SISO/Refuge National Mental Health Charity Event

National Mental Health Competition

FREE downloads ! FREE Listens !

Come and enjoy all the work online at http://refugemusic.co.uk/competition

On World Mental Health Day 2011 (10th October) Refuge Launch the brand new Charity Mental Health EP ‘Open Minds’ Made up of talented work from all over the country.

Join Leicester BBC presenter and comic Jim Smallman and Steve Huison of ‘The Full Monty’ and Coronation Street in shattering the stigmas around mental health. Fantastic on the night raffle with prizes including a Guitar, Computer, Family tickets to Cadburys World and much much more

£10 adults
£5 Concessions

The Y theatre Leicester
7 East Street
Leicester
LE1 6EY
box office 0116 255 7066

All money raised on the night and through sales of the EP go directly to Charity

Help change views of mental health for the better …

book online through site
http://refugemusic.co.uk/competition

Peter Hirst
SISO Development Worker
Advance Support
5 Faraday Court
Conduit St
LE2 OJN
07734 804 286
www.advancesupport.org.uk
www.s-i-s-o.org.uk www.refugemusic.co.uk<http://www.refugemusic.co.uk/>

EU integration bars the persecuted from finding refuge

By Les Back

Asylum seekers’ experiences are uncomfortably close to a dark recent past that spawned the EU ideal.

The European commission’s enthusiasm for “diversity talk” is connected to an admirable yearning to see Europe as a place of refuge to those facing persecution.

Read more

Asylum Dialogues

IceandFire

Exploring human rights stories through theatre performance.

Asylum seeking woman: [thinking] She asked a few questions, so I told her about being in detention…
Ticket Inspector: Do we do this in Britain? Do we lock people like you up? And babies?
Asylum seeking woman: Yes, in places like Yarl’s Wood [removal centre].
Ticket Inspector: My God. What did you do again?
Asylum seeking woman: Nothing. I came to Britain to ask for asylum, but I was refused.
Ticket Inspector: I thought prisons were for people who were criminals or something. I’m so, so sorry…

This interchange comes from Asylum Dialogues, performances that show acts of solidarity between British people towards asylum seekers by the theatre company iceandfire. The dialogues incorporate real conversations between three couples, one asylum seeker, and one British citizen and document the positive transformations created by their encounters.

Asylum Dialogues was launched for Refugee Week 2008 in conjunction with a national British charity, Refugee Action. In 2008 the tour included Derby, London, Liverpool and Bristol. This year, the tour is going to seven of the ten British Cities of Sanctuary (make that a link to other story): Swansea, Norwich, Oxford, Bristol, Sheffield, Leicester, and London. The partnership between IceandFire and Cities of Sanctuary made sense as they both aim to recognize and strengthen the solidarity between British people and asylum seekers.  Iceandfire bring Actors for Human Rights, and the Cities of Sanctuary bring the audience.

The Leicester City of Sanctuary estimates that there are at least 2,000 asylum seekers in Leicester, 25% of which are destitute. Asylum Dialogues aims to raise awareness about human rights concerns among the public such as destitution, in addition to personalizing the experiences of being an asylum seeker in Britain.

As a theatre group, their audience can be larger and more diverse than traditional campaigning organizations, potentially reaching members of the public who might be  unaware or apathetic to refugee and asylum issues. One audience member of the 2008 tour commented that the performance was, “enlightening, amazing, heart-wrenching, exactly the kind of truth that should be presented on the British stage today.”

Background

Iceandfire is a theatre company that explores human rights stories through performance across four work strands: production, outreach, education and participation. It was established in London in 2003 by playwright Sonja Linden. The outreach arm of iceandfire is their Actors for Human Rights, which was established in 2006 to replicate the success the original Actors for Human Rights in Melbourne, Australia.

It began as a handful of actors, made through contacts of iceandfire. Christine Bacon, co-Artistic Director commented, “Some actors have told us that they had no understanding of what the asylum system was like until the reading… and then they become ambassadors.” Through word of mouth the network has grown to over 400 professional actors and musicians who contribute their skills voluntarily.

Actors for Human Rights’ flagship performance was the Asylum Monologues, which presented testimonies of people’s experiences with the UK asylum system. They were intertwined with public opinion, political statements and statistical fact.  An audience member from Oxford remarked on the effect of the performance, “It really brought home just how easy it is to demonise asylum seekers and just how ignorant a lot of people are about the issues, including myself.”

