Tobi's Thoughts

Trust in the Arm of God, not the arm of man. DSEI Arms Fair 2023.

I joined the Columban Missionaries and Pax Christi on their No Faith in War peace walk on the 7^th of September. Here I write about my time at the peace walk and share my thoughts on Britain’s role in the global destruction of many.

I joined Pax Christi in their No Faith in War day peace walk against the biennial DSEI arms fair hosted in London. For those that don’t know, the DSEI (Defence Security Equipment International) arms fair is a conference where arms companies and other seller’s market their products to buyers. Examples of arms showcased at the conference are tanks, bombs, guns and so much more! These weapons are lethal and are weapons of mass destruction.

We first gathered in St Anne’s RC Church where we greeted each other, fortified ourselves with our banners, signs and posters and prayed before we endeavoured on the peace walk. It was a very hot day in contrast to the last arms fair that saw us drenched in rain. These extremes reminded me of another overarching issue- climate change! We did the stations of the Cross in the area not far from the location that the fair was taking place. The stations served as a reminder of how Christ our humble saviour took our sins, guilt, pain and so much more upon himself so that we would not have to experience it, so that we could have a world that honoured peace. But as humanity we still impose pain and fear upon each other.

At each station, we prayed a Litany of Resistance. We prayed for God’s mercy to be shown to the victims of these weapons that are made and sold for profit and destroy the lives of many innocent civilians. We prayed for God to deliver the makers, sellers and buyers and all other benefactors and beneficiaries of these weapons from the tyranny of greed, the seduction of wealth and the filth, profanity, and brutality of war. And I prayed for hearts of stone that are numb to the consequences of their actions to be turned from stone to flesh, to realise the detrimental impacts of their decisions. After the prayer stations, we were joined by an Anglican group of peaceful protesters and as we continued our walk closer to the events’ location, the group led us in Taizé songs and prayers. The unity of our voices as we walked reminded me of God’s will being done on Earth as it is in heaven.

The Litany of Resistance we prayed during the stations of the Cross.

We briefly gathered at the gates of the arms fair and then we later set base further away due to the presence of many police officers who added to the already hot and intense atmosphere of the day. The pressure was on as lorries and trucks that transported military equipment were blocked by protesters and later had to turn back.

Before joining Pax Christi on their peace walk, I had little to no idea about the weapon industry and also the major part that the United Kingdom plays in it. After doing some searches I found out that the U.K. is one of the biggest producers of weapons and have supplied these weapons to war torn countries. Simply put, the U.K. plays a major part in the spilled blood of many people globally. The U.K. spends a lot of money on the manufacturing, exporting, and buying of defensive security weapons and according to a report written in the Modor Intelligence website, “The U.K.’s Defence Market size is expected to grow from USD 62.60 billion in 2023 to USD 72.99 billion by 2028”. This predicted increase proves that weaponry developments and production in the U.K. will always be on the agenda which unfortunately means that terror and unrest will be too. I was uncomfortable upon the realisation that a large amount of these weapons used globally are British-made weapons. The arms fair is a problem and that is why we need to protest against it.

The DSEI is an event where weapons like guns, bombs, missiles, tanks, killer drones, illegal torture equipment and much more destructive innovations are exhibited. Whilst I do personally believe that countries should have defence systems put in place, these defence systems should be used with sense and compassion. There should be a way that we defend ourselves that does not cause pain and terror in the lives of others. These British-made weapons are deadly, and they are manufactured, bought and sold onto repressive power- hungry states that cause panic and unrest in the lives of many innocent civilians. These weapons are used to oppress, discriminate, cause terror pain and death on many. The U.K. supplies arms and makes arms deals to oppressive and war-torn countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia where human rights are abused. Britain is contributing to violence around the world, and it is shameful and a disgrace to realise the reality of this. A country that was once under the reliance and trust of the Arm of God has chosen its own arm of defence that causes the destruction of hopes and dreams, families, and livelihood and many more atrocities around the world. The Arm of God is just, righteous, brings peace and is fair. Britain has forfeited the arm of God for its own arms of destruction.

Photo I took of a protester holding a poster displaying a strong message.

Isaiah 33:2, “the people cry for God to “be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.”

