For example, globally, the term ‘refugee’ is commonly understood to mean any person who flees their home country. However, in the UK people arriving here having fled their country can only be known as ‘refugees’ from the point at which they have been granted asylum. Until then they are known as ‘asylum seekers’. Anyone entering this country is entitled by law to apply for asylum and once they have been granted refugee status they are entitled to the same benefits and support as everyone else.
Then there are those people who have been refused asylum but whose countries are deemed unfit for them to return to; these people have no right to access benefits, accommodation and few receive health care. There are around 300 people living in Bolton in this situation. Bolton Community and Volunteer Serves (CVS), of which Ray is also chairperson, assist these people by supplying them with food, toiletries, hygiene products, and baby packs. This service costs £700 per week and relies on donations from members of the public.
This clarification of terms was made tangible by Ray’s listing of the many countries all over the world from which Bolton’s current inhabitants have fled, encompassing at least 57 languages. There are around 3,000 refugees currently in Bolton but in the last two to three years numbers have fallen steeply. Only a third of migrants plan to stay in the UK, for example, many Polish people have now returned to Poland having originally come to the UK for economic reasons.In reference to projects aimed at refugees and asylum seekers, Ray asked, ‘how can projects like Manchester-based Exodus and BRASS link up and how can the issue of financial cost in sending people from one venue to another be overcome?’
It was generally agreed amongst the participants of the discussion that Bolton has a character and culture of acceptance (though racism is by no means unheard of). Workers in Bolton stood against slavery by refusing to work in mills where cotton harvested by slaves was produced. This sort of action could only be described by participants as, “the Bolton way”. Also, organisations such as the Bolton Council of Mosques were also said to be unique to Bolton and the local authority was said to be particularly supportive of events that encourage conversations between diverse groups of people. Bolton Against Racism was a group noted for counteraction to the BNP. There is also a strong history of migration into Bolton, including Irish communities, and it was asked whether one group of immigrants might have a direct effect on the next group of immigrants to move in?
It was also mentioned that tackling deprivation would go a long way to easing racial tension and someone asked, “Is there a relationship between cultural activity and refugee and asylum?” It was suggested that there is a strong link and that money is never wasted if it is used in that way. Cultural activity was said to help people to ‘pick-up’ information that they might not access through other sources. However, it was also noted that no matter how successful or popular the project it is difficult to maintain relationships with participants once projects have ended. In response to this it was suggested that projects should be designed in collaboration with participants so that the participants have ownership of them, and further to this, that projects should build on existing inter-cultural activity and support what is already happening to make projects truly sustainable. Spaces could be made where communities can fuse naturally, taking advantage of how people instinctively borrow from and subsequently integrate with one another.
Another solution offered was to simply get people talking, just mix people up to discuss something that everyone is familiar with such as etiquette or the weather. These subjects could be inter-generational as well as inter-communal and bring people together to talk about something that is both fun and neutral. Allowing people just to enjoy something together whether through culture or sport could allow people of different cultural backgrounds to build positive relationships.
Another collections-based way of using museums was to create dialogue by using objects to tell stories of Bolton and allow stories to be shared through reminiscence. In this way barriers could be broken down and stories added to the museum’s collections for future generations of newcomers.
It was also suggested that cultural venues could be used to tell more breadth of stories about people coming to Britain. The example was offered that migrants were seen by the British as being from very bleak backgrounds, and that they were actually not all “poor, or third world, or whatever you call it”. It was highlighted that people come to Britain for a lot more than that they are starving. In general it was agreed that assumptions should be avoided, for example “that people know what a library is, that people don’t know what a library is”.
There is also the issue that migrants are often moved to areas which are already suffering from deprivation and that the people who already live there feel that resources are redirected towards migrant populations and away from them. As a way to address one strand of this, Bolton City Council now chooses to fund projects bringing communities together rather than projects which are aimed at single communities. It is important that all members of the community are equally valued.
It was agreed that arts and culture can play a part in bringing people together and that music and dance is particularly good for this. Art can also present a challenge to communities and raise issues about how communities address criticism.
It was hoped by the participants of this Teahouse that open discussions of this nature, around issues of migration and refuge, could become regular in Bolton. KD
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