KEY FACTS

Refugee:
A person who has been recognised as having a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, as described by the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention.

Asylum Seeker:
A person who has made a formal application for asylum in a country other than their own, asking to be protected under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention. Every person in the world has the legal right to apply for asylum.

Asylum seekers in the UK are not allowed to work and are forced to depend on state support. Many do voluntary work while their claim is being processed, both to benefit their community and to maintain their skills.

Refused Asylum Seeker:
A person who has had their claim for asylum turned down. This decision can be appealed.

Scotland:
There are approximately 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland, mostly living in Glasgow. Of these, around 4,000 are asylum seekers.

Glasgow:
Asylum seekers make up less than 1% of the population of Glasgow.

The UK:
The UK hosts only 2% of the world's refugee population. The majority of the world's refugees are taken care of by the poorest countries, such as Iran and Pakistan.

Iraq:
The UK Home Office is still refusing the majority of applications from Iraqis for asylum. Statistics from the Scottish Refugee Council say that of the 1355 Iraqis who applied for asylum in the UK in 2007, around 80% were refused the first time. By comparison, in both Sweden and Germany, more than 80% of those who applied were approved.

In March 2008, 1400 Iraqi asylum seekers who had had their cases turned down were told that they must go home. Before they left, however, they had to sign a waiver agreeing that the UK government were not responsible for what might happen to them when they returned to Iraq.

There are currently over 2 million Iraqi refugees in Syria in Jordan. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that they often register up to 130 new families every day.

Over the space of 7 months, between September 2007 and April 2008, the UNHCR went from feeding 33,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria each day, to 150,000. That's an increase of 455%.


It is important to make a distinction between Economic Migrants and Illegal Immigrants with Refugees and Asylum Seekers:

Economic Migrant:
A person who has come to the UK specifically to improve their quality of life through work or study, and this is often short-term.

Illegal Immigrant:
A person who has entered a country without making themselves known to the authorities.

OVERVIEW: COMMUNITY CELEBRATION EVENTS

Background
Community events are a key part of Refugee Week Scotland, accounting for approximately one-third of the events in the programme. They offer an important opportunity for asylum seekers and refugees to organise and participate in events, bring together their communities and celebrate their own, and other, cultures.

At present, there are approximately 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers living in Scotland, mostly in Glasgow, and of these, around 4,000 are asylum seekers. Refugee Week Scotland provides a platform for these new communities to celebrate, sharing their rich cultural heritage with each other in a safe and supportive environment. These events are also an opportunity for integration between all those who have sought asylum, regardless of nationality or culture.

However, the benefits of these community events extend beyond the asylum-seeking and refugee communities, in to the local ‘host’ communities. These events allow the two communities to engage with each other in meaningful ways, learning about each other as individuals irrespective of circumstance. These events also raise awareness about the reality of life as an asylum seeker or refugee, and can ease the divides that are perpetuated by misinformation and language barriers. Meeting each other and sharing in a celebratory event has the potential to bridge these gaps by providing the opportunity to connect, developing a shared understanding, and promoting community cohesion.

Funding
All community groups were eligible to apply to the Scottish Refugee Council for a small grant of up to £500, and in total we supported 33 individual events. The content of each event was very much determined by the organising community, although we were able to provide support and guidance as required. For example, we offered practical advice to some groups, arranged transport for others, and researched potential venues for groups who were struggling to find suitable spaces by themselves. On the whole, we encouraged all groups to ensure that they promoted their events to a cross-section of their local community, and to try to see the event as an opportunity not only for celebration but also integration.

The Events
Throughout the year, Scottish Refugee Council works with approximately 25 Refugee Community Organisations at various stages of development, 13 of which we work with closely, to provide organisational support. In addition to this, we work with 10 integration networks based in host communities in Glasgow. As a result, in the months approaching Refugee Week Scotland we are able to connect with and encourage all of these groups to develop ideas for community events.

