Author: Kitty Hamilton, Vigil for Visas co-founder
At a Homes for Ukraine government roundtable 8th March 2023, a group of hosts from around the country were asked to contribute their thoughts and support for a government campaign to encourage more hosts to come forward. It was something we had asked for, the government recruitment logos here are the result. Many of us are continuing to host, but for others circumstances have changed, and they can’t continue. In most cases it has nothing to do with “relationship breakdowns” and in fact the ongoing sense of responsibility and friendship means support goes on, just in a different way.
Back to the roundtable. As the meeting progressed it became apparent that many of us were feeling decidedly queasy at the prospect of trying to rally support for Ukrainian refugees at a time when the government was pushing for the most inhumane anti-immigration policy so far. Since then, things have escalated and the anger at the government’s boat policy has morphed into anger at the BBC. It’s not about the BBC, it’s about boats, or more specifically the government’s policy towards boats and refugees more widely.
The government plans to mark the anniversary of the launch of the Homes for Ukraine scheme on 14th March. They want to position hosts and communities who’ve supported refugees as “unsung heroes”, when the only really heroic thing we’ve done is make this scheme half work.
When Homes for Ukraine scheme was launched a year ago, 250,000 British citizens stepped forward and registered their interest. One year on and we are hosting 117,100 Ukrainians, less than half the number of people that volunteered, and many of us are hosting more than one person.
Kitty Hamilton, Vigil for Visas
Sometimes I wonder whether the scheme was ever meant to succeed, that the odds were stacked against Ukrainians actually getting here, and that that is why Michael Gove was able to offer so generously. Yes, Ukrainians could come and work, use schools, get universal credit, even generous pots of money were offered to Local Authorities and hosts were offered thank you payments.
But a month into the launch it became all too apparent that there was a serious catch. We had registered our interest and then we hit a brick wall. The bombastic second world war rhetoric ended there. From then on it was “Do It Yourself” by which we first had to find our own Ukrainians, which a remarkable number of us did.
And then the trouble really started. Whether cock up or conspiracy, figures for issuing visas were going up but the number of people getting across was stubbornly small. A whistle blower at the Home Office got the ball rolling. We discovered that the Home Office was issuing visas for some but not all members in any given family. In my cases the mother was granted a visa, but the children remained “under consideration”. The full-scale war broke out in February 2022, the scheme was launched a month later and it took another two months before we met our family. I don’t think that would have happened without the Vigil for Visas and other campaigns.
For many, this year has not been straight forward and what began as “six months” now appears open ended as many of us struggle to help our Ukrainian families move on. There is no affordable housing, not for anyone, and many hosts have been put into the unbearable position of having to make people they feel extremely responsible for homeless. These are people we’ve come to know. They have names, they have impressive qualifications, they have hobbies, they cook delicious food, and they miss friends and family still in Ukraine. Most aren’t planning to stay, but want to contribute in whatever way they can while they’re here.
We really want this scheme to work, and we would love to encourage others to come forward, especially because it’s an opportunity to showcase the tremendous value of being welcoming to other cultures brings to our homes both individually and as a nation.
Kitty Hamilton, co-founder, Vigil for Visas
As I’ve said before, I think time and again this government has underestimated the common decency of its electorate. This is not about a footballer or the BBC, it’s about boats and refugees. It’s about doing the right thing. The decent thing. The thing that makes us proud to be British. And that’s about tolerance and kindness. We’re not unsung heroes, what would be heroic is proving that helping others enriches us all.
#UnsungHeroes #StandWithUkraine #StandForDecency #StandWithRefugees
Some additional useful stats about to be released:
Home Office, Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) and Ukraine Extension Scheme visa data