Arise and Shine. Self-advocacy. Asylum Seekers.

The Cast. Lydia Besong’s play “How I became an Asylum Seeker”. April 2, 2010 (without photos)

As this blog reaches itā€™s first anniversary the stories that have been whispering in my ear over the past twelve months are drawn together:

The Yarlā€™s Wood hunger strike. The forthcoming election. War and refugee movements. The unsavoury ways in which political parties capitalise on peopleā€™s fears about immigration. A lack of funding for investigative journalism, censorship – and recurring, stereotypical images of asylum seekers in the press.

Attending the ā€œArise 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 ā€˜Professional 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.”