In FOCUS: Bridging the Gap Community Celebration Event
In 1999, Bridging the Gap was set up in the Gorbals area of Glasgow by Duns Scotus Church and Gorbals Parish Church, with the remit of bringing their two faith communities – Protestant and Catholic – closer together. Initially they addressed issues such as sectarianism and low achievement in schools, but following Glasgow City Council’s agreement in 2000 to house asylum seekers and refugees as part of the UK-wide dispersal programme, Bridging the Gap extended their remit to embrace and integrate those people who came to be placed in their community. Following this growth, Bridging the Gap became a registered charity, and is now able to employ a small team of staff dedicated to ensuring that the people in their community are given the encouragement and advice that they need.

As part of Refugee Week Scotland 2008, Bridging the Gap organised an International Celebration Event, attracting approximately 250 people over the course of the evening. This included a mix of adults, children, asylum seekers, refugees and Scottish people.

“It was a fantastic night! We got a really good mix of people from the indigenous and refugee community. It really was an excellent turn out. The event was very much led by the refugee community who did the room set up, the flower arranging, cooking, DJ-ing, compereing for the evening and modelling in the fashion show. Many more local indigenous Gorbals people came than in previous years.”
- Roz Adams, Bridging the Gap Project Worker

“I never know this place was here, it’s fantastic. It makes you realise there’s a community within a community and I am really proud to be part of it.”
- Alan, Gorbals resident

Conclusion
The community celebration events that were organised for Refugee Week Scotland 2008 were on the whole extremely successful. Feedback suggests that through the events communities had been brought closer together, enhancing social cohesion and promoting positive attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees in ‘host’ communities.

YOUTH DANCE

Background
YDance (Scottish Youth Dance) is the National Youth Dance Agency for Scotland. As a leading provider of quality dance education, YDance encourages all young people to get active and develop their creativity through dance. In January 2008, YDance began the first stage of an ambitious project aiming to bring together young refugees and asylum seekers with other young people from Glasgow in integrated dance sessions. A core group of young people worked together from February 2008 in weekly sessions, developing both their dance skills and elements of the performance. In addition, dance sessions were run in schools from April 2008. In June, the young dancers joined together for their final performances at the Tron Theatre as part of Refugee Week.

Overview of Event
The dance performance, Under the Same Sky, was performed on the main stage at the Tron Theatre over two evenings as part of Refugee Week Scotland 2008. Approximately 47 young people took part from across the city, drawn from a core group of 7 young people, 20 pupils from three schools, and an additional 20 young people who participated in the project but were not directly involved with the performances. The show incorporated a short film by Glasgow Media Access Centre, Flight of the Sand Martin, in which young refugees spoke about their experiences of coming to Scotland, and both evenings closed with music and dancing from North Lanarkshire’s Jambo Group - a Congolese Music Group made up of 10 young Congolese refugees aged between 12 and 22, who have settled in the Motherwell area.

In FOCUS: Mary and Trishna
Mary, from Kenya, and Trishna, from Partick, are great friends. They first met working together in Deichmann Shoes in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, although Trishna comments that “we’ve got to know each other even better through a dance project for Refugee Week.” The girls have the same taste in music – R&B, hip hop – but their dance styles are very different. “We give each other ideas and our moves complement each other,” Mary says. “Dance is a great way to connect with other people.”

It is clear from the first moment you meet Mary and Trishna that theirs is a friendship for life. Mary found moving to the UK difficult, living in London before coming to Glasgow. It was only through finding a friend in Trishna, that she began to settle in: “When I first came here six years ago, my English was not good. But as I met and talked to other local people, it started to improve. I was shy when I first arrived, and quite lonely at first, but meeting Trishna gave me such confidence. Through her I met other friends, and suddenly I didn’t feel so different after all.” Equally, Trishna recognises the value of a friend like Mary: “Mary’s really interesting. She’s so funny … a good friend, really trustworthy and outgoing. When I got to know her, I didn’t really know she was a refugee, she’s got an English accent from living in London, so I just thought she was from there. People with negative attitudes should get to know refugees as people and not judge them.”

