A church in Fallowfield became a second home for asylum seekers. Now, they might be forced to leave

‘All of us regard this Rwanda policy as something really quite shameful’

Dear members — in the early 2000s, a small community of Iranians moved into a Home Office-funded accommodation block in Fallowfield. It wasn’t long before they found the Church of the Holy Innocents, an Anglican church on a leafy street that has become home to a number of asylum seekers.

For years now, the church has been a source of solace for a community traumatised by the harshness of life under the Islamic Republic of Iran. But now, the congregation risks being torn apart, as those threatened with being relocated to Rwanda under the government’s new migration policy fear that they may disappear altogether. This week, Mollie met the church’s rector, Richard Young.