The Government’s claim that “every child matters” doesn’t seem to apply to children seeking asylum. On top of the sadness and trauma of having to flee their countries, they are locked in detention, forced into poverty and denied full access to medical services. The lives of these children rarely hit the news.

Lisa Nandy, chair of the Refugee Childrens’ Consortium will speak a public meeting on Monday 16th March about these issues. Also speaking are: Maria Vasquez-Aguilar, a Chilean refugee who arrived as a child in Sheffield in the 1970's; young people seeking asylum will talk about their experiences of the asylum system. Representatives of Sheffield City Council and the UK Border Agency have also been invited to speak. The main themes will be: detention; destitution; unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and the work of Embrace, who are co-sponsoring the event.

Organised by South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG) and the Children’s Society/Embrace.