Having taken part in Under the Same Sky, Mary and Trishna now want to take their dancing further, and dream about going to New York to “pick up some more moves.” In the meantime, they will continue developing their dance skills with YDance’s core group as part of this three-year project. Talking of home, Mary says: “I really miss Kenya, the weather mostly. When you wake up there, it’s always sunny. You’re always outside. Here you can’t go out without checking the weather forecast. But I love Scotland and I want to stay here and make my future. I am hoping to become a sports therapist and work with one of the big football teams, maybe Celtic. And I hope to keep dancing."

FILMMAKING

Background
Diversity Films CIC is a community interest company working to ‘nurture, train and develop a new generation of filmmakers’ within local communities, and although the organisation was only established a little over a year ago, they have already made an impressive fifteen films. The team at Diversity Films are committed to developing opportunities for local people to create short films and digital content for ‘multi-platform distribution and exhibition, including local community screenings, TV and internet broadcast, mobile phones and international cinema screens.’

Over the past year, Diversity Films has been working primarily in the Greater Easterhouse and Scotstounhill areas of Glasgow, with partners Platform, Innerzone Youth Club, F.A.R.E. (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) and the Kingsway Health and Wellbeing Centre. They have also developed a range of volunteer opportunities and are able to provide space, support and equipment to help international filmmakers new to Glasgow, back in to filmmaking.

The Diversity Film Festival, which was programmed as part of Refugee Week Scotland 2008, was an opportunity for Diversity to showcase films made by the various local groups and professionals they work with on a regular basis, as well as a selection of inspiring films from around the globe.

Overview of Event
The Diversity Film Festival took place in three parts, with two evening events during the week and a longer event on the Sunday afternoon and evening. The audience was given complimentary drinks and popcorn, and musical entertainment was provided by Russian jazz duo ‘Electric Chicken Feathers’. Over the course of the Festival, over 20 films were screened by filmmakers from Scotland, Iran, Spain, England, Italy, Germany, Serbia, USA, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Here is a selection of the feedback from audience members:

‘From short five-minute to longer twenty-minute film screenings, I found I learned something new. I hear about the struggles of refugees but hearing their point of view opened my eyes to their world through their eyes.’

‘Very much appreciated the content. Would suggest that ‘Iraq in Fragments’  is long enough to warrant a night of its own? Thanks very much – a brilliant and hospitable night.’

In FOCUS: Bijan and Diversity Films
Meeting Iranian filmmaker Bijan, it is difficult to believe that he has only been living in Glasgow since August 2007. Over the last few months he has been working hard to learn fluent English, and this has no doubt been aided by his developing relationship with Diversity Films.

Scottish Refugee Council first put Bijan in touch with Diversity Films in November 2007, and since then he has been supported to continue with his work as a filmmaker. He spent the first few months subtitling three of his existing films so that they could be shared with a wider audience, and as a result all three were screened as part of this event. Abigail Howkins, co-founding director of Diversity Films, says that one of the great things about Refugee Week is that a lot of refugees are involved in the very making of it. It allows for positive images of refugees to be seen, instead of the negative ones, and there is an opportunity for many different cultures to be shared and celebrated through music, dance and film. Equally, Bijan sees investment in refugees as having a great deal of potential: “People who come here are very ambitious people and how they live is important to them. They have often put themselves and their family through danger in order to live as they want to. There is an enormous opportunity for this country in having these ambitious people here … Refugee Week can help give these people a position. If you help these people, you help this country.”

Diversity Films commitment to investing in Bijan is echoed in their work with other international groups and filmmakers in Glasgow. Through Kingsway Eye, the filmmaking group they have established in Kingsway Court, a number of refugee women from Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Zambia have been learning filmmaking skills and participating in creating ‘Get Real!’, an on-going local community chat show project, whilst one of the longest-standing members of the group, Leo Saidenough from Russia, has honed his camera, sound and editing skills and volunteered on six of the films Diversity Films have produced this year, receiving training and mentoring from their professional film trainers.

PARTNERSHIP PROJECT

Background
We All Came Here From Somewhere is an example of how excellent events can develop through working in partnership with other organisations. This particular event was developed by The People’s Palace (Glasgow Museums), Amnesty International, and Artists in Exile Glasgow – three strikingly different organisations who all share a passion for social inclusion and education.