Exodus 6:6 “…I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgement”

The Holy Bible

The Arm of God is “salvation in the time of trouble” and is our “redeemer”. If we put our hope in the mighty arm of God, we wouldn’t put our hope in arms of man i.e. weapons of mass destruction, because God is our defence. Nations can reimagine how they defend themselves and fight against threat. If we become a nation that puts our trust in God and listen to the direction of the Holy Spirit, God’s wisdom can lead us. But when nations forfeit the protection of God and take matters into their own hands, we cause destruction on global scales.

But our leaders have more faith in their armoury than in God. Why do we seek arms? It is because of power and control but at the root of it is fear. Our fears lead us to taking action into our own hands instead of trusting in the mighty Arm of God. It is also more than defending ourselves. The fact that people profit off of the fear, pain and powerlessness of people is always troubling. We should use innovation for the betterment of humanity to bring about unity and peace not terror and destruction. The Defence Security Equipment International is not just about marketing weapons for defence and security or further establishing the army. Defence isn’t the only reason why nations engage in DSEI- it is the fear of losing, it is wanting to control, and it is rooted in satanic motivations. This conclusion can be easily reached based off of what the weapons are used for and how they are sold as a means to make money. The DSEI is a marketplace where the products sold are global genocide, the abuse of human rights and death glamorised. Come and buy torture! Come and buy pain! Come and buy the destruction of hope peace and happiness! It’s an event where profit is paramount over people and what can you do when those revel in this are our World Leaders?

There’s more to social media than posting pictures and videos!

As a Faith in Action Volunteer, I had the opportunity to work with Emma Darling, the Columban Communications Officer. I honestly believe that social media is a huge force in today’s world and it can be used to raise awareness of specific causes and things we want people to engage in. Here I reflect on some of the things I explored.

WEEKLY MEETINGS WITH EMMA:

Emma and I have been meeting on Zoom every Thursday to discuss different tasks that I could help her with. I really enjoy our meetings as it diversifies my time as a Faith in Action volunteer and it provides me with insight into how we can engage with our audiences.

24 HOURS FOR THE CLIMATE:

The COP26 negotiations was a huge occasion that we, as Columbans, wanted to advertise, promote and inform people about. Columbans were helping to deliver ’24Hours for the Climate’ – an exciting 24 hour prayer vigil, designed to bring the voices of the voiceless to the negotiations. We wanted to showcase our time at COP26 and to tell people about what, and why we were present at COP26 and importantly, to advertise the vigil.

Emma gave me the task of researching hashtags and trending material around the COP26 and to create a number of social media posts that we could use over the course of our time in Glasgow. The posts and hashtags were split into three categories: ‘Pre-Cop hashtags/ captions’, ‘During COP26 hashtags/captions’ and hashtags/ captions to promote ’24 Hours for the Climate’.

I found this to be a good strategy it was less time-consuming thinking up ideas and text to post on the spot since they were already pre-thought!

Emma also introduced me to the RecurPost, an intuitive content manager and scheduler which she uses to schedule the Columban social media posts. She showed me how to pre-schedule our content for Twitter and Facebook. It was eye-opening to see the effort behind the posts you see on the social media and it makes you appreciative of the hard work behind the scenes.

My idea of social media has definitely expanded after doing this task and here are a few things I have learnt from it:

– I realised it takes a lot to conjure up creative ideas!
– I realised that there is way more to social media than just posting pictures and videos!
– There are certain hours in the day to post your content in order to achieve maximum engagement
– You can use a scheduler like the one Emma showed me called RecurPost
– You can’t just post as and when, it’s best to have a pre-planned ideas
– Seeking permission to use photos is very important
– Stock photos are great alternatives
– Being specific with your captions and ending with a call to action is a great way to keep people engaged

21ST CENTURY CHANGEMAKERS:

This is the Columban’s annual schools media competition and I was given the task of finding ways to promote it to the target audience on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook Twitter and now TikTok.

During our weekly comms meeting, Emma and I were discussed different ways that we could get the details of the competition out to young people. I later thought about recording a little drama clip for our YouTube channel would be a great way of engaging young people. After writing the script, we were able to get two drama students from John Henry Newman Catholic College who acted it out amazingly. I brought our camera and camera stand with me ready to use but we ended up using the camera at the college as it had a mic on it. My overall experience at the college with the two drama students was positive as they showed a lot of enthusiasm which contributed to the success of the filming.

