When I first shared the idea of Sheffield as a City of Sanctuary at a meeting in September 2005, I expected us to work four or five years to realise our objective. But after just two years we’d become a national movement and had the support the Refugee Council. We have held two national conferences in Sheffield. The idea of Sanctuary is catching the imagination of people.

I want to share the story of our achievement.

The objective of City of Sanctuary movement in Sheffield is to create a culture of welcome and hospitality for those seeking sanctuary, Refugees and other vulnerable migrants among us.

This work is urgent and important in our times of open hostility and hatred towards people who come here seeking protection and security – fleeing the torture of persecution or poverty.

I came to UK with my family as a refugee in 1964.

Over the last 40 years I have observed, and often challenged oppressive developments in our Immigration and Asylum laws and procedures.

About 30 years ago, I became part of a movement of churchy and not so churchy people to challenge these developments by protesting against unjust deportations. Sometimes this protest involved people taking sanctuary in Churches or Mosques…..not to avoid or evade law but to challenge it publicly, and to seek a response from Government. For a while [mid 1980’s] I chaired the Sanctuary Working Group of the British Council of Churches’ Committee for Race Relations. We prepared guidelines for Churches on the whole theme of Sanctuary.

I have continued to seek a fair deal for “Asylum Seekers” particularly. In 1997 I walked all the way from the steps of Sheffield Town Hall to 10 Downing Street with a letter to the Prime Minister asking that “Asylum Seekers” should not be detained in conventional prisons as they are not criminals.

As President of the British Methodist Conference [2000 – 2001], I visited UK’s largest Detention Centres [such as Rochester Prison, Campsfield, Haslar, Tinsley, Harmondsworth, Lindholme and Maghaberry Prison in Lisburn, Northern Ireland]. I shared what I observed in articles for the Methodist Recorder [12th April 2001 and 26th April 2001] and also in a Book entitled “Unlocking the Doors” [Penistone Publications 2001].

What I saw and heard strengthened my resolve to seek the welfare of Asylum Seekers.

The term “Asylum Seeker” should be dropped. Don’t use it. It is better to recognise instead that there are people seeking or taking Sanctuary. There is an urgent need for a new and alternative vocabulary in the whole Immigration debate which will again become a hot topic in the weeks leading up to the General Election.

The term asylum has a historical use and connotation. It has been used to refer to institutions giving shelter and support to people suffering from mental illness who were considered to be a threat to society. Such places, where people were placed and forgotten about, belong to a bygone era. Such a use of the term is discontinued. It smacks of degradation and indignity. Why use such a term to refer to people desperate for the protection of their lives?

“Asylum Seeker” is a term that has come to be synonymous with economic or illegal immigrants, benefit cheats and criminality, rather than as referring to people seeking safety from persecution and torture.

I welcome the report by The Independent Asylum Commission [March 2008] which uses the term “those seeking sanctuary” to refer to those fleeing persecution and looking for protection.

The law should safeguard human rights and provide protection for the most vulnerable. Alongside the law, there is a moral and spiritual obligation on us all to provide sanctuary for those whose lives are in danger. There are sanctuaries for Donkeys, Seals, Whales, and so on. Why not Sanctuary for human beings?

Gill Hicks lost both her legs in the 7/7London Underground bombs three years ago. She is now walking between Leeds and London [200 miles] with her new artificial legs.