Since June 2006, over 20,000 people have seen the work and 91% of the audience members have said that seeing Asylum Monologues has encouraged them to become more actively involved in asylum and refugee issues. As well, the response from the people who have shared their stories of asylum has been universally positive. Other refugees and asylum seekers have likewise given Actors for Human Rights their encouragement and support, recognizing a bit of their own experience in the stories. – Cities of Migration

See 13 minute sample video of Asylum Dialogues; click here.

Eurostat report on asylum applications in EU

Greece has the fourth-highest number of asylum applications relative to its population among European Union countries, after Malta, Cyprus and Sweden, according to a report released on Friday by the European statistics agency Eurostat.

In terms of the absolute number of applications received, Greece ranked fifth with 19,900, with France at the top of the list with 41,800 and the UK second with 30,500 (though the UK figure covers only new applicants). – www.ana.gr

Eurostat said that EU countries turned down the majority of asylum applications submitted to them in 2008 with the exception of Malta, which approved more than half (1,410 out of 2,685).

In 2008, there were nearly 240,000 asylum applicants registered in the EU27, or 480 applicants per million inhabitants. The main countries of citizenship of these applicants were Iraq (29,000 or 12% of the total number of applicants), Russia (21,100 or 9%), Somalia (14,300 or 6%), Serbia (13,600 or 6%) and Afghanistan (12,600 or 5%).

In 2008, the EU27 made 193,690 first instance decisions on asylum applicants. There were 141,730 rejections (73% of decisions), 24,425 applicants (13%) were granted refugee status, 18,560 (10%) subsidiary protection and 8,970 (5%) were granted authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons.

Greece received 19,885 asylum applications from immigrants in 2008. The largest numbers of these applicants were from Pakistan (35 percent), Afghanistan (11 percent) and Georgia (11 percent). In 2008, Greece considered 29,460 asylum applications in total, granted refugee status in 380 cases (1.3 percent) and rejected 29,080 cases.

The country with the largest number of asylum applications per million inhabitants was Malta (6,350), followed by Cyprus (4,370), Sweden (2,710), Greece (1,775), Austria (1,530) and Belgium (1,495).

The Eurostat report was released one day after the European Parliament passed a resolution proposing measures to protect the rights of asylum seekers and to simplify the system for granting refugee status in the member-states. – www.ana.gr

Hoping for peace in Ituri

Photo: Nicholai Lidow/IRIN

Marabo was attacked in November; everyone fled when the armed men entered the village and began looting

The conflict in Ituri District of north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officially ended three years ago, but residents have continued to live between fighting and peace.

It all began as a land dispute between the ethnic Hema and Lendu, but escalated as numerous armed groups fought for control of valuable gold deposits and trade routes.

“At first we only had machetes and bows and arrows,” said a man who identified himself only as Didier, describing the early days of the war. “Eventually we got guns and became a real military unit.”

Six years of fighting left 60,000 people dead and forced 500,000 to flee their homes, according to aid workers in the region.

In Linga, a town nestled in the hills 75km north-east of Ituri’s capital Bunia, nearly all the residents fled into the surrounding hills in 1999 as the violence intensified. Many spent years hiding in the bush, foraging for food.

The soldiers who remained in the town were not much better off. “We didn’t have anything,” Didier explained, as he sold goods from a stall in Linga’s central market.

Much of the violence was carried out by the Hema-dominated Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and the Lendu-dominated National Integrationist Front (FNI).

When UN peacekeepers arrived in 2005, many of the FNI fighters were relieved to be taken to transit sites for disarmament. But others fled into the bush rather than disarm.

“They were afraid of the whites [UN peacekeepers],” said Didier, a former FNI soldier.

For several months, these FNI soldiers raided the town and looted from civilians. UN peacekeepers restored order and the area is now generally calm, but some civilians still remain in the hills, three years later, too afraid to return.

Unfulfilled promises

Photo: Nicholai Lidow/IRIN

A woman going to the market in Linga, Ituri District. Nearly all town residents fled into the surrounding hills in 199

Didier and others who participated in the disarmament sometimes question their decision to cooperate with the UN. “They promised us so many things, but we didn’t receive anything,” he says.

Mohammed Wahab, spokesman for the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC), said the national disarmament and reintegration programmes had not been as “active” as hoped and “couldn’t keep their promises to the ex-combatants after disarmament”.

