Nottingham Half Marathon - George Baxter

I'm running this half-marathon in support of the Notts Refugee Forum. We are facing the largest displacement crisis since the Second World War. At a time when there is political turmoil across the globe, in Afghanistan most recently, we need to be doing the most to support people in need. Asylum seekers and refugees are vulnerable, fleeing from war and conflict, poverty and famine. Just today, Kabul international airport was bombed as men, women and children struggled to be evacuated. We can no longer afford to think of them as some far away problem, but one that we can help combat, right on our doorstep. Europe, and the UK in particular, are not pulling their weight despite the myth that we are being 'overrun' by immigrants and refugees. 9 in 10 of the world’s refugees are sheltered by developing countries, NOT rich Western countries. What's more, even once in the UK, asylum seekers have been kept for longer than six months for decisions on their application, stuck in limbo. Only for the British asylum system, which is extremely tough, to turn them away - just 32% of initial decisions made in the year to March 2018 have been grants of protection (asylum or humanitarian protection).