Asylum seekers can bypass journalists to get their stories heard, but barriers remain

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It's not easy getting nuanced and accurate refugee and asylum accounts to the attention of the British public. Even if a publication or broadcaster runs one, it could end up severely edited - or worse, distorted - in the final version.

"All too often media coverage of asylum in the UK is negative, misinformed and one-sided. It frequently contains the kind of factual inaccuracies and misleading terminology which would not be tolerated in coverage of other sensitive issues. At worst, some sections of the tabloid press have waged what amounts to a concerted campaign against asylum seekers' most fundamental rights," says the UK charity Refugee Action, in a statement on its website.

"There is another side to the asylum story that goes largely untold. Stories of courage and dignity in the face of unimaginable suffering and hardship; of survival in the face of war, conflict, persecution and torture; of dignity, determination and resourcefulness; and not least, the story of the enormous contribution refugees continue to make to the social, economic and cultural life of the UK," the organisation argues.  

It's not surprising then, to see that refugee organisations are increasingly using online social media and asylum seekers' own words in their campaign and outreach work. With these stories they are able to bypass, and/or complement their work with traditional media, and provide information directly to donors and advocacy groups. Some examples:

• The Amnesty UK Refugee and Asylum Blog. Herve, also known as Aimee, who left Cameroon, after suffering harassment and assault for being homosexual, blogs here. Here's his story. An extract:
  
  "Four years ago I was living a busy life [in Cameroon], running my own business. Now I am in the UK, waiting to hear the result of my asylum case. The reason for my altered situation is that in my home country there is a lot of prejudice and harassment of people who are gay. It is illegal to have a homosexual relationship, and sentences range from a fine to five years imprisonment."

• The Refugee Council. The organisation's website officer, Kelly Arnstein, told me about Poliblog - which contains contributions from staff and volunteers, many of whom are refugees - and the BASIS project - a collaboration with another organisation, Refugee Action. The blog features videos about Refugee Community Organisations' (RCOs) work and development.
  
  Some examples can be found here and here. This is a video featuring Dan Cissokho, who came to the UK in 2002 as an asylum seeker, before being given refugee status.

• The Refugee Council also features podcasts with women refugees involved with its Vulnerable Women's project, available at this link.

• Asylum Stories. A campaigner uses this platform to draw attention to individuals' personal stories. He and a friend also camped on Parliament Square last year to campaign against the UK's treatement of refused asylum seekers.

• Twitter: Anselme Noumbiwa from Cameroon has been using Twitter to draw attention to his case (http://twitter.com/anselmenoumbiwa). His story can be found here, on the ARDC website.
  
  His last tweet was June 26, 2009, and his page indicates that while he had been released from the detention centre, his situation is still vulnerable. An example update from May 2009:
  
  "Hi i am laying on the bed, watching TV and believe something will happen before the end of week."

• National Coalition Of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC). This site presents the cases of refugees, and publicises them via an email list. You can read more about the campaign here.

• The Testimony Project. Newly launched, this is an extremely exciting endeavour. Testimony Project's Holly Pelham told me about its aims. Powerful film speaks above all else, she says.
  
  By showcasing various women's testimonies on film she hopes these cases will be picked up on by the world. She sees the stories spreading via both traditional media brands, as well as social and online-only media.
  
  "One of the important things is for the project to find its own place," Pelham says. "I want it to be able to grow organically. "
  
  You can see some of the first testimonies here. Mercy's account details how she was a victim to sexual and physical abuse in Kenya, before escaping to the UK.
  
  "I would rather die than go back to Kenya. I flew a thousand miles to be safe in this country, so if they take me back, it's just like killing me. I’d rather die here tomorrow than go back there."
  
  Another element to the project is the site's forum. Anonymous commenters have begun leaving requests for help. For example:
  
  "My solicitor has said that she can no longer represent me, I don't really understand why and she's not picking up the phone when I call. Where can I get free legal advice? Can anyone help me?"
  
  Someone else helps out below the post with links and information.

• The Refugee Week Simple Acts campaign on Twitter and here on YouTube. Ben Matthews of Brightone.org.uk, a volunteer-run communications agency for the Third Sector, helped run it:
  
  "It was a great online campaign, using small actions across a number of social media platforms to raise awareness and participation in the campaign, leading up to the final event - Refugee Week itself.
  
  "There were nearly 7,000 simple acts completed, which generated lots of interest on Twitter and numerous blog posts, as these in themselves were simple acts," says Matthews.
  
  "The Simple Acts campaign was about inspiring individuals to use small, everyday actions to change perceptions of refugees," adds Gerdy Rees, online and marketing officer at Refugee Week UK.
  
  "It consisted of 20 actions that can be completed by anyone and that encouraged people to learn and do more with refugees. With every person who joined the campaign and did a small thing with and for refugees, we got a little closer to removing barriers between communities and to creating the kind of world we all want to live in.
  
  "Every journey begins with a single step and it is with simple acts of kindness, generosity and empathy that we begin the change."

The problems
So what are the difficulties these organisations face in publicising the stories? In theory, access to the internet should allow asylum seekers communicate their personal stories themselves.

But certain barriers are difficult to overcome. "I am trying to develop ways of getting more refugee voices online, but computer access and language confidence and abilities can be a deterrent for many people," says Kelly Arnstein from the Refugee Council.

For example, the Refugee Council ran a fundraising campaign where ordinary citizens (normally non-destitute) had to live on £1 a day. On their blog, one person raised the point that free internet access at the local library would be a bit tricky to organise if you weren't fluent in English, and really did have no money.

"We're hoping to set up a blog for refugee volunteers who are working on an allotment project in Leeds later in the year– many people have been put off by thinking their English won’t be good enough," says Arnstein.

Independent voices
I want to re-visit a moment a few years ago: I had pitched a story to a British publication about a refugee activist struggling to secure a right to remain in the UK. I was working on a short film about the individual, and I thought her story would make an excellent colour feature; the subject's increasingly high-profile activism in addition to her personal predicament.

The reply from the commissioning editor, which I've dug out again now: 'why these guys and not two refugees from equally awful backgrounds?' I was asked. How could the space be justified?

Of course I emailed back with why I thought the story did have good reason to run and never heard anything more back. Fair enough - perhaps my pitch wasn't strong enough, and the publication is well-known for a higher proportion of sensitive human rights stories than many of its counterparts.

But, re-visiting that rejection two years later I want to flip that question round: 'Just think why not these guys and why two refugees from equally awful backgrounds?' Why do some refugee stories get covered by the media and others not?

The internet allows us to tell them all. I hope, that with the aid of the online community, if it's powerful enough a case should be able to reach the influential people it needs to, without necessarily negotiating precious printed column inches. And it can be told accurately, at length, and in a person's own words.

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