• Glasgow Museums - a group of 13 museums whose entire collection is recognised as being of national significance. The People’s Palace focuses specifically on Glasgow, its history and its people.
• Amnesty International - a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all.
• Artists in Exile Glasgow - a network for refugee, asylum seeking, International and British artists across all disciplines.

Refugee Week Scotland provided the impetus for this unique collaboration, with the Doulton Fountain at The People’s Palace becoming the focus for an event that explored and discussed how the British Empire has influenced modern migration, human rights and public art in Scotland.

The People’s Palace museum tells the story of people in Glasgow from c1750 to the present, with a combination of permanent and changing exhibitions. The museum is currently engaged in finding ways to genuinely reflect the diversity in contemporary Glasgow in response to its changing demographics and the challenges that accompany this. In contrast, the Doulton Fountain, which was gifted to the city in 1888, is now an uncomfortable symbol of the British Empire when it was at its height. Believed to be the largest terracotta fountain in existence, it depicts four dominions – South Africa, India, Canada and Australia – and is topped off by a six-foot statue of Queen Victoria. Now 120 years old, it stands as a reminder of our colonial history, making us think about how we all ended up here, together.

Overview of Event
The event took place to mark World Refugee Day on Friday 20 June 2008. It opened with a welcoming address from Kiran Singh (Learning and Access Curator, The People’s Palace) and a short talk from Fiona Hayes (Social History Curator, The People’s Palace) about the history of the Doulton Fountain. Four artists were invited to represent the four dominions depicted by the Fountain, performing on a ‘soap box’ about what it means to them, as ‘products’ of the Empire. This included poetry, stories and music. Following this, Graham Campbell (GARA and Chair of African & Caribbean Network) discussed ‘Where is Africa?’ highlighting hidden histories and institutional racism. Next, Amnesty International’s workshop encouraged small-group work to think about the experience of asylum and flight, resulting in presentations and debate. The event concluded with Able Peter Miller’s reflections on the whole event and on his experience as a refugee from Zimbabwe.

In FOCUS: Tawona
In 1996, Tawona left Zimbabwe for Glasgow, and although he originally came here as a student studying Health, he is now “chasing” his dream of being an artist. “I never thought I’d be a poet,” Tawona tells me, and yet in 2005, Tawona, his brother Ernest, and their friend Tarneem, founded an Urban Poetry Group, Seeds of Thought, as a way to meet other artists and to bring people together by sharing cultures through poetry, art and music. His love for the spoken word was passed down to him by his parents, and especially his grandparents, as stories in Zimbabwe are rarely written down. Oral storytelling has become a necessity – it is the only way to keep these stories alive.

Tawona was approached by Artists in Exile Glasgow, to respond to the Fountain from an African viewpoint, as part of We All Came Here From Somewhere. He performed two poems on his ‘soap box’, one of which – Stone Eyes – was written specifically for the event, and was accompanied by live music from his brother, Ernest. Their performance was about “celebrating identity and the history of our own family, the moyo chriandu.” The audience really responded to their piece, with many surprised by Zimbabwe’s history. For example, Tawona says, “They didn’t realise that the school curriculum in Zimbabwe is set in Cambridge and Oxford. We have the same Highway Code. Many places are named after Queen Victoria.” Victoria Falls, he tells me, was named so by David Livingstone, the famous Scottish explorer, but his countrymen call it Mosi Oa Tunya. This means, ‘The smoke that thunders’ - “because of the 5-mile radius of mist created by the force of the water from the Falls hitting the bottom, and the volume of sound this creates.”

Refugee Week is “about social empowerment for Refugees. It’s a chance for them to feel good about themselves – dignified, positive; hopeful.” Tawona believes that it is important to share experiences, even if our difficulties have been different, and it is vital to give a space for asylum seeking, refugee and local people to get-together. “Refugee Week is about trying to understand each other better, and art is a medium for doing that.” Next year, he has his sights set on doing a play or a spoken word event involving young people. He wants people from all walks of life to be involved, not just asylum seekers and refugees. “People get tired of it,” he says. If it is open to everyone, he believes that the ‘what about me?’ attitude will disappear. It will just be “there’s this thing going on and everyone is taking part.”