EDITING THE 21ST CENTURY CHANGEMAKERS VIDEO:

I was able to be creative and write a script to promote the competition and get students to act it out! Such fun!

After the video was recorded and sent over to me it was time for me to edit it. Now admittedly, this is where I struggled the most. During our weekly Thursday Zoom meeting with Emma, we discussed different editing platforms we could use to put the videos together.

We discussed the properties of the video, it had to be short, cheery and informative and need to have a beginning, middle and end which in theory sounded easy, and simple, but in practice was actually much trickier than I perceived. I found that I had all these ideas, but was afraid to execute it because I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to navigate the tools I needed in order for it all to come into fruition.

I used IMovie on my laptop to edit the video and after weeks downloading, dragging, dropping, splitting clips, buffering and breakdowns (from me and my laptop!), the video was finally put together with sound and music and other fancy effects. This has since been uploaded to the Columban’s YouTube channel and used to promote this year’s competition.

Emma and I discussed other ways we could get this content seen by our target audience and we agreed I should set up the Columban’s TikTok account where I was able to creatively promote the competition to encourage engagement. In addition to this, Juliette and I have also set up a FIA volunteer Instagram account so people can follow our journey. We hope that when we finish as 2021-22 Faith in Action Volunteers, it will be passed down to the next volunteers and used in a similar way to capture their own journeys.

Promoting the ‘Anyone Can Make A Difference: 21st Century Changemakers ‘Columban competition.

‘Be the change you want to see’ – Winner’s Day

During my time as a Faith in Action volunteer with the Columbans, I had the opportunity of promoting their annual school competition on their Instagram, YouTube and TikTok pages as well as a video on YouTube. The competition was called, ‘Anyone Can Make A Difference: 21st Century Changemakers’. The competition encouraged young people to think about who in the world today is making a positive difference in the face of inequalities and injustice. In the end, we had a ‘Winner’s Day’ session for the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd winners and it was a lovely day getting to know them. Here I wrote a reflective piece on the ‘Winner’s Day’ enjoy 🙂

On the 27^th of June 2022 the Columbans celebrated the winners of their 6^thColumban competition, “Anyone Can Make a Difference: 21^st Century Changemakers”. This competition gave young people a chance to write about, or create an image, of people in their world today who they believed were using their voices to stand up and make a difference.

The competition had hundreds of entries and the judges were positively overwhelmed by the changemakers that the young people chose to write and create an image about. Juliette Bone, Faith in Action Volunteer and one of the judges, explained “I felt totally inspired and amazed at the thought and creativity that had gone into each piece. Every contribution was unique and powerful which made the decision to choose the finalists a very difficult one!” There were written pieces about the environmental activist Greta Thunberg, there were image pieces about the footballer and social activist Marcus Rashford and many more.

The first and second place winners of the written pieces and the third place winner of the image entry attended the Winner’s Day along with parents, siblings and other family members.

Our first-place winner Jessica wrote a piece titled “The Sisterhood of Intersectionality” and her 21^st century changemaker of choice was the US politician and human rights campaigner Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. There’s no surprise that her entry won as it was a passionate piece which drew upon examples from relevant angles of why AOC was a changemaker. Understanding her feelings about making it to first place, her motives for entering the competition and where she got the inspiration for her written piece, Jessica said, “I honestly didn’t think that I would win! I really wanted to improve on my grammar and critical thinking skills, so this competition was a great way for me to practice that.” When asked where she got her inspiration from she said “I first needed to find something that I was passionate about, be it race, gender etc and then I found that AOC was someone that spoke about it all.”

The second-place winner was Mahi, who titled his piece “One Small Act”, and wrote about a woman called Basira Popul, an Afghanistan healthcare worker that set up interventions and systems during the Covid19 pandemic which educated people in remote communities on basic hygiene standards. Quoting from his article, Mahi wrote, “Basira and her colleagues have already given out more than 1 million bars of soap and are still going strong, determined not to stop”. Mahi believes that Basira’s work was overlooked, but through his written piece, not only did he make second place but he also shone a light on an inspiring woman.

Paulette, who was awarded third place in the image category, constructed a powerful piece that illustrated not one but four changemakers! The image included Amanda Gorman an African-American poet and activist and was detailed and bursting with colour. She portrayed the changemakers in action and a picture of the Earth was at the centre of the piece with the words “Be the change you want to see” written inside. This serves as a reminder of the power we have to make the world a place that reflects our desires.

