Showing posts with label advocate. Show all posts
We all need to be diligent advocates
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Louise Zanré, Director of JRS UK, shares her vision for a better world and invites us to join advocacy efforts alongside refugees to make the case for their dignity
Advocacy is one of the three parts of the JRS mission. We often spend a lot more time on accompaniment and service - I suspect because many of us attracted to working for JRS are what I think of as being at heart "people persons". We derive energy and inspiration from being present both with and two the people we accompany. We build relationships and endeavour to offer and to receive hope, dignity and justice through those relationships. And we often do not make enough of the advocacy opportunities we have had and the fact that peoples' lives are changed as a result.
Being a "people person" myself I get a great deal of pleasure from meeting new people and having the opportunity of explaining to them a little about the reality of the lives of the people we accompany, whether those left destitute by the asylum system in the UK or those who have been detained, and the work of JRS. As a person of faith and conviction I base much of that message I share on the values underpinning the mission of JRS. I dream of a new world of dignity and justice, where everyone is treated with equality and compassion. I hope that, when I speak to groups, or at events; when I have meetings with civil servants, politicians; when I attend network meetings of partner organisations; when I write articles, that I am able to speak with truth, compassion and with passion and that the people I address or meet with are better equipped to conceive of and to want to work towards that new world.
It is a big ask - of myself and of those listening - and I am sure that I am not always as effective as I might be. It is also a big ask as we are up against so much. There are too many myths about refugees and asylum seekers. The world is far from perfect and sometimes the issues we are confronted with can seem to be insurmountable. It is difficult to know what response to make to the fact that so many people are being forced to risk dangerous journeys to get to Europe; to the fears that so many people have over competition for resources, jobs, housing or health care provision.
However it is especially at this time when things can seem to be so dark and depressing that it is of particular importance that we do try our best to counter a prevailing message of blame, of not being able to be generous, of not being able to participate together in society.
A new immigration bill was announced recently in the Queen's speech. Unsurprisingly, the highlights make for pretty depressing reading - landlords having to check immigration status of prospective tenants to determine if they can legally rent housing to them, appeal rights only being permissible in immigration cases after deportation, making it more difficult for immigrants to get bank accounts, making money earned from illegal working the proceeds of criminal activity and therefore able to be confiscated, to name a very few. On top of existing restrictions they make the UK a very unwelcoming place indeed.
In the face of this we all need to be diligent advocates. We will be sharing with you campaigns against particular measures - whether to stop indefinite detention; to try and convince our government to resettle more refugees; or to lobby MPs about the immigration bill. But we will also be asking you to listen to the experiences of our refugee friends, their hopes and dreams. And we will be asking you to work with us to dream a new world, to try to be more welcoming ourselves in everything we do or say, to challenge injustice and to pray and reflect. Without our refugee friends and without you, nothing I nor JRS can do will substantially change things.
It is wonderful to speak out
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What can we do together to improve the lives of asylum seekers here in the UK? JRS UK staff and advocacy volunteers share what advocacy means to them.
Sr Margaret Baxter SSMN, Detention Outreach Co-ordinator, helped two detainees give evidence to the UK parliamentary inquiry on detention via a video link, co-wrote JRS UK’s submission to the inquiry and herself also spoke at the launch of the report.
"For me, being involved with advocacy means to create an opportunity for the detainees I work with to self-advocate, then to help them prepare. For example, for the detention inquiry, we all wanted to be clear on what we wanted to say, so that it was a balance of their experience. On the moment of the hearing, I sat with them and then took each one into the room and then left, to allow them to speak for themselves. When they came out of the interview, I saw a liberated delight in these young men who had been empowered and now able to speak for themselves. That their stories were taken with credibility was in contrast to their experience of coming into country and making their asylum application against disbelief. There is nothing like the sincerity of the person themselves advocating on their own behalf. And with the detainees, there is a sense of solidarity with one another, even in the midst of their vulnerability."
Souleyman Sow, refugee poet and anti-detention campaigner, used to attend JRS UK’s Day Centre and now often speaks at events to explain the negative impacts of detention on the lives of vulnerable detainees, most recently at a school sixth-form education day.
"To be honest, before getting involved in campaigning, I did not know where I was, I had nowhere to start. It lifts me up and puts me on my feet and without it I would be somebody else. My main message is detention. It has an impact, it keep people in limbo. So to decision makers, I say that we have to put detention on trail, it is a waste of tax payers’ money. And let’s have a time limit on detention and we will see some of the problems for detainees ended. It is wonderful to speak out, I have been a tour guide, I have spoken at the parliamentary inquiry. Advocacy is not about money, it is not about food - you have to get involved in the community, after your release what have you contributed to the community? When I see my colleagues, I tell them come and get involved. So just involve yourself!"
