A disabled asylum seeker has been banned from getting a transport pass with one politician branding the move "performative cruelty".
Two refugees spoke out about their condition in an Oxfordshire County Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday (June 18) this week where councillors agreed the authority should be granted "sanctuary" status.
The speakers asked whether the council could make public transport free for them, in light of the new status, due to the "eight pounds a week" they receive not being enough to get out.
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One said he had had his application for a free transport pass rejected despite his disability due to government rules.
In order for a council to get sanctuary status it must endorse various values such as "inclusivity" and "integrity" and complete a nine-step application process.
Speaking out at the meeting, Dr Pete Sudbury, a green councillor, said: "It is performative cruelty.
"That beautiful 'don't let them come legally and then punish them for coming any other route' is a true stain on this country's reputation and I am sorry."
An asylum seeker who has lived in the Kassam Hotel, on the outskirts of Oxford, for one year and two months said: "When I go outside I spend a lot of money on transport - two pounds to go and two pounds to come back.
"Because I am disabled I can't walk too much.
"One day I didn't have enough money I walked for three hours.
"I have too many problems with transport and buses.
"I applied for a free bus pass and they rejected me. They said you are not allowed to get free buses because you are an asylum seeker.
"I want them to give us free buses because we are here to make Oxford better.
"We can work, we can volunteer."
The other asylum seeker added: "I have been here for one year and five months.
"People are interested in getting involved and volunteering with different organisations.
"But they cannot go out with the transport barrier.
"We get eight pounds per week. That's not enough for us to go and get involved."
Cabinet member for transport management and Liberal Democrat, Andrew Gant, who had previously submitted a motion for Oxfordshire County Council to become a Council of Sanctuary in November, said he was exploring the option of free travel for asylum seekers with officers.
Mr Gant added: "In this country our government has a rule that says that people in your situation are not by law allowed to have any recourse to public funds.
"Who does it hurt to give you a bus pass?
"Why? Why do we do that?
"Whose interest is it in to say you cannot leave your hotel?
"Whose interest does it serve to say that you can’t work, you can’t support yourselves - contribute to the society that you’ve made your home.
"That is the kind of government that we have. And it needs to go frankly and soon it will.
"I'm working hard to resolve your issue of the bus passes.
"I haven't succeeded yet but I will keep trying."
The ban placed on the refugees from Middle Eastern countries comes as Ukrainian refugees are allowed to work in the UK.
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