The Winner’s Day was a wholesome day which consisted of a discussion on formation from James Trewby, Justice and Peace Education Worker and Emma Darling, Communications Officer for the Columbans who invited the students to share their thoughts on future themes, how the competition can be improved and their ideas for promoting the competition to a wider audience.

Continuing on the theme of 21^st century changemakers, founder of Birmingham-based refugee charity ‘Stories of Hope and Home’ Steph Neville accompanied by one of the charities participants, spoke to the finalists about the challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees. They discussed the reasons why someone might have to flee their country, the media’s negative portrayal of those who migrate as well as the anti-refugee laws that have featured heavily in the press lately.

“It is important that young people have the opportunity for meaningful encounters where they hear first-hand and learn about the challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers as they could well be our future politicians, policy makers or charity workers, who can draw upon encounters like these and use their voices to speak up!” explains James who facilitates encounters with marginalised groups for young people and educators as part of his role with the Columbans.

The day ended with Columban Director in Britain Fr. John Boles presenting the winners with their certificates in front of their parents and family members who had accompanied on their visit. He explained, “Our Winner’s Day was a pleasure and a privilege. It was lovely to welcome such engaged and thoughtful young people to St. Columban’s for formation and celebration.”

The changemakers competition, which gave young people an opportunity to celebrate the brave contributions of other young people, echoes Apostle Paul’s words to Timothy, a young boy ready to take up office in a space that usually only accepts adults. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12)

Young people should not be discouraged and think that because they are young, they have nothing valuable to say. This competition believes that young people’s voices, perspectives, and opinions are relevant. The Columbans are proud to have given young people a chance to put their faith into action by expressing their views of the world around them and engaging them to think hard about who in our world is making a difference to the lives of people and planet. Young people have a voice, they have eyes to see what is going on around them. Like Paulette’s image says, it’s important you “BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE”.

Brushstroke’s Friday Community Cafe

During my gap year as a Faith in Action Volunteer in Birmingham I wrote a reflection on the importance of the role of organisations such as Brushstrokes in Birmingham, on the lives of those in the local community. Brushstrokes is an amazing charity that provides services for marginalised groups in the Sandwell area. A marginalised group that they focus on is Refugees, Asylum Seekers and vulnerable migrants who have fled their homes and are in need of safety, direction and guidance. Some of the best moments of my time in Birmingham have been at Brushstrokes!

On Fridays I help at Brushstrokes Community Project in Smethwick. Brushstrokes is a partnership community project that was set up in 1999 by the Infant Jesus Sisters, the parish of St Philip Neri and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd.

Brushstrokes is a place that welcomes the stranger through engaging with Asylum Seekers and working to establish them in their communities and ensuring that they feel safe. They work to serve the whole community, particularly those who are asylum seekers, refugees and newcomers and they aim to do this with “kindness and respect, affirming the rights and dignities of vulnerable people across Sandwell”. Some of the services that they provide are activities for social, educational and recreational development. Other services that they provide are practical help, information advice and guidance as well as education and housing support

Brushstrokes run a free lunch period called ‘The Friday Community Cafe’ and that’s what I, alongside other volunteers and staff, help out with. A typical Friday involve me arriving at 10:00am and washing my hands, (making sure to adhere to hygiene standards) put on my Brushstrokes apron (an apron I am really proud to wear), wipe down surfaces and prepare the tea and coffee station. Sometimes I will peel potatoes or other veg (if our amazing chef needs an extra hand) and I will write down the ‘menu of the day’ on the board, big enough so people can see!

At around 11:15am the service users arrive, and we take their beverage orders which are normally tea or coffee. At around 12:00 the chef gives us the heads up to start taking food orders and everything goes from there.

The impact that the Friday Community Cafe has had on service-users is profound and I think it is a great initiative! It provides an opportunity for people to come and not only enjoy some wholesome free food, but to also mingle with people from different demographics. I enjoy seeing the smiles on people’s faces as they ask “so, what’s on the menu today?”