World Refugee Day - Push Forward, Not Back
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A woman
rejoices during traditional dances at the International Women's Day celebration
in Doro refugee camp, Maban, South Sudan (Angela Wells / Jesuit Refugee
Service). - See more at:
http://en.jrs.net/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20150609094306#sthash.LUkLGWqh.dpuf
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A
woman rejoices during traditional dances at the International Women's
Day celebration in Doro refugee camp, Maban, South Sudan (Angela Wells /
Jesuit Refugee Service). - See more at:
http://en.jrs.net/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20150609094306#sthash.LUkLGWqh.dpuf
Rome, 15 June 2015 – For World Refugee Day this weekend, the Jesuit Refugee Service urges you to remember that the key to change is within each of us. While governments decide to accept or reject refugees, only we have the power to truly welcome them. We must change our fixed view of refugees as 'the other.'
Refugees around the world are being pushed back and pushed out. Australia is pushing refugees from Nauru to Cambodia. Colombians are being kicked out of Venezuela. Kenya has threatened to expel nearly half a million Somali and other refugees. Boats with Rohingya asylum seekers are turned away again and again by countries in Asia Pacific, left stranded at sea. Thousands of people are drowning attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East and North Africa.
Even where refugees are not literally expelled, they are often shunned, mistreated or jailed. Their very presence is criminalised, and they are often excluded from their host communities. In South Africa, foreigners are facing violence and riots, forcing them to flee their homes. In Europe, refugees are forced to rely on the informal labour and housing markets. In the United States, refugees fleeing widespread violence in Central America are held in detention.
The key to change need not always be a top-down approach. Swedish policy makers have exemplified that leaders can encourage this shift in our societal perception, but we must start with our own individual perceptions. Refugees are the 'we,' the 'us,' as opposed to 'they' or 'them.' Let's not just save lives; let's save dignity.
"Integration and hospitality are not only about opening our borders, but opening our communities. The latter does not result from the decisions of a few leaders, but from our own personal decisions. To change our countries we must start with our communities, and to change our communities we must start with ourselves," said JRS International Director Peter Balleis SJ.
We can push governments to welcome refugees, but let's not wait indefinitely for the macro decisions of our leaders to trickle down. Let's micromanage change in our own communities.
"We must all be able first to see, and then help others to see, migrants are not a problem to be solved. They are our brothers and sisters who need help, who should be welcomed and loved," said Kenyan refugee and Jesuit Refugee Service international volunteer, Anthony Mukui.
So let's not push back; let's push forward – push ourselves, our neighbours and our communities to open our doors. Then, together we can unlock potential. Together we can welcome. Together we can advocate. Together we can.
Visit a videoclip: here
For more information:
Jacquelyn Pavilon
International Communications
Jesuit Refugee Service
Tel: +39 06 69868 609; +39 348 993 1544
Jacquelyn.Pavilon@jrs.net
@JesuitRefugee
facebook.com/JesuitRefugeeService - See more at: http://en.jrs.net/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20150609094306#sthash.LUkLGWqh.dpuf
This story is originally from JRS international website: here.
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How Do We Approach Advocacy at JRS?
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'Helping Hands' by Alec
Peever (2011)
photo by Snapshooter46 from Foter.com
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Advocacy is part of JRS’ threefold mission, along with accompaniment and service. Here is a short reflection that shares some of the important characteristics of “Ignatian” advocacy, that staff member Kate has found helpful as presented by Jesuit Frank Turner SJ.
In the same way that we treat each refugee who comes to JRS with dignity and respect, our advocacy work is shaped by values that are the foundation for our whole mission. When engaging policy or decision-makers, we try to start with an attitude that assumes acceptance of the other person, even if we do not accept their position, so our dialogue retains the relationship whilst raising specific concerns. It is too easy to reject or be dismissive of someone else who is working in government or a public service.
In a similar way, a Jesuit approach to advocacy looks at both rescue of individuals who are suffering and the structure of injustice within society as a whole, thereby seeking a common good. We are not lobbying for our own interests, and want to show that a solution, e.g. for us as the host community is not possible without dignity for all. And when speaking about the perspective of those who might be “oppressed” or “excluded”, we do not label or objectify and where possible we always promote refugees themselves to speak. If it is only safe for us do so, we speak out only where we are connected through our service, so our advocacy is action based, not in the form of intellectual positions.
We hope that our dialogue with decision-makers and fellow campaigners comes with an openness - almost a spiritual attitude - that recognises that truth and goodness come from unexpected places. To do this, we try to create spaces for encounter and mutual meeting, rooted in community, honesty and information sharing. This comes with wisdom and clarity of message. So, at JRS, we try to ensure that our advocacy is both prophetic and pragmatic, holding up principles and seeking practical improvements in lives of those we are working on behalf, moving towards right relationship and reconciliation for refugees and all of us.
