#FirstWeds Migrant Voices Across Europe
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Streaming from 7pm Wed 3rd June, we will be in conversation with people self organising as migrants and looking at what solidarity work is happening and how it can be improved. All in the context of Fortress Europe, Covid19 and massive resistance to state racism and repression in the US
We will be joined by Mavis Ramazani from MASI – Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland many of you know as the asylum seeker organisation in Ireland working to end the inhumane system of direct Provision.
We will hear from Katja Utrosa from Infokolpa a migrant led project in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is run by asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers, local and international activists. They are “actively engaged in monitoring the border violence (SLO/CRO) and integration of our new comrades into the state welfare system (formal and informal socialising included); we also care of taking things (very needed stuff for the winter, for example) to Bosnia and Hercegovina (hot spot camps on the Balkan route) and do many more activities in the field of advocacy, migration movement and any kind of integration.”
From Italy we hear from Richard Braude from Arci Porco Rosso, an automonous anti racist drop in centre that support legal, social and health information. They work “to ensure that those who rely on its services are supported in such a way as to eventually acquire the ability to support others, thus putting in motion a virtuous circle of support and solidarity. A focal part of our work is encouraging migrant representation and self-organization”
And also we hope to connect with Frances Timberlake from Refugee Women’s Centre in Calais Their work includes providing “holistic support for migrant families living without shelter in Calais, Grande-Synthe, and in surrounding accommodation centres.
We are committed to creating safe spaces for women and children, providing them with the means to live independently and with dignity, and advocating for access to shelter and for human rights to be met.“
Though Frances has let us know that their participation tonight will depend on availability. If they can’t make it tonight we hope to catch up with them in future conversations
The conversation will be facilitated by Tom Campbell from the Dept of International Development in Maynooth.
Comhlámh is grateful for the support of Concern for our #FirstWeds events.
Tonights event is also supported by The ‘International Citizens for Local Perspectives’ (IC4LOP) project. IIC4LOP is a two-year project that’s funded by Erasmus+. It involves four partner organisations: France Volontaires (France) ; Zavod Voluntariat (Slovenia); CESIE (Italy) and Comhlámh (Ireland).
The project aims to promote citizen participation and combat social exclusion by linking newly arrived young migrants with young people who have volunteered in the Global South. It supports a bottom-up approach to integration based on the transformative potential of volunteering experiences and on the migration experiences of young people arriving into Europe.For more info, please check out https://action4inclusion.eu/ or follow https://www.facebook.com/IC4LOP/