Understandably, it is not all smiles as you do have sullen, dispirited faces because we cannot forget the lived experiences of the people that Brushstrokes provides care for. Smethwick is a low-income area and although providing free lunch may seem like a small gesture, it can make a significant impact on someone’s day or even week as there is value in lunch.

I spoke to the Volunteer’s Coordinator Martin McNally to hear his views about Friday Community Cafe and its impact on the local community.

Tobi: “What is the importance of the Friday Community Cafe?”
Martin: “Having a cafe is a great opportunity for local people who are feeling isolated, marginalised and maybe just in a low mood, to get out and come to a place that is safe, friendly and welcoming. And they can also make new friends here. The Friday Community Cafe offers an opportunity for a free meal- a proper meal which works great for the community and economically as the food otherwise would have gone to landfill!” He continues to say, “some people are so grateful for a meal, especially considering the financial climate. Some people are not able to feed themselves properly or they have to choose between heating their home or having a meal.”

Tobi: “Can you tell me what type of people we see at the Cafe?”
Martin: “The people who attend are a diverse group of people, reflecting the diversity of Sandwell. We have a couple of people who are experiencing homelessness and people who have mental health issues which affects their ability to understand the concept of budgeting. It serves a lot of purposes, the cafe.” He continues to say, “We have people who have addiction issues which means they spend all their money so at least we give them a little bit of respite.”

Tobi: “What has the impact been?”
Martin: “The Cafe improves people’s wellbeing. We’ve had people in tears just because we gave them a cup of tea! Some of these people have been rejected or have fled their homes.”

Tobi: “As a man of faith, how does your Christian faith connect with this project?”
Martin: “As a man of faith, it ticks all the boxes. We are here to welcome the stranger, help the poor, feed the hungry, and love one another. Those are all the messages I get from my faith and scriptures in the Bible.”

And it is true! Christ and many Bible scriptures have called us to have a concern for one another, “Carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2), and Christ’s very act of laying his life down for us, so that we could be reconciled to the Father, is the greatest example of caring for one another.

The Community Cafe also runs other special events such as an Interfaith Lunch, Big Lunch, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and more which are all centred around food-sharing and encountering different foods from around the world, made by people in the community.

On the Brushstrokes website, there is a quote from Nicolas Barre; “We Must Be In The Hand of God Like a Brush in the Hand of a Painter.”

To me, this quote encapsulates the Christian’s calling which is to allow God to use you and trust him in the process. The same way a paintbrush trusts the plan of the painter to take it across and around the canvas. The process might be uncomfortable as it can feel like you are being pressed upon and twisted and turned, dipped in paint and swirled in water, but when you step back, you’ll smile and be amazed at what God used you to do.

I really enjoy my time helping out with the Friday Community Cafe. But in addition to the Cafe, I really appreciate the work that Brushstrokes does for the community in welcoming the stranger and making sure that they feel listened to, supported and treated with dignity and not like the ‘other’. The work that Brushstrokes does very much echoes the message of the Bible.

Social media is a powerful tool!

In this blog (originally written in August 2022) I reflect on the skills I gained and the lessons I learnt as a Social Media/ Communications assistant to Emma Darling the Communication Officer at the Columbans. Enjoy 🙂

Amongst all the opportunities that I have experienced in this Columban Faith in Action year, one was the chance to support Emma Darling, the Communications Officer for the Columbans in Britain.

Emma’s role is to communicate the work of the Columbans to our supporters through diverse and creative ways including advertisements, email marketing, flyers and social media. She also creates and organises content for the website.

To me, social media is like storytelling, that’s because places like Instagram and TikTok allow you to share your thoughts and words to an audience. Social media is a megaphone that amplifies your voice, and it is like a magnifying glass that allows an audience to see what you are seeing. It is a great tool to spread awareness of a cause, inform people, correct misconceptions and positively influence people. I think it’s safe to say that social media is a powerful tool.

Social media is a place that provides an array of perspectives that have probably been oppressed and were never deemed worthy to have a seat at the table of opinions and decisions. When I look at Instagram pages of people such as Vanessa Nakate, the Ugandan climate activist and Climate in Colour, an Instagram page that looks at the intersections of race and climate change and is run by Cambridge PhD student Joycelyn Longdon, or The Black Curriculum founded by Lavinya Stennett who aims to make black British history a mandatory part of the British school curriculum, it makes me proud to be in such a generation that has a platform which allows you to share your voice.

