Starting From Scratch

Imagine that your home country has been overthrown by a radical terrorist group. Law enforcement and political systems have been dismantled. Lack of medical institutions meaning if casualties occur your odds are against you. What would you do to stay and endure a life full of persecution or risk your life for a chance to live a better one. Unfortunately this is the reality for many asylum seekers and refugees.

Put yourself in their position, you have just been through a traumatic experience but it was worth it just to be somewhere safe. You think you overcome the worst but now you're faced with financial difficulty, discrimination and prejudice. In the UK, so many asylum seekers do not have the right to work or housing accommodations. So they have to rely upon a cash support allowance which is currently set at £39.63 per person, per week, which makes it £5.64 a day for food, sanitation and clothing. But they do this with the utmost courage because all they want to do is survive.

Misleading information has fuelled people in society to exclude and hold these vulnerable people accountable for the horrific warfare in their native countries.

The media utilizes the news outlets to share politically biased information perpetuating this false narrative. Influencing it’s consumers to believe asylum seekers and refugees are money grabbing and do not contribute anything in society. Instead of writing an article I wanted to write this spoken word piece that was light-hearted and moving for the audience. I believe the best way to get through to people is emotionally through creating vivid imagery.

My purpose for this piece was to give a platform for refugees to recall their versions of events and perspective on what it’s like to be a refugee. It is heavily unfiltered, having no political bias so I believe it is a good representation. I was fortunate enough to meet a woman who does not want to be named but has kindly given me the permission to share her story.

I want this to become a part of a larger social project campaigning for compassion towards asylum seekers and refugees that will transform negative public attitudes. The least we could do as a collective is get to welcome refugees with open arms and to see them as equal to us. If something were to happen in the UK and we had the option to migrate to a safer country we would and we wouldn't think twice about.

For identity purposes my interviewee wants to remain anonymous but her motivation for doing the interviewee was to spread the message that you don't know what people are like until you meet them, Refugees’ and immigrants feel as though they need to prove themselves to everyone to show that they are equals.

People need to educate themselves who have these negative views because a lot of the time it stems from ignorance. Ignorance turns into discrimination and discrimination turns into prejudice. In our conversation I felt the feeling of desolation and unhappiness.

She was born and raised in Afghanistan up until the age of five. Her childhood was very fun and family-focused. Her father was an educated pilot with a high paying salary supporting his whole family whilst her mother was a stay at home mum because they had a big family. They lived in a big house with a big garden where she recalled playing with her friends and with their pet chicken. During the conversation she reminisced on family gatherings and the house always being filled with people because everyone was welcome at their home. I think this would shock some people because we are rarely presented with refugees' lives before they are forced to migrate when really they are educated and have a good livelihood back home. Did you know there are around 1,200 medically qualified refugees documented on the British Association database? It is estimated that it cost £25,000 pounds to support a refugee medical practitioner to discipline in the UK. No you didn’t because they would rather spread myths about refugees than talking about their actual contributions.

Her family made a long and hard decision to leave Afghanistan because of a Taliban terrorist group who hoped to overtake occupations and rule with their ideology. Meaning there will be violence and political systems dismantled under their occupation. Her dad was extremely concerned about the gender restricting pressures on his daughters and the women in his family. It is a scary experience when the Taliban prevented women from working and going to educational institutions. Alongside this women and girls were forbidden to show skin so they had to wear clothing that covered every part of their body which was a dramatic change from just wearing a headscarf. All of this is not even including some of the heinous experiences the women and girls of Afghanistan have to endure. In other words the social situation was not safe or suitable for anyone, her parents had to make the decision to relocate. Every parent in that situation would do the same because they want a better promising future for their children. They were selfless and put their children's needs above their own even when that meant leaving family members behind.

Even Though they were lucky enough to escape Afghanistan before I got bad, I researched and read different materials from asylum seekers and refugees for some sort of understanding of the tragedies they have to go through. I used it as inspiration in the stanza of the poem where they were in a hurry and had to leave behind their old life.

At a young age she and her family moved to Holland in a small village in hope of a better life. Both of her parents experienced racism and prejudice because of their skin colour and religion. Her mother wore a headscarf as apart of her Muslim religion and felt as though she was not accepted so felt outcasted from other women. In the interview she said her mother felt like her hijab became a part of her identity as she wore it for years and if she removed it she would feel incomplete. Imagine fleeing to another country then not feeling welcomed because of racist attitudes and negative stereotypes people have gathered from the media. In connotations to this, her father had to work hard to prove himself to people only being able to get a job in a restaurant when he was a former pilot. She said “it’s almost as if I have to prove that i am as good as you” in regards to her father being discriminated against and stereotyped.

I chose spoken word poetry because it allows vulnerability, emotion and creates a quiet space away from the noise. I see the noise as social media, the news, politics and negative influences. Altogether it clouds your judgement and speaks for us sometimes. When we strip everything back you can see the human side to these people. Even Though they lived in a world of chaos they still remain peaceful yet ignorant people want to become defensive against a situation and people who have actually experienced it. As humans we always want to project our insecurities onto others and after reading this poem I want people to clear their judgement and to not see these survivors as a threat but an asset to the community.

I set my heart on making this social campaign go viral across social media platforms. I want to get a large group of people to read out the poem from all different ethnic backgrounds and social situations so I can bind it all together and create one giant social campaign video. It can be shared in schools and workplaces helping to educate people and share a relatable common ground.

Please help me with my project by completing my short survey

Survey