about us > our history

Refugee Action was founded in 1981 to provide a radical new approach towards the successful resettlement in the UK of refugees and asylum seekers. This was based on supporting, promoting, and working in partnership with refugee communities through, for example, the employment of refugees within the agency, and sharing with others the methods and skills we acquired.

Reception, Housing and Family Reunion

Kosovar Albanian children

Between 1981 and 1999 our work has included the reception and settlement of thousands of newly-arrived refugees from Vietnam, Bosnia, and Kosova, as well as providing intensive in-hospital support for medical evacuees from Bosnia and Kosova. We helped thousands of evacuees from the volcanic island of Montserrat to settle in the UK. We were instrumental in setting up the Refugee Arrivals Project which, since 1987, has helped thousands of refugees who arrive at Heathrow each year.

Community Development

Since 1981, our Development and Integration Team has worked with refugee community organisations (RCOs) in England, helping them to develop and strengthen their own organisations. We have developed distinctive models of training, including skills sharing meetings for RCOs, and training on the management of RCOs. We promote local networks which bring together voluntary and statutory organisations to assist refugees.

Advice and Counselling

Between 1990 and 1996, our Counselling Project worked with Vietnamese refugees in a Malaysian camp, involving the community in supporting the most vulnerable. Since 1997, our Voluntary Return Project has provided impartial advice to refugees and asylum seekers who are considering return to their country of origin.

In April 2000, we established teams in the North West, East Midlands, South Central, and South West of England, to provide advice and support to asylum seekers who are dispersed to these regions.

Networking

We helped to start the Scottish Refugee Council, the Welsh Refugee Council and the Northern Refugee Centre. We work closely with our sister organisations, and participate in the management committees of other organisations in the refugee sector. In 1996, we facilitated the formation of the Refugee Women’s Legal Group which promotes good practice for women’s asylum claims.

Publications

These include guidance for refugee communities, advice leaflets for asylum seekers, research on various issues, and the annual review, the agency’s flagship document.