Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
JRS Europewide!
Our volunteer Liliane
visited Romania from 13th to 15th Oct to take part in a
JRS meeting. She kindly answered for an interview after the trip.
Q: Tell me about the event in Romania. What was the
occasion?
Liliane: It was JRS Europe Annual General Meeting. The topic
was Accompaniment this year. In the workshop, JRS staff and volunteers from all
around Europe participated. From our JRS UK, Jonathan, Kate, Sr Margaret and I
participated.
Q: What did do you and learn?
L: During the three days, we looked around a hostel for
asylum seekers run by the city council in Bucharest, attended workshops, and
visited JRS Romania main office, ‘My place’ as they call it. And we had a
chance to see the sights and to have meals out to enjoy each other’s company.
We also had a Mass together on the last day of our visit.
In one of the workshop sessions, we were divided into small
groups and discussed. Afterwards we had presentations. In the first workshop,
the questions were what the difficulties we face in our working places were,
why they were difficult, and how we solved the issues.
We also listened to the differentprocesses of welcoming
refugees in various countries and we talked about how to accompany others. I
learned, in order to accompany them, we need to be passionate and listening to
them attentively.
I could see that different countries have different
situations. I met one refugee who was complaining about the lengthy process he
had to undergo, but I told him that in some other places, it could be worse.
I also saw that JRS Romania was doing many good works.For
example, they run language courses, help the refugees to obtain citizenship and
accommodation, and give legal advice. It is possible because they have many
staff members.
Q: How did you feel about this trip and what did you like
most?
L: I was very excited about this trip because it was the
first of such a kind of trip in ten years. It was great to meet people from
different backgrounds and to share our works with each other. I learned a lot.
And the place we stayed was also very nice.
Q: Finally, anything you would like to say?
L: Well, I really enjoyed the trip and am grateful to JRS
for giving me this opportunity. I am also proud of our JRS UK for what we do.
Thank you very much.
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Tag :
accompany,
advocate,
asylum seekers,
befriending,
crossing bridges,
Europe,
JRS,
refugee,
sharing,
travel,
volunteers,
welcome,
workshops,
A Pilgrim Journey to Canterbury
“The first day was really an amazing day,” Charles expressed on sharing his experience of the pilgrimage. “We walked through the city of London and we reached Swanly which is 18 miles away from London and there we slept in a church – everybody! - and we had lovely dinner, conversations and so on. The second day we reached a place somewhere in Kent, not far from Ashford. We had a lot of discussion as we walked and the next day we were in Charing. And in Charing we discovered a church that was 700 years old, and the first vicar of the church was patronised by King Henry VIII. And we stayed there, we stayed in a school basically and there was evening entertainment where we organised comic strips, theatres, singers so it was a lot of fun. The fourth day was the last day, so we went to Canterbury. And at Canterbury we had a mass at Canterbury Cathedral.
Unfortunately the archbishop of Canterbury was not there but we did see the Dean of Canterbury and they had a choir. A very lovely choir, very lovely songs and we had a reading from those who are really, the thinkers of helping the community.”
On the second day of the walk, Charles, who has been taking part in a photography workshop at JRS, run by Fotosynthesis, a not-for-profit organisation that uses participatory photography to develop skills, give a voice to people and encourage community cohesion, was inspired by the beauty of the area and the joy he felt to take a photo.
“I just stood and I just opened my hands like this just to say how life is, how nature is beautiful and it just shows that although you are walking and people may feel like it was really painful and hard to walk for four days, after the second day, I was still feeling very happy and enthusiastic because it was for a good cause. It’s for people who need accommodation, who need support in their society, who need food for themselves. So my hands that way, show in life we have to be open to each other, we have to welcome each other, we can help each other, and by such action we can iron out some problem in the society such as homelessness, such as poverty and such as mental health problems.”
Tag :
accompany,
advocate,
beauty,
Britain,
day centre,
expression,
friends,
JRS,
london,
photography,
sharing,
travel,
A feeling of fear for me as a migrant in the UK
Fear! That is the feeling that was born in me when I read the new Immigration Bill laid before the House of Commons on 10th October 2013. And while it was my most ardent wish that this fear should not be well founded, alas, I felt it was! The Home Secretary herself has made the point that the Government’s Bill is to create a hostile environment for irregular migrants in the UK. But who is an irregular migrant?
On 20th July of this year, my Limited Leave to Remain expired. As advised by the UK Border Agency (UKBA), I had submitted on 20th June 2013 the required form to apply for an extension which was still on the UKBA’s site. My application being straightforward, I applied without engaging the services of a lawyer. In any case, the form advised this should not be a necessity. Besides, lawyers cost money, you know!
By the end of July, I was growing impatient, especially as no acknowledgment letter had come from the UK Border Agency. From legality to illegality!
Had I lost my accommodation during that period – because my landlord wanted to take possession of his house, because I was no longer at ease in that place… whatever reason, had I lost my accommodation, what would I have done? Recourse to homelessness perhaps, seeing that this parliamentary Bill requires prospective landlords to check the immigration status of any prospective tenant, I may not have been accepted.
Of course the Government will tell you that you have the immigration status you had prior to your application being decided, but how would your prospective landlord know that? Besides, with the Go Home vans and text messages encouraging people to leave, a climate of distrust is forming around migrants. So, in my case, with no acknowledgment letter, how also was I to convince my employer to trust that I had really submitted my application?
Four months later, the UKBA finally returned my application. I had used the wrong form, they advised. It took FOUR months to make such a decision! It was not obvious to me on the new website they directed me which form I needed to use. I contacted solicitors. Now being illegal – through no fault of my own - I could either appeal, or apply outside the rules. I decided not to do this and chose to go back to my country of origin.
But that is because I had that choice to go back. Some people do not have that freedom, but they will have no choice as the new Bill only allows for appeals in limited circumstances.
And let’s say you want to go back? Leaving the UK became a nightmare. There being no direct flight from the UK to the Ivory Coast (my country), I had to transit via France, which would not let me transit as my Limited Leave to Remain had expired. My explanations that the French Consulate is OK for me to transit through as I would not be leaving Charles de Gaulle airport, and besides, I would only be at the airport for 45 minutes, fell on deaf ears... Then I thought Eurêka! I will get British immigration involved! They will be so pleased that an immigrant is choosing to leave the UK that they will back me up, seeing that they have also told me the same thing the French Consulate had advised. Nope! Furthermore, they did not want to see me. So I decided again to book another flight leaving several days later and I left the UK.
Which brings my frustration back to this new parliamentary Bill. For what purpose is this Bill being introduced apart from what seems to be pandering to one part of the UK population? General elections are in 18 months and perhaps the Government needs to be seen to be doing something. But why the pretence? There’s so much work to do! Clearing the immigration decision backlog maybe? Doing something regarding the research done by the London School of Economics in 2009, which showed that migrants working in the black economy contribute £3 billion to the economy? And don’t get me started on the exploitation of migrants here in the UK (a bedroom in a shed, anyone?), all because of the climate of mistrust Government policy on immigration creates!
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