COMMUNITY

Background
Maryhill Integration Network (MIN), based in North West Glasgow, has become an increasingly important part of daily life for both local and city-wide residents since its creation in 2001. The network currently engages with over 400 people, made up of 34% Asylum Seekers, 38% Refugees and 28% Local Residents.

Over the last seven years, the core team have developed their community engagement with an impressive number of initiatives, including:

• Drop-In Sessions
• Monthly Meetings
• The Creative, Music and Cultural Project
• Framework for Dialogue
• The Oasis Women’s Group
• ESOL and computer classes
• Volunteers

In addition to this, the ‘Writers with Futures’ group was established a year ago by a number of asylum seekers, refugees and other local residents who live mainly in the Woodside area, although not exclusively. They meet every second Tuesday to share and create new work.

Overview of Event
Remzije Sherifi, MIN’s Development Officer, describes this as the “crowning event” of the last 12 months, with the ambitious publication and launch of ‘Writers with Futures’ first anthology, Second Home. This moving selection of beautiful and painful pieces of prose and poetry is the result of a rewarding collaboration between asylum seekers, refugees, local residents and volunteer writers/editors. The event involved readings from the anthology, a performance of Songs of Home, Songs of Hope by MIN’s Creative, Music and Cultural Project, a book sale, information stalls and an opportunity for socialising. Due to the number of young families involved with the event, a free crèche was provided.

A selection of the writers also attended Bill Butler MSP’s Parliamentary Reception on Wednesday 18 June, as part of Refugee Week Scotland 2008, providing thought-provoking readings for the guests. By the end of the week’s events, the run of 300 anthologies had sold-out, and a re-print is currently being considered.

In FOCUS: Kathleen
Originally from Glasgow, Kathleen has always worked with words. She has worked not only in the UK, but also as far afield as the Czech Republic and Malawi, teaching literacy, running reading groups, and working as a writer too. She recalls first hearing about Maryhill Integration Network either via a letter from the Housing Association or by a church notice. She read that there was a Drop-In session being set-up and her background in literacy made her an ideal person to get involved. Kathleen has been connected with MIN now for some years, and so when they decided to establish a writer’s group, Kathleen was the natural choice as teacher.

At first, there were no plans to publish the work that the members were producing, but this soon became an ambition for MIN. Kathleen was editing the group’s work from the very beginning, with some time allocated during each class to looking over edited and typed up versions of their poetry alongside the original handwritten versions. Kathleen says the purpose of this was twofold. First of all, the comparison between versions helped improve their language skills and, secondly, it gave the group members an opportunity to write about their experiences; to tell their stories about why they are here with clarity. On speaking about this process, Kathleen says: “It took time to establish trust in order to get them to speak to me about their lives, but once they opened up they found it easier.”

However, despite the success of the group with the publication and sale of an Anthology, Kathleen says this is not the end. This book is now a tool and rather than beginning to write new work, they now need to use this book to help combat racism. She speaks about the need to contact schools and speak to the older pupils, say S3 – S5, who may be “a wee bit racist” and show them the reality of what life as an asylum seeker or refugee is really like.

PROFESSIONAL

Background
Snap, Rhythm and Rhyme was developed as a professional arts event by conFAB, Paragon Ensemble and Street Level Photoworks – three arts organisations who share a drive to create intercultural work which genuinely reflects the society in which we live and also gives both national and international artists a platform to develop their practice.

• conFAB – an umbrella organisation which aims to support, develop and expand opportunities for writers of all mediums, encouraging the growth of written and spoken word across Scotland and internationally.
• Paragon Ensemble – a music company that commissions, performs, experiments and teaches new music of all kinds with the aim of inspiring audiences to take part in creating and performing their own music.
• Street Level Photoworks – Founded in 1989, Street Level is recognised for its integrated practice, its curation of an ongoing series of challenging exhibitions, an education and outreach programme and open access facilities and training courses for artists and the public.

