ACTIVISTS held a people's tribunal in Middlesbrough to draw attention to the problems of asylum seekers forcibly removed from the area.
The tribunal, organised by the North-East Coalition for Asylum Rights, heard accounts from people who befriended families of asylum seekers in the area - many of who were forcibly removed by immigration services when their appeals were refused.
Speakers included Barbara Hungin, a member of a local peace group, who spoke of the dismay many asylum seekers felt when their experiences were not believed by the authorities.
She said many asylum seekers suffered depression or anxiety as a result of the abuse they experienced in their own countries.
There are estimated to be about 50 asylum seekers on Teesside who are destitute because their claims for asylum have been rejected and they cannot claim benefit or work. The total number of asylum seekers on Teesside is about 1,300.
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