Archive

'We so-called "foreigners" are framed as either victims or villains'

THURSDAY 1 JULY, 2021 Christine Bacon is so weary of lazy media treatment of immigrants as victims or villains that she is taking action. She has started a podcast series, I am an Immigrant, which aims to help shift the public conversation on immigration. For Christine, the personal is the political. Since arriving in the UK from Australia in 2004, she says, immigration has constantly been in the news, yet she feels the media has never reflected her own experience of immigration - or the lives of millions of fellow immigrants.…

THURSDAY 1 JULY, 2021 Christine Bacon is so weary of lazy media treatment of immigrants as victims or villains that she is taking action. She has started a podcast series, I…

Welcome centres not detention centres

Migrant Voice volunteer Helen Davey explores the carceral architecture behind the UK immigration system's way of housing and detaining migrants - and why detention centres shouldn't exist. The UK’s system of housing and detaining migrants is rooted in hostile architecture and poor design. This includes inadequate accommodation and the deliberate placing of vulnerable people in buildings on the peripheries of cities and towns, isolated from society. Ultimately, architecture and the placement of architecture is a fundamental issue when it comes to the UK’s immigration policies. All this is underpinned by…

Migrant Voice volunteer Helen Davey explores the carceral architecture behind the UK immigration system's way of housing and detaining migrants - and why detention centres shouldn't exist. The UK’s system…

Refugee Week: Nas' story

To mark Refugee Week, our volunteer Silvia Tadiello interviews Migrant Voice ambassador Nas about his journey to the UK from Afghanistan - and his battle to be granted leave to remain. During Nas’ long battle with the Home Office to have his refugee status recognised, his resilience was what made him keep going. “I think the system is designed like that,” he says, “they refuse applications, they make people tired – and some people give up, some go underground. But I knew my rights and I knew I was telling…

To mark Refugee Week, our volunteer Silvia Tadiello interviews Migrant Voice ambassador Nas about his journey to the UK from Afghanistan - and his battle to be granted leave to…

Refugee Week: ‘The Man Who Fell From The Sky’

For Refugee Week, our volunteer Katherine Hayes explores the documentary The Man Who Fell From The Sky to coincide with a free screening of the film on Thursday 17 June. To register for the film screening click here. In 2015, two men - Themba Cabeka and Carlito Vale - hid in the landing gear of a flight from Johannesburg to London. Vale tragically fell to his death, but Cabeka, against all odds, survived. The story of these men is the subject of a documentary, The Man Who Fell From The Sky, released…

For Refugee Week, our volunteer Katherine Hayes explores the documentary The Man Who Fell From The Sky to coincide with a free screening of the film on Thursday 17 June. To register…

Give permanent residence to all refugees now

Although the Government’s proposed amendments to the asylum system have gained their fair share of criticism, my first impression - as a partner of a refugee who came to Britain after fleeing persecution - is that they finally propose corrections to wrong policies introduced in the last 15 years. Until 2005, an asylum claimant deemed to have a genuine case that qualified them to be recognised as a refugee would have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain – permanent residence, recognising their need for future certainty and stability. But Tony Blair’s…

Although the Government’s proposed amendments to the asylum system have gained their fair share of criticism, my first impression - as a partner of a refugee who came to Britain after…

Rupa tastes success after a difficult journey

When Shaheda Banu Rupa moved to Britain with her husband and three-year-old daughter, it felt like the greatest mistake of her life. Life in London and then Oxford was a struggle: "The physically demanding work, the blatant racial discrimination, my compromised health, and my immigrant status made my life unbearable.” The Bangladeshi university graduate (Geography and Environment) had emigrated with her husband in 2006 (he came under the Highly Skilled Migration Programme), and in Oxford she and her husband secured jobs with Tesco. But they were living with friends, and…

When Shaheda Banu Rupa moved to Britain with her husband and three-year-old daughter, it felt like the greatest mistake of her life. Life in London and then Oxford was a…

Will the census help tackle inequalities for Roma communities?