These three pages I mentioned are created and run by young black females, a group in society that can be discriminated against for not only their gender, but also the colour of their skin too. Social media has provided these women with the space to share what matters to them, their concerns about issues like climate change, race and gender from an intersectional approach. Without social media, they would have found it hard to create the momentum that they attain today due to obstacles and barriers that are unique to non-white women. They would have been told that they are too loud and aggressive, or that their opinions are irrelevant.

Author and feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in her famous Ted Talk video titled ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ shows the danger of listening to a single form of opinion and how certain groups of people haven’t had the chance to speak for themselves but have been spoken for. Whilst it is okay to be spoken for, a voice that isn’t your own can speak from a harmful stereotype. That’s why I say I am proud to be born in this generation where social media provides the autonomy and self-agency to people who have a voice and have something to say.

As Columbans, we are able to use social media to spread the good news of our faith and show the things that matter to us. We use it to promote the JPIC work we do and also the local ministries that support disadvantaged people. In supporting Emma, I have been involved in creating and posting content on the Faith in Action TikTok account and the Faith in Action Instagram account and some for Twitter, Facebook and YouTube too. Our feeds are filled with images and videos of our varied work and include school visits where we ran workshops, our trip to Glasgow to the COP26 negotiations and images of our involvement in ministry projects in and around Birmingham.

In addition to creating content and posting on these social media platforms, Emma also showed me how to navigate the website’s Content Management System (CMS) which is basically the behind the scenes of the website. Gaining exposure to this has developed skills in putting together blogs for Columban site. I have learnt how to use an intuitive social media scheduler RecurPost which is what Emma uses to schedule posts which helps with creating a consistent social media presence.

Social media has been an educational tool for me because through this role, I have been able to understand the work and the values of the Columban Missionaries, and it has been a pleasure being able to promote the Society and the wonderful things we do, to our supporters. This role has also helped with my personal development and confidence levels. If anyone truly knows me, they will know that I am an idealist and a perfectionist and at times, this is to my own detriment. Because of this tendency to want things written meticulously or videos constructed perfectly and sounding superfluously, when doing a task, I tend to tell myself, “This just isn’t good enough”, resulting in me hyper-fixating on how to make it even better, which in turn results in the task being overdue. I believe I have improved in this area and this role has helped me to have more confidence in my writing and creative thinking skills. I recently looked back at some of things I wrote right at the beginning of my Faith in Action year. What I posted wasn’t actually as badly written as I thought and I’m proud of what I have written, and it has shown me that I can produce good content.

I have faced challenges whilst being in this role. For example, I have learnt the meaning of “fail to plan, plan to fail”. There have been moments where a plan for a post has not been put in place which leads to incoherence and inconsistency. One thing I will take away from this is the need to have a plan even if it’s not concrete, as a plan is better than no plan.

I am glad that this Faith in Action year offered me the opportunity to delve into the world of communications. It’s been nice working with Emma in my Faith in Action Year. It’s been educational because I’ve learnt about the art and skill of communicating with an audience and how important it is. I dearly appreciate the time, effort and patience that Emma has had with me. This will be an unforgettable part of my Columban Faith in Action experience.

It’s not just a story, it’s real life and you might learn something if you listen

During my year as a Faith in Action volunteer withe the Columban Missionaries in Birmingham, I wrote a few blogs about my experiences and encounters. In this piece I reflect on my time with the charity Stories of Hope and Home and how the stories of refugees and asylum seekers are powerful as they counteract the media’s harsh portrayal of migrants.

Columban FIA Volunteer Tobi reflects on her time with the charity Stories of Hope and Home and how the stories of refugees and asylum seekers are powerful as they counteract the media’s harsh portrayal of migrants.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to accompany the charity Stories of Hope and Home on one of their school visits. Stories of Hope and Home is a charity based in Birmingham that creates a space for asylum seekers and refugees seeking sanctuary in the UK to tell their stories of migration and offers an opportunity for others to hear them.

I’ve known some participants of Stories of Hope and Home since the start of my time in Birmingham, but I’ve never really felt or understood the depth of their stories until I followed them on this particular visit. I always understood that the journey coming to the UK would not have been easy and trying to rebuild a life in a different country with a different language and system had its challenges, but hearing them speak to the different student groups over and over again, it finally sank in, what these people were saying was not just a story but these were real life experiences.