Along with Scottish Refugee Council and other organisations, these arts companies have formed ICAN (Inter-Cultural Arts Network), working together to identify and bridge gaps in inter-cultural arts provision. The Network is currently in the process of producing an online resource which offers advice and guidelines on developing arts and cultural projects for children and adults who have come to Scotland seeking asylum.

Overview of Event
This event took place in the Tron Theatre’s ‘Changing House’. The performance space was transformed in to a cabaret-style environment, with the audience seated around café tables. In the corner, Paragon’s Kalediophone Ensemble was resident with five of its twelve international musicians. Amongst the instruments, there was Djambe (African Drums), Tombak (Iranian Handheld Drum), Double Bass, Guitar, Flute and Voice (Farsi and English).  conFAB’s Chromatic Voices – a collaboration of six poets who write and perform multi-vocal poetry – weaved themselves and their poetry round the café tables, with a central performance space for longer pieces. The poetry and music was interspersed with Street Level’s film excerpts along the length of one of the walls, fusing vintage Scottish and African film footage.

In FOCUS: Rachel
Published poet, writer and producer, Rachel Jury, created conFAB in January 2004, with the dual aims of both supporting artists and producing work. In brief, conFAB seeks to:

• Facilitate and nurture the needs of the writing community.
• Develop opportunities for those working within a text based medium.
• Produce a wide range of high quality work, including poet’s solo shows, publications, theatrical productions and films.

Rachel’s passion for the arts, and the written and spoken word in particular, has ensured that this company has gone from strength to strength, developing into a vibrant organisation whose work engages with a diverse audience.

For the last four years, conFAB has created work in partnership with communities as part of Refugee Week Scotland, but 2008 was the first time that they developed a professional arts event with other artists and professional organisations. This departure was something of a risk for conFAB, not least because there was the big question of who their audience would be, as well as the inherent challenges of new collaborations. With community based work, a portion of the audience is inevitably made up of family, friends and neighbours but with a professional event, there are no guarantees. However, Rachel speaks positively about the experience, saying: “Working with Street Level and Paragon was really rewarding, really enriching. We attracted an audience who were there for the art, as much as anything else. It gave conFAB a great platform for developing professional work and it was great to be at the Tron.”

This year’s Refugee Week event also allowed conFAB to continue their development of multi-vocal performance work with the six poets who make up Chromatic Voices. Originally, conFAB was approached in 2006 by poet Ashby McGowan with his idea of creating this collective of poets. Rachel was taken by how unusual and unique this idea was, likening traditional poets to the solo-presence of the stand-up comic, and was also intrigued by the interesting boundary between poetry and theatre that this work would explore. Over the next year, funding was secured, Chromatic Voices developed, and the collective performed Ashby’s work at Human Rights Day 2007. The success of this spurred the group to continue their collaboration, with all six poets writing new work specifically for Snap, Rhythm and Rhyme. The great achievements of this collective to date are testimony to the invaluable support that conFAB provides.

Talking with Rachel, it is apparent that her work is informed by her ethics from the inside out. She is aware that the challenging content of some of the work may not appeal to everyone, and that some may disagree about how appropriate it is for a person who has never been an asylum seeker or a refugee to speak about that experience in such a public forum. For Rachel, it comes down to finding a way to strike a balance: “It is important that asylum seekers and refugees are heard, but it is also important that artists who support their situation have a chance to express that to. You have to do it with integrity and it has to be informed. Having knowledge impacts on your life, whether you are a refugee or not, and it is important to know what your culture, politics and government are doing to other people.”

Despite this departure to a professional arts event for this year’s Refugee Week, Rachel and conFAB remain committed to community engagement, saying: “It is really important. It is about empowerment. Also, it is about expressing realities. When I was growing up I was a pretty wild child, but I wanted to be an actress. If I hadn’t of had that focus, I’d either be dead or in jail now. I know that, and that’s why I know that it has a transformative power … [and] it’s generally something people are congratulated on. In a world in which you are told that you are worthless in really subtle and sophisticated ways, to be congratulated is really important and valuable.”