Have riot scars healed for city's asylum seekers?

Charity workers say asylum seekers and refugees are still coming to terms with the Hull riot more than six months on, but insist the city remains a welcoming place for those fleeing war.

"It took a long time for some to feel like they are recovering from it," says Cecil Jones, a project co-ordinator for the Open Doors charity, which supports asylum seekers in the city.

"I would not say it is completely out of their minds as yet, because it will take a while to clear out completely.

"What would help to reassure them is to see something like that never happens again and see people appreciating each other more in Hull.

"We are Hull and we are proud – we should keep that as a theme."

The Open Doors project provides advice, food and sometimes money for those who are going through the asylum process and may be destitute or in search of somewhere to stay because their claim has not been settled.

Cecil says the project was "badly affected" in the wake of the violence that erupted in the city centre and across the country in August 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport. The number of people using the service dropped "significantly".

"They didn't feel comfortable, they didn't feel confident, they felt scared and didn't want to come out. It impacted them very, very seriously. That, for us, was a concern," he says.

Despite those concerns, Mark Hulme, a volunteer for Open Doors, says Hull retains its warmth as a city that has "always been welcome and open".

Refugee Gaida Dirar believes further reassurance would come through better understanding about why people are coming to cities like Hull.

The 35-year-old and her family have been seeking somewhere safe to live for more than two decades.

Originally from war-torn Sudan, Gaida grew up in Libya until fighting erupted in the North African country and she was forced to flee to Egypt.

Now, after being offered asylum by the British government, she lives and works in Hull.

Like others attending the Open Doors project, she was concerned following the Hull disorder and believes there is a misconception about asylum seekers.

"I want to highlight that the term illegal immigration is something that nobody should use. When in war you are seeking safety," she says.

"Nobody wants to leave his home country. Nobody wants to leave his house, his friends, his street, the schools he's known. Nobody wants to do that.

"We are not coming here because we are economic migrants, we are coming here because we are seeking safety. Please don't use it, we are just victims of war."

Immigration advisor Jayne Mercer, from Hull's Community Integration Advocacy Centre, believes many people have the wrong idea about asylum seekers.

She says some of those on asylum support "have been waiting years for a decision".

"They don't want to be in a hotel," she says. "They don't want to be on asylum support. They want to go out and work and want to pay their taxes and contribute to this country."

Hull has a tradition of welcoming people and Ms Mercer believes the events in August have not done too much to undo that.

"I don't think it's undone the good work," she insists. "But the good work needs to be brushed up so that people are aware about how much the council is keen on maintaining that positive atmosphere for people fleeing persecution."

The government insists it is working hard to tackle more than 100,000 asylum claims nationally and says its case backlog is falling.

Figures from Migration Yorkshire, which is a partnership of councils working across Yorkshire and Humber to support the integration of migrants, show that between October and December 2024, most supported asylum seekers coming to the area came from Asian countries, including Iran and Afghanistan, as well as African countries where there is also unrest, such as Eritrea and Sudan.

More than 10,000 people received some help from local authorities, with Hull supporting just under 1,000 people, compared with Leeds (more than 1,600) and the East Riding, with 60.

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