This year’s census, which took place on Sunday 21 March and counted everyone living in England and Wales, included a new ethnic category: for the first time, people were able to select a ‘Roma’ option when describing their ethnicity. (This is in addition to the already existing ‘Gypsy/Irish Traveller’ category, introduced in the previous census ten years ago.) When the news was announced, the move was widely welcomed by NGOs supporting the Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities, which hoped that the inclusion of the new category would help tackle the…

This year’s census, which took place on Sunday 21 March and counted everyone living in England and Wales, included a new ethnic category: for the first time, people were able…

Roll the asylum dice

Have Your Passport Ready is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure that offers an insight into the lives of Syrian refugee brothers battling the hostile environment that is the UK’s asylum system. Simple and effective, this free film-meets-video game allows players to engage with the stories of Khaled and Mohammad Aljawad as they struggle to get by in Sheffield on the £37.75 a week asylum seeker’s allowance. I was deeply moved by their stories: the spinal injury that Mohammad has lived with since being forced from a young age to carry 20 litres…

Have Your Passport Ready is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure that offers an insight into the lives of Syrian refugee brothers battling the hostile environment that is the UK’s asylum system. Simple…

Hearts of Gold

In the midst of a global pandemic, hidden behind PPE and surgical masks, stands a vibrant and dedicated team of healthcare workers, many of whom are migrants. Those on the frontline have risked - and sometimes sacrificed - their lives, yet the public knows little about them or why they matter. The Migration Museum’s Heart of the Nation exhibition is a good place to start to find out more. The online exhibition tells some of their stories. It covers six areas: On the Frontline; Birth of the NHS; Arrival; On…

In the midst of a global pandemic, hidden behind PPE and surgical masks, stands a vibrant and dedicated team of healthcare workers, many of whom are migrants. Those on the…

Will undocumented migrants around the world get the Covid-19 vaccine?

When Covid-19 vaccination programmes began in the UK and around the world, many governments promised to prioritise the most vulnerable individuals in their communities. But very little has been said, so far, about an extremely vulnerable group of people, who walk the same streets as the rest, yet are often invisible: undocumented migrants. In many countries, undocumented migrants – including those whose permits have expired and are waiting for new ones – live in limbo, with virtually no access to public health care. An action as simple as registering with…

When Covid-19 vaccination programmes began in the UK and around the world, many governments promised to prioritise the most vulnerable individuals in their communities. But very little has been said,…

Archive

Archive

'We so-called "foreigners" are framed as either victims or villains'

THURSDAY 1 JULY, 2021 Christine Bacon is so weary of lazy media treatment of immigrants as victims or villains that she is taking action. She has started a podcast series, I…

Welcome centres not detention centres

Migrant Voice volunteer Helen Davey explores the carceral architecture behind the UK immigration system's way of housing and detaining migrants - and why detention centres shouldn't exist. The UK’s system…

Refugee Week: Nas' story

To mark Refugee Week, our volunteer Silvia Tadiello interviews Migrant Voice ambassador Nas about his journey to the UK from Afghanistan - and his battle to be granted leave to…

Refugee Week: ‘The Man Who Fell From The Sky’

For Refugee Week, our volunteer Katherine Hayes explores the documentary The Man Who Fell From The Sky to coincide with a free screening of the film on Thursday 17 June. To register…

Give permanent residence to all refugees now

Although the Government’s proposed amendments to the asylum system have gained their fair share of criticism, my first impression - as a partner of a refugee who came to Britain after…

Rupa tastes success after a difficult journey

When Shaheda Banu Rupa moved to Britain with her husband and three-year-old daughter, it felt like the greatest mistake of her life. Life in London and then Oxford was a…

Will the census help tackle inequalities for Roma communities?

This year’s census, which took place on Sunday 21 March and counted everyone living in England and Wales, included a new ethnic category: for the first time, people were able…

Roll the asylum dice

Have Your Passport Ready is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure that offers an insight into the lives of Syrian refugee brothers battling the hostile environment that is the UK’s asylum system. Simple…

Hearts of Gold

In the midst of a global pandemic, hidden behind PPE and surgical masks, stands a vibrant and dedicated team of healthcare workers, many of whom are migrants. Those on the…

Will undocumented migrants around the world get the Covid-19 vaccine?

When Covid-19 vaccination programmes began in the UK and around the world, many governments promised to prioritise the most vulnerable individuals in their communities. But very little has been said,…

Get in touch

Pages

Policies

Our Social Links

Sign up for our newsletter

Read our recent newsletters