Today is the one year anniversary of a sit-in of Iranian asylum seekers in Wurtzburg, Germany which turned into a sort of tent city after the tragic suicide of Iranian asylum seeker Mohammad Rahsepar. That protest kick-started the refugee tent movement in Germany which has helped to highlight the horrendous plight of asylum seekers.

In Germany and elsewhere, people – women, men and children – are warehoused, receive very little support, have no right to work, and are dehumanised and criminalised all because they have dared to dream of another life free from hellish dictatorial regimes and theocracies.

Protests such as these help remind the public of the humanity of those seeking refuge. Asylum seekers are not some statistic but real people who are fighting to live a life free from fear.