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Nepal: Jesuits Respond to Earthquake
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| St. Xavier's student volunteer distribute relief materials (tarpaulin sheets) to the villagers in Devpur, Kavre district mon behalf of the Nepal Jesuits (Nepal Jesuits). |
Rome, Washington DC, 30 April 2015 – Last Saturday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal has left more than 5,000 people dead, 10,000 injured, thousands more homeless, and untold numbers isolated in remote villages. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, numbers are expected to rise as aid workers and search and rescue teams access remote areas closer to the epicentre of the earthquake.
Strong aftershocks continued to rattle the country in the days after Saturday's disaster, leaving people with a sense of fear and insecurity.
"The people are still in shock as the aftershocks continue. Most of the people are staying out in the open places as they fear to go back to their partially damaged houses," said Fr Boniface Tigga SJ, the Jesuit Regional Superior of Nepal.
"Many people are terrified of sleeping in their homes and have erected tents and make-shift shelters in open areas," said Fr Tigga.
"Throughout the night, one can see people simply walking the streets, or huddled under blankets by the side of the road, for lack of shelter. Unseasonal rain has sent night-time temperatures plummeting, adding to the misery of those displaced."
The Jesuits of Nepal have responded quickly to the tragedy, Fr Tigga says. St. Xavier's College reached out to two remote villages, providing residents tarpaulin sheets to sleep under and basic food material.
Fr Tigga reports that many roads are blocked, making it difficult to reach many locations.
"We hope to reach out to some more villages where relief work has not been done so far. For this we count on your help and prayers," said Fr Tigga.
"One great concern now is water supply and food. As stored food and water supplies diminish, suffering will increase. In addition to providing medical care to those who were severely injured, medical teams are concerned about the possible outbreak of diseases, especially cholera, because of damage to the water supply system."
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) will make its expertise available to the Jesuits in Nepal as needed in terms of assistance from the JRS South Asia team in Delhi and the Rapid Response Team of the International Office.
"The prayerful support and material assistance of our brother Jesuits and their colleagues, the wider church, and the general public, will be of enormous help to us as we provide aid to those in immediate dire need and begin to help Nepal recover from the devastating impact of the earthquake," Fr Tigga said.
JRS will publish new information as it becomes available, and the Nepal Jesuits have set up a Facebook page here.
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How to help
To make a tax-deductible donation in the US to support the relief efforts of the Society of Jesus in Nepal, please use the information below:
To donate via credit card, visit the secure online donations page by clicking here. Please use the additional gift information field to indicate Nepal and other specific requests.
For inquiries, confirmation of your donation, or for additional information, please call: +1 800-922-5327.
For cheques:
Make the cheque payable to Jesuit International Missions and mail to:
USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus
2050 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614
Please indicate that the gift is for Nepal Earthquake Relief in an accompanying letter or on the memo line of the cheque.
Bank transfer:
USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus
North Shore Community Bank
Routing Number: 071-001-737
Account Number. 63500-26276
Please call +1 800-922-5327 to inform the office that you are wiring a gift for Nepal Earthquake Relief.
Original Story in JRS International: Click Here.
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We are the Light! - A Reflection on Situations in South Sudan
Stephen shares his memories and concerns from his JRS work in East Africa.
This is one of my favourite pictures from my time in JRS East Africa taken by Sr. Lolin Menendez over ten years ago.Take a bit of time to just look into this little displaced girl’s face ….
She is displaced in Southern Sudan from the war event which disrupted the whole country post-1991. Now you may have seen a completely new generation of displaced people as shown in a recent Comic Relief TV documentary; displaced people from the new civil war post South Sudan’s independence in 2011.
The badge of her school hanging around the girl’s neck (picture) noted the motto of her school in Nimule, ‘We are the Light’. Note the light of trust and hope that shines from her face. There is also perhaps a hint of weariness that would have come from living in harsh conditions and the uncertainty in what is going on around her. This same touching innocence came through the recent TV documentary I mentioned. Young people talking of their situation and needs which puts the violence of war into such stark relief. Whatever the politics, these young people surely deserve a future. What can I or you do to help in some way?
Stephen Power SJ is Treasurer of JRS UK. JRS UK is part of JRS International which works in more than 50 countries worldwide. South Sudan continues to go through difficult times as it seeks to establish a sustainable peace settlement and continue its journey as a new country.
Here in JRS International website, you can read about recent situations in South Sudan. We hope that many of you join us in prayers for peace, justice, and reconciliation in the region and other troubled parts of the world.
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