Tuesday, March 10, 2009
What happened on Action Day…
STAR groups have been taking action all around the UK in support of the Let Them Work Campaign. Many exciting and varied events took place in an endeavour to mobilise people to raise awareness and voice their support.
Events, events, events!
Leeds invited local MP, Greg Mulholland, to engage in a question and answer session. He is a great supporter of the campaign and recently signed the Let Them Work Early Day Motion. STAR members then ran a stall throughout the day. They approached people with quizzes to challenge their knowledge and understanding of asylum issues and got them to sign up to the online pledge. Their stall was decorated with a series of photographs and a banner which worked well in catching people’s attention. In the evening, around 30 people gathered to watch a documentary and listen to an Afghan refugee speak about his experience of coming to the UK. All in all, a very action packed, informative and inspiring day!
Bristol STAR dressed up in various work uniforms, wearing a hi-vis jacket, a nurse uniform and a captain’s hat attracting attention to the cause. They added various banners and placards promoting Let Them Work, distributed leaflets and got people signing their petition. They collected 150+ signatures and spoke with around 300 hundred people about the campaign. They were also selling homemade cakes and brownies in support of the Bristol Refugee Rights Centre and raised around £100!
Glasgow joined forces with Amnesty and the Red Cross to host a Ceilidh to publicise the Let Them Work Campaign and raise money. They raised over £300 for Amnesty and the Red Cross and had a fantastic attendance of around 90 people. Students danced the night away to the sounds of the Glasgow Celtic Music Society and purchased raffle tickets in the hope of winning some great prizes…including a bottle of Scotland’s finest whiskey!
Cardiff took action on Saturday 28th with a demonstration in the city centre during the day followed by a night of dancing, poetry and world foods. Local MP, Julie Morgan, spoke to passers-by about the campaign as did a member of the Welsh Assembly and a member of Refugee Voices. Cardiff STAR collected people’s signatures and messages on a large sheet and will send this visually effective petition to an MP. For the evening event, Refugee Rhythms, the students’ union was transformed into a cultural extravaganza to celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK’s rich and diverse culture. People attending enjoyed a Capoeira display, African drumming and poetry workshops before dancing the night away to the beats of One Mission DJs and raising money in the process.
At the University of Plymouth, STAR members braved the chilly February weather to sleep out on campus and highlight the plight of asylum seekers who find themselves in extreme poverty because of the Government’s refusal to let them work. The four students who survived the whole night collected around 140 signatures and engaged in interesting discussions. They were approached by a group of local asylum seekers who expressed their gratitude for the campaign and the work of students in their support. Plymouth also created a series of banners with asylum facts written on them which they displayed at the roadside to generate interest.
King’s College invited a Turkish Photographer, Vehbi Koca, to show a series of photos highlighting the plight of refugees at Guy’s Campus. He was even available throughout the day to talk about his work. Other students took the opportunity to speak to STAR members about the campaign and sign the online pledge. In the evening, KCL held a documentary showing of Hulya Ozturk’s film ‘Refugee’, which gives the accounts of four Turkish refugees. An Iranian Lawyer also attended this event and spoke about his work and the campaign, opening up an interesting opportunity for discussion and debate.
Nottingham engaged in three days of campaigning both on campus and in the city centre. They set up a series of eye-catching posters with key slogans from the campaign. They also displayed posters which had the personal accounts of asylum seekers written on them. In the city centre, they were accompanied by asylum seekers from a local refugee organisation. STAR members were able to target a large number of people over the three days and have collected over 200 petition letters so far. They will be doing ongoing campaigning at various events taking place at the University.
Southampton held a stall on the main University campus and handed out leaflets and petitioned. They also held a sleep out on campus on Friday 27th and reported that it was a great success and that they (luckily) didn’t find the weather too cold…! They used the opportunity to gather more signatures which they will present to their MP, John Denham. Southampton collected money and had some fun in the process with people bringing along musical instruments and food.
Warwick played host to a Question Time style debate about the right to work. With a member from UKIP, President of Warwick Conservative Society, the Chief Executive of the Coventry Refugee Centre and STAR’s very own Emma Williams all responding to questions, the event was set to be interesting and present some complex and engaging discussion. It was attended by some 50 people who presented the panel with carefully considered questions. They also showed a documentary about George Clooney’s journey to visit refugee camps in Chad and Sudan.
Cambridge arranged a speaker, Alain Munyangabe, to talk in the evening to students and members of the public. He is a support worker with the Refugee Council and has recently completed his masters looking at the impacts of denying people the right to work. His talk was therefore inspiring and opened up an interesting discussion about the campaign. Group members also handed out leaflets and collected signatures in the city centre during the day and will be continuing to gather people’s support around the University.
In Brighton, on Saturday 28th, Sussex University students took to the streets busking for people’s signatures. Six groups of musicians, wearing t-shirts decorated with the STAR handprint, located themselves throughout the city centre and played to the public. Brighton was filled with the sounds of drumming, singing, a mandolin, guitars and a harpist. It was difficult to ignore STAR’s presence and other group members seized on the interest of passers-by, engaging them in conversation about the campaign, handing out leaflets and encouraging them to sign their petition. With over 250 signatures collected on a petition to be presented to their local MP, this proved to be a very successful event and a great awareness raiser.
Cakes were sold on campus at Birmingham University to raise money for the STAR group and draw attention to the Let Them Work Campaign. Students were unable to resist the home-baked goodies and their spending saw a total of £56 being raised! Birmingham also distributed STAR materials and Let Them Work information leaflets and received a positive response to the campaign from the student body.
Sheffield hosted a sponsored sleep-out to raise money for local asylum group ASSIST. A group of 30 slept out on campus to demonstrate that many asylum seekers find themselves in situations of destitution as a result of Government policy which withdraws all access to state support 21 days after their asylum claims have been refused. The night was a great success and gained media attention from the student radio station and student newspaper. They are still counting how much money was raised through sponsorship…so watch this space!
That’s just a summary of some of the events which took place. It gives a flavour of the originality that STAR groups employed in their planning and the diversity of the events that came out of this. There are ongoing actions that groups or individuals can encourage others to take, visit our Let Them Work page to find out more.
Posted by James Fisher on 10/03/2009 at 04:45 PM
in National STAR News
You must be logged in to post comments.
