Birmingham pupils meet refugees as groups oppose Nationality and Borders Bill

School children from across the West Midlands shared their artwork with refugees

Dozens of schoolchildren have created artworks for refugees to welcome them to Birmingham.

The event was organised by Birmingham City of Sanctuary and saw refugees share their experiences with the pupils.

The community group also highlighted the government's Nationality and Borders Bill, which it said would criminalise those seeking asylum.

However, the government said it was trying to fix a "broken" system.

Refugee charities and campaigners are opposing the bill, which is due to be debated in Parliament. They are instead calling for a "fairer" approach to people seeking safety.

Pupils from Abbey Catholic Primary, Holy Cross Catholic Primary and St Dunstan's Catholic, presented poems and orange hearts at the event at Birmingham Central Library on Thursday.

Harriet, a Year 6 pupil, said: "I find it appalling that we talk about dignity and equality and then we treat the most vulnerable in our community with no dignity and no equality.

"This makes me so sad. We need to do more."

Pupils at Abbey Catholic Primary School spent time preparing their artwork

David Brown, from Birmingham City of Sanctuary, said: "We stand against this bill because it totally ignores the realities of why people have to flee their countries.

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"Instead of criminalising those who seek safety in the UK, we need to create safe and legal routes - like the Syrian and Afghan Resettlement schemes - for those fleeing from war and persecution in their own countries to come and find safety in the UK."

"We support refugees" was the message from pupils at St Dunstan's School

More than 1,000 orange heart brooches made out of clay will be given away to people across the city at a stall at St Martin's in the Bullring on Saturday in support of refugees coming to the city.

Members of the St Paul's Church community - which includes refugees and asylum seekers - have been making them by hand for the past few weeks.

What is the Nationality and Borders Bill?

More than 2,000 migrants crossed the Channel on small boats in June

The 87-page bill will make knowingly arriving in the UK without permission a new criminal offence. It includes:

• a maximum life sentence for those convicted of people smuggling

• new age assessments to identify adult migrants pretending to be children

• a downgraded status for those asylum seekers the government fails to deport to a safe country

• new powers for Border Force to stop and divert vessels suspected of carrying illegal migrants

Emma Birks, a campaign manager with Asylum Matters, said: "The proposals are fundamentally an anti-refugee bill that will rewrite the UK asylum system, with grave consequences for vulnerable people seeking safety.

"We're calling on the government to scrap this harmful bill and instead create an asylum system that is fairer, more effective and humane."

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "The UK has a proud history of welcoming those in need, such as thousands of Afghans who are being supported to rebuild their lives through our settlement schemes.

"But we have to take action to break the business model of the people smugglers putting lives at risk and fix our broken asylum system.

"Our New Plan for Immigration is based on a simple principle: that the right to access to our asylum system should be based on need not the ability to pay people smugglers who exploit and endanger people's lives.

"Our Nationality & Borders Bill will change the law so those who facilitate these dangerous crossings can face life behind bars."

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