MONUC, however, estimates that 80-90 percent of the fighters have been disarmed, but scattered groups remain active in more remote areas.

In September 2008, many of these dispersed militia coalesced into the Popular Front for Justice in Congo (FPJC), which claims to be fighting because the government has failed to provide security in the region.

Marabo, a village 30km south-west of Bunia, was attacked by the FPJC in November. Fortunately no one died, the elders explain; everyone fled when the armed men entered the village and began looting.

A joint offensive involving Congolese military and UN peacekeepers pushed back the FPJC into the remote forest around Tchey, 30km south of Bunia. Since then, many government soldiers have been deployed to Marabo.

However, the soldiers have yet to build a base in Marabo, instead occupying houses in the village. The presence of so many armed men is a source of tension.

There have been several reports of rape and theft by government soldiers in the area, locals said.

An elder, who declined to be named, asked: “In what kind of country do you find military living among the civilians like this?”

Violence toll

Years of violence and militarisation have taken a toll on Ituri’s citizens. In Nyakunde, a school-boy skipped down the street wearing a home-made hat depicting a crudely drawn soldier shooting at a stick figure.

Iturians remain divided on the question of who should be blamed for the war. On 26 January, the International Criminal Court (ICC) began proceedings against Thomas Lubanga, leader of the UPC, on charges of conscripting child soldiers.

The court planned to broadcast the trial in Bunia, but had to close the screening because of “security concerns” due to the number of Lubanga supporters.

Despite these lingering challenges, Ituri is unlikely to return to full-scale violence as long as the 3,000 MONUC peacekeepers stay. However, with the war in neighbouring North Kivu and the violence caused by Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Haut-Uélé district, to the north, MONUC is redeploying some Ituri peacekeepers to these areas.

The LRA attacks have displaced more than 100,000 and many are seeking refuge in Ituri, according to aid workers

Back in Marabo, the elders consider whether Ituri is likely to remain peaceful. “No one can tell the future,” they said, “but we hope so.” - IRIN

Priest’s campaign for justice goes national

A Nottinghamshire priest’s campaign to improve the treatment of asylum seekers will move into the national arena next week, when it is presented to the Church of England’s General Synod in London.

Inner city priest, the Revd Canon Ruth Worsley, who also represents the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham on General Synod, has been campaigning for better and more compassionate treatment of asylum seekers for the past few years. The Rainbow Project*, based at her former church in Hyson Green, still offers support for many who arrive in the city seeking refuge.

Ruth said: “As Christians we have a responsibility to care for the vulnerable and offer a welcome to strangers and foreigners. Asylum seekers are not immigrants, migrants or refugees – under international law everybody has the right to apply for asylum.

“Less than 3 per cent of the world’s refugees are hosted by the UK, and we are asking the government to ensure that our country’s treatment of asylum seekers is just and compassionate.”

The motion from the Southwell and Nottingham Diocesan Synod (scheduled to be debated on 13 February), asks the Synod to call on the Government to give asylum seekers the right to work, and the declaration of an amnesty for legacy cases that predate the Government’s New Asylum Model. It also asks the Government to find a practical and humane remedy to the situation of refused asylum seekers who are unable to return to their country of origin because of personal safety, health or family reasons.

Ruth and fellow campaigners will be sharing real stories of hardship caused by the current regulations for asylum seekers that have come to the Nottingham-based Rainbow Project for help. – Inspire Magazine

Western Equatoria struggling with influx of refugees and IDPs

(IRIN) – The Southern Sudanese state of Western Equatoria has registered thousands of refugees and displaced civilians but lacks the resources to support them, officials said.

The refugees fled a Ugandan government-led offensive in December 2008 against Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while the others fled attacks on their homes by cattle-raiders from neighbouring Lakes State.

“Since the recent escalation of LRA atrocities in Western Equatoria and the displacement of so many people, the response of humanitarian organisations has, regrettably, been very slow,” Jemma Nunu Kumba, state governor, said on 19 January. “The people are [now] forced to continue enduring terrible misery.”

Photo: Peter Martell/IRIN

DRC refugees who fled LRA attacks waiting to register with UNHCR in Gangura village, Southern Suda

Appealing for help, the state authorities said they had registered 8,000 people from DRC and 6,000 displaced Sudanese civilians who had abandoned their homes, property, farms and food stores and sought refuge in towns.

“We need help,” the state Finance Minister Charles Abdu, said. “We have exhausted everything we have. Anything you can give, whether food or clothing, give.”

