JRS-UK Community Blog

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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With the launch just days away, we have a little time to reflect further on what we have enjoyed about taking part and what it has meant to us, both as participants and volunteers.

The photography workshop has had a great impact on everyone involved, not just because it has taught people a new skill, but because of the socialising and support it involves. As one more participant expressed said, it has certainly helped people grow closer together. From the point of view of us as new interns at JRS, the workshop has played a huge role in getting us involved in the organisation and building rapports with its members.

With the workshop being so engaging, as we volunteers have been busy working alongside Fotosynthesis and JRS-UK to organise a public photo exhibition, titled; “Come and See” in the Lumen Gallery. As well as this being a great opportunity for the participants to display the work they’ve created over the past twelve weeks, some have said they would not have had the courage to partake in anything like this without the workshop. J said that the workshop has given her more “confidence” in her abilities; “Before I felt scared about taking pictures but now I feel very confident.”

J, who had an interest in photography beforehand, says she had no idea about storytelling through photography before enrolling in the workshop, and feels that she now has “a new skill”. She also believes that while the workshop has allowed her to develop new skills, what she really enjoyed was “going out with others and to places I’ve never been before. Taking pictures in beautiful places in Wapping, near JRS’s office, and in the city, and taking self portraits with a real camera. I want to have brand new skills and this can open the doors to being self-employed.”

What’s even more positive is how the workshop affected the group as a whole. J said that her favourite thing about joining the workshop was “attending the classes, it’s very sociable. Watching others tell their story. It brings us closer together. The support from everyone - from the teachers and the volunteers.”

Participants, teachers and volunteers invite you to join them at the Lumen Gallery for “Come and See” photo exhibition, which opens for a preview night on the 26th June from 6pm-8pm and continues until the 10th of July from 8am-4pm when it will be open to the public. The Gallery Tour will be on the 5th of July and will be an excellent chance to hear about the experiences, inspirations and what the workshop and exhibition has taught everyone.

For more details, see www.jrsuk.net
Lumen Gallery, Church Cafe, 88 Tavistock Place, WCIH 9RS.

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For the past weeks, a group of nine men and women have come together at JRS-UK to take part in a photography workshop run and facilitated by Fotosynthesis, a not-for-profit organisation that uses participatory photography to develop skills, give a voice to people and encourage community cohesion. The exhibition launch is just 2 weeks away…

Every week, we meet with the group of nine, who are all from different countries, to learn techniques, share ideas and practice different types of photography - portraits, candid shots, narrative, scenery and landscape. It has been great so far and the feedback we have heard from participants has been really positive with everyone taking something different away from each session.

Sergei, whose father was a photographer, shared he joined the workshop to “avoid depression”. He said that he felt the workshop gave him an opportunity to “communicate with creative people” and to revisit his previous interest for photography, now revived with a new knowledge of modern technology. “When I learnt photography, everything was black and white and manual cameras. Everything changed for 20 years, it changed completely”.

Yus, who hopes to do blogging in the future, joined the workshop when the opportunity presented itself, although he admitted to us he had not had an interest in photography before enrolling. He told us: “What I enjoyed most about what we’ve learned so far is the positioning of the camera and also the lighting. How to make sure you position yourself to get the quality you are looking for, 1. And 2, you have to have a picture in your mind of the story that you are trying to tell. “

Since joining he has been very pleased with how much his skills have advanced, by learning different techniques and tips from the workshop: “You don’t have to be in a rush. Sit still, or stand still, make sure you have the picture in your head before you snap. And as a result of doing that, it will translate into the picture which has helped me a lot,” he said when talking about the new techniques he has learned. He even expressed an interest in continuing to study photography after the workshop ends: “Maybe in the future I might go back to study it more, maybe in the college or something because I’m beginning to see that there’s certain things to consider, you don’t just take the camera and snap.”

"Come and See" opens on the 26th of June for the preview night from 6pm-8pm and continues until the 10th of July from 8am-4pm when it will be open to the public. The Gallery Tour on the 5th of July, will be a great opportunity to hear more from Yus, Sergei and the other contributors about their ideas and inspirations and what they have learnt.

More details see: www.jrsuk.net
Lumen Gallery, Church Café, 88 Tavistock Place, WCIH 9RS.

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