekers are asking for the ability to work. A Wales-specific immigration list would allow urgent skill shortages to be filled. This would see our NHS shortages tackled head on, our net zero goals and infrastructure projects expedited and a revitalisation of rural communities who are at risk of decline.  

The UK-wide Lift the Ban campaign already highlights the support for getting sanctuary seekers contributing and into work. It is common sense that Wales start advocating for a policy that allows them to utilise a ready and able work force.  

 By ending the spread of misinformation and hate  

Our proud Welsh history teaches us what it means to be marginalised and to have our culture dismissed. The language used by our leaders plays a key role in shaping public attitudes. Unchecked misinformation and hate speech damages our community cohesion and weakens our social fabric. This is putting our communities at risk of unrest. It is time for our leaders to lead with honest and evidence-based conversations to challenge misinformation with facts and clarity. By using accurate and respectable language this builds trust within communities and keeps debates focused on real solutions that help strengthen and support Wales.  

The meaning of sanctuary

The events matches political representatives with refugee and sanctuary seekers, along with the organisations that are on the front-line supporting them. This created a space for honest conversations that helped tackle the misinformation around the debates and to help create real world solutions focused on the lived experiences of those impacted, enabling the whole community to strengthen Wales.  

During the event, postcards were distributed to those attending, to share their thoughts on the Nation of Sanctuary vision. For some it was a space to show what losing the Nation of Sanctuary vision would mean for them:  

 “The cost of losing sanctuary doesn’t mean talking about a word, or a brand or even a single organisation. It means losing the spirit of Croeso.”  

 Others used it to help strengthen Wales:  

 “Support asylum seekers in Wales to work and contribute.”  

 The event however can be best summarised in the post card that called for action.  

 “Let’s get behind the bridge builders, there is more that unites us than that which divides us.”  

 The conversations that took place this autumn will steer the discourse over the coming months so that by the end of spring, Wales will have an answer as to what kind of nation it wants to be.  

 As a volunteer I am reminded by this event that we all have to play a part in establishing the discourse and remaining committed to our values.