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Image: Reporting of our borders

25/10/2019
Reporting of our borders

Friday 25th October marks the 3rd anniversary of the demolition of the Calais 'Jungle Camp'.  This week in our blog, Danny Sweeney reflects on the situation now for refugees caught up in the refugee crisis and the impact "hostile environment" policies are having.


Some news items grab your attention. For me it was a recent two-part exposé on the radio station LBC. They investigated a people smuggler in Dunkirk offering places on a dinghy crossing the Channel for around £7000. He claimed the passages were assisted by French authorities. In the second part, the reporter and her team confronted the smuggler in a pizza restaurant, then followed him through a shopping centre as he attempted to flee.

For me, the ‘exposé’ was remarkable for being unremarkable. Such situations are commonplace to those of us who have spent time researching or working on matters relating to asylum, migration, and the current movement of people. Last year when, to much media flurry, a few dinghies crossed the Channel around Christmas and there was an onslaught of government speeches about “security”, I could only think, “Why are you surprised?”

So many dinghy crossings have been attempted in the Mediterranean over recent years and by comparison, the distance involved crossing the Channel is negligible. Of course Channel crossings would be tried.

The missing part of the LBC story is what is truly shocking and should be told. In the last year a sports hall in Dunkirk became an indoor shelter for refugees in northern France. When I was last there leading our pilot Encounter: Calais project, we heard that many people had been allowed into the gym due to the cold weather. It remained open, until around 1000 people were sheltering there or near-by. This was done (against the trend of the Macron government) with the support of Damien Carême, the Mayor of Grandé-Synthe. However, Mr Carême’s election as an MEP appears to have left a vacuum in the area, and so in recent weeks there has been a situation similar to the demolition of ‘the jungle’ in Calais in 2016.

As after the ‘jungle’ demolition, there have been mass evictions by bus to reception centres across France. A simultaneous operation targeted settlements in Calais. Those of us who witnessed the 2016 aftermath believe the results will be the same: support infrastructure destroyed, families broken up; the most vulnerable going missing - but business as usual for the politicians.

These events happened around the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. My heart is sore, because in his letter for this World Day, Pope Francis reminded the Church that it is not just about migrants, but ourselves: ‘…that the presence of migrants invites us to rediscover the essentials of our Christian existence, and our humanity that we risk losing in prosperous societies’.

Borders and security will be increasingly politicised in the coming months, and more lives will be risked and doubtless lost in the English Channel. I feel we are neglecting our responsibility to those who suffer as a result of policies conducted in our name.

One of the videos I use when delivering our ‘Take a walk in their shoes’ workshop is a poem, read over footage of the old Calais ‘jungle’. There is a line that hits me every time:

“So people won’t you listen? Governments won’t you hear? There’s a humanitarian crisis, and it’s happening far too near.”
 
Both parts of the original LBC report into smuggling can be found at

Image: ALL ABOUT FREEDOM

18/10/2019
ALL ABOUT FREEDOM

Friday 18th October is UK Anti-Slavery Day and Joy Gillespie, Development Manager with Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland (SOHTIS) explains the stark, modern day realities of this issue and what is being done to tackle slavery in the UK.


Jenny was 14 when she was sold. A British girl, she was groomed by a 70-year-old white British man, sold on and sexually exploited for years, resulting in horrendous physical injuries and psychological trauma.
 
Robert is an Eastern European, a husband and father of four. He came to the UK on the promise of escaping poverty – a better life for his children and employment. He was tricked and forced to work for no pay, to live in unimaginable conditions, and in fear of violence.
 
Every day men, women and children are bought and sold.
 
Human trafficking is widely accepted as one of the greatest human rights issues of our time. Although slavery is illegal in every country in the world, there are thought to be at least three times more people enslaved in the world today than during the period of the transatlantic slave trade from the 15th to the 19th centuries. This is modern slavery.
 
Human trafficking is a complex and often hidden crime. People are abused - used as commodities over and over again for the profit of others. It is an increasing problem in Scotland, having been identified in every local authority, in both cities and rural communities.  with a 70 per cent increase in trafficking victims identified in the first six months of 2019. Across the UK, British men are most likely to be trafficked and subjected to forced labour.
 
Lord McColl, sponsor of the Modern Slavery (Victims’ Support) Private Members Bill, said, ‘Modern slavery is a terrible crime which robs people of their dignity and freedom. For many it also robs them of their future, leaving them without security, a home, an income or a route back into society.’
 
Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland (SOHTIS) is a new Scottish Registered Charity committed to the eradication of human trafficking in Scotland and to ensuring the lasting freedom of survivors. We aim to aim to support those most at risk of trafficking to build resilience avoiding exploitation and help in the rescue of victims.
 
We also know that the survivors’ journey to rebuild their lives is a long and complex one. The risk of re-trafficking is real. We aim to use our anti-trafficking expertise to help survivors rebuild their lives, regain control and make decisions that are liberating and realise their potential.
 
There are positive stories. Jenny was rescued, spent time in a safe house and was able to secure long-term support. She now lives independently, is a voice for the voiceless, and an advocate in places of government. Robert and his family are also rebuilding their lives after crisis care and a long-term support programme. He has a permanent job and the family has a home where they can rebuild their lives. Unfortunately, there are many more like Jenny and Robert who have not yet been recovered or who do not have access to the long term support which means they avoid the risk of further exploitation.
 
Robert said, ‘Without long-term support we were at risk of re-trafficking. Now we are excited and positive about our future.’
 
October 18 marks Anti-Slavery Day. If you believe everyone in Scotland should enjoy this freedom, join us in providing services, donating funds and raising awareness.
 
Contact SOHTIS at enquiries@sohtis.org
www.sohtis.org

Image: Wrestling for Peace

11/10/2019
Wrestling for Peace

Building reconcilliation in churches and faith communities.  'Place For Hope' tackles everything from bad behaviour, to theological differences to buildings closures, mediating towards peace in these everyday life situations.  Ruth Harvey, director of this wonderful organisation explains all in this weeks blog.


As I don my thick autumn coat, I think back to a few short months ago when we were facing baking heat and dramatic thunderstorms. The splendour of creation is glorious. Yet we know there is an almost-unstoppable change in the climate. ‘Deep Adaptation’ is being called for across the globe, as we anxiously search for new ways to care for our common home.
 
All change, and the transitions that accompany it, can induce anxiety. 
 
In the work of faith-based reconciliation, we hold out a hope that by working robustly through transition and change we can reach a place of peace and unity – the shalom/salaam – of the Gospel. This is not an easy peace, but a peace wrought out of struggle, turning, listening, and ‘deep adaptation’.
 
Place for Hope supports 35 trained and accredited mediators who travel in pairs throughout Scotland and the north of England, mediating towards peace, hosting very difficult conversations, and building reconciliation in churches and faith communities.
 
Our teams accompany groups in conflict over theological differences, buildings closure, bullying, communication issues, management concerns, bad behaviour, transition and change:  the ordinary things of life.
 
We often find nested beneath a presenting issue can be years, sometimes decades of difficult behaviour, buried for the sake of ‘peace.’ While churches are organisations, they also operate like families, with accepted practices being handed down over generations. Norms become habits, and habits embed and present as culture, as ‘just the way it is here.’
 
Our vision is to nurture a counter-culture of mediation, reconciliation and the transformation of relationships, so that every place of worship will be a ‘Place for Hope’. We don’t bring a magic wand or a drafted script. We bring robust companionship, dedicated practitioners unafraid to go to the hard places, un-phased by the rage, guilt, despair and depression that often accompany such conflict.
 
There are parallels to the journey of reconciliation in scripture. The despair and lament of Good Friday followed by the not knowing of Holy Saturday, then turning when the time is right to the hope of Easter Sunday is a holy pattern of conflict transformation.
 
From Thursday 31st October – Saturday 2nd November, we meet for the Gathering in Glasgow on Conflict and Faith. We are delighted to be joined by partner organisations committed to faith-based conflict transformation, celebrating both the diversity that distinguishes us, and the synergy that we share. Workshops, worship, keynote input and time for networking will be hallmarks of the Gathering.
 
Please help us make this a turning point for our communities and for our churches. Join us – and please also pass on news of the event to those who may be interested.
 
We settled on the dates for the Gathering in Glasgow before 31st October 2019 was declared B-day. Whatever happens in the political sphere on Hallowe’en, let us remember that we will gather in Glasgow in the season of All Saints and All Souls, when we remember and give thanks for all those who have held and nourished, protected, challenged and led us courageously in the past. We pray for all, great and small, who lead us now and in the future.
 
Visit https://www.placeforhope.org.uk/events to sign up for the Gathering in Glasgow, or to join our Peacemakers Network. Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook for up to the minute news of events and training opportunities.
 
Ruth Harvey, Director, Place for Hope
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