The offensive against the LRA followed a failure by its leader Joseph Kony to sign a peace agreement with the Ugandan government. Analysts had warned that an attack on the LRA – then showing signs of weakening – could rejuvenate the rebel groups and lead to a resurgence in violence.

“To date, Congolese refugees are registered throughout the state and many more have settled with kinsmen, putting too much strain on local coping mechanisms,” the governor told IRIN on 19 January.

“Children with malaria and pneumonia have no access to medicines and medical facilities; food supplies are getting very low even for the local inhabitants; most displaced persons have no shelter and the situation is likely to get worse after the onset of the coming rainy season.”

The rebels moved to the south-western Sudanese region as part of a ceasefire signed with the Ugandan government in 2006. The agreement required them to assemble in Ri-Kwangba from where they would be repatriated after a final peace deal.

Kony snubbed the signing over charges brought against him by the International Criminal Court.

Villages attacked

The governor said the group had, since it relocated to the area, attacked towns and villages, hacking to death more than 120 people and abducting young children. They had also looted property and burnt food stores.

Between 24 December and 13 January, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the rebels brutally massacred at least 620 civilians and abducted more than 160 children in northern DRC.

In a statement issued on 16 January with Justice Plus, a Congolese human rights organisation, HRW said many of the victims were killed or abducted in three simultaneous attacks on 24 and 25 December, especially in and around Doruma, Faradje and Duru, in Haute Uele territory.

At several sites where the killings took place, HRW researchers found fresh graves, pools of dried blood, cords used to tie up prisoners and blood-stained bats and axes used to kill the victims.

“In the past, Ugandan army attacks on the LRA have often spurred immediate reprisals on civilians living nearby,” said Anneke van Woudenberg, senior HRW researcher. “LRA atrocities like these show the Ugandan army needs to take steps to protect civilians when undertaking offensive military operations.”

Britain closes door on 80,000 asylum-seekers

Ministers accused of double standards after listing ‘countries of concern’

Almost 80,000 asylum-seekers from countries described by theForeign Office as dangerous and unstable have been refused refuge in Britain in the past five years.

The Government was last night accused of double standards forregistering alarm about 21 “major countries of concern” at the same time as refusing sanctuary to 77,000 of their citizens who fled persecution and bloodshed. Refugees from turbulent nations such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Sudan are being turned down at the rate of nearly 40 a day, The Independent has learnt.

Since 2003, more than 5,000 refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo, which is facing humanitarian disaster, have been told by the immigration authorities to return home.

The Foreign Office’s most recent human rights report listed 21 “major countries of concern” whose citizens suffered persecution and discrimination. Fifteen of them still have the death penalty.

The report warned of “widespread sectarian violence, lawlessness and violent insurgency” in Iraq, yet 13,131 Iraqi nationals have had applications for asylum in the UK turned down, including 1,090 last year and 520 in the first six months of this year. Enforced removals of rejected asylum-seekers have begun to the Kurdish-controlled north of the country.

A total of 10,060 Afghans – much of whose homeland is run by the Taliban and local warlords – have been refused asylum, as have 7,525 Zimbabweans. Although no Zimbabweans have been forcibly sent back since 2006, the Government is fighting legal action to allow forcible deportations to resume to the country.

Paul Holmes, the Liberal Democrats’ justice spokesman, said yesterday: “This country has a proud record of providing refuge for people fleeing persecution but that tradition is being undermined. It is staggering so many asylum applications are being refused for people from countries the Government admits it is concerned about.”

Mr Holmes added: “It is vital that Britain remains a beacon of freedom in a world of too many tyrants.” A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said: “Britain has a proud tradition of offering refugee to those in genuine fear of persecution. However, when an independent judge decides a person does not need asylum, we expect them to return home. If they do not, we will enforce their removal. Last year we removed a person every eight minutes. Not everyone from countries where there is internal conflict needs our protection. Each case is judged on its individual merits.”

But the Refugee Council’s chief executive, Donna Covey, said: “These figures show just how tough our asylum system is. People claiming asylum struggle to get a fair hearing, despite coming from countries where human rights abuse is well-documented.

“This results in a growing number of people who are unable to return home as it is too dangerous, but who have no rights in the United Kingdom, so are left destitute, with an uncertain future, and unable to work and support themselves. This situation is unacceptable. The Government needs to take a more enlightened approach and offer people some sort of stability in the UK until it is safe for them to return.” – The Independent