The Cast. Lydia Besong’s play “How I became an Asylum Seeker”. April 2, 2010 (without photos)
As this blog reaches itās first anniversary the stories that have been whispering in my ear over the past twelve months are drawn together:
The Yarlās Wood hunger strike. The forthcoming election. War and refugee movements. The unsavoury ways in which political parties capitalise on peopleās fears about immigration. A lack of funding for investigative journalism, censorship – and recurring, stereotypical images of asylum seekers in the press.
Attending the āArise and Shineā woman asylum seekers self-advocacy event in Manchester last week addressed all of these narratives.
The play and workshops were billed as a āProfessional Development Opportunityā. As a trained teacher in Adult Education as well as a journalist I had a critical eye on how the event was organised. I was impressed from the start. Continue reading “Arise and Shine. Self-advocacy. Asylum Seekers.”