Let us not underestimate the power of a story! A story can touch hearts, change a negative or incorrect perception of something or someone and open our eyes to the lived experiences of people. Stories serve a purpose as they are there to rebuttal the media’s portrayal of asylum seekers. One news piece could say “Migrants are here to take your job” but an asylum seeker would say “I’m here because I stood up for the rights of women.”

Listening to the lived experiences of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants is important because they make listeners aware of the reason why they had to flee their homeland and the challenges that follow this decision. Challenges such as the Home office hostile environment policy which is a set of measures put in place to make it hard for asylum seekers to try and settle in the UK. The anxiety of trying to find a genuine solicitor, the mental stress of having to prove to the Home Office the persecution that you have faced and why it is dangerous for you to go back to your country and the sheer volume of paperwork, is extremely stressful for those here in search of sanctuary. My heart has definitely become more receptive and sensitive to migrant stories since spending time with Stories of Hope and Home. Not to say that I was not listening prior to this experience, but there has certainly been a shift from being a passive hearer that simply listens to what’s being told, to an active one that acts upon what is heard.

This shift in my heart shows that some people will probably need constant exposure to the stories of refugees in order to gain a clearer picture and therefore a more balanced view.

This is needed especially because the media’s representation of migrants is very unfavourable and can work to counteract the stories of migrants. The media often portrays a misconstrued image of people seeking refuge as articles are titled provocatively to elicit fear in the minds of the uneducated and unexposed reader. The choice of language that they use to describe migrants such as the word “swarms”, deliberately creates a moral panic. They don’t show the plight that led them to seek safety outside of their home, but instead picture them as bogus with the ulterior motive to steal jobs, and enjoy the UK’s benefits system.

These misinterpretations create dangerous narratives and breed misconceptions that strip humanity and dignity from those fleeing persecution and seeking refuge, exacerbating their situation. This is why I believe that charities like Stories of Hope and Home are so important because they not only provide the opportunity for refugees and asylum seekers to speak for themselves which affirms their dignity, but it also works to challenge misconceptions weaved by the media. It’s like the saying, “Until the Lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter”. If places like Stories of Hope and Home did not exist, the voice of the media would always take centre stage.

When I ponder upon the poor treatment of refugees and asylum seekers by the west, my mind goes to this particular scripture from 1 John 3:17, “But whoso hath this world’s good and seeth his brother and sister has need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

If we apply this scripture to the image of our world today we can identify who “…hath this world’s good” how it is being handled and how it fits in with the topic of Refugees and Asylum Seekers.

In Development Studies, the term ‘The Global North’ and ‘Global South’ is used to describe the socio-economic structure of regions. The Global South mainly refers to regions in Africa, South-east Asia and Latin America which are underdeveloped and do not hold as much wealth or global political influence for many reasons but mainly by the historic and current doings of the Global North. The Global North consists of regions in Europe, Australia and the United States of America possess a lot of wealth and in a lot of cases are light years ahead in terms of development than regions in the Global South. Therefore the countries in the Global North “… hath this world’s good” which in this case is safety and sanctuary. But the Home Office “shuts its bowels of compassion” towards our brothers and sisters that are in need of this sanctuary that our economy obtains.

The UK is the 5th wealthiest country in the world and we probably do have the resources and the time as well as the skills and knowledge to help our brothers and sisters who are in need, but instead we seem to do the opposite, by labelling them as the ‘other’ creating an enemy.

It has been proven many times by the UNHCR that the UK does not give as many asylum seekers refugee status and ‘leave to remain’ as they show in the media. In fact, developing countries are the ones that often bear the burden. But the UK are now planning on off-shoring asylum seekers to Rwanda, another economically disadvantaged country.

So I ask, is the love of God really in the hearts of world leaders, governments, policy makers and those in the Home Office?” Judging by the treatment of our brothers and sisters in need… I don’t think it is.

Illegal routes are routes of hope

In this blog piece I share my thoughts on the Nationality and Borders Bill and what it possibly means for asylum seekers. This blog was originally written on the 27th of January 2022 and uploaded on the Columban Missionaries Website.

I should first say that the opinions expressed here within are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Society. I am not claiming to know everything, and I am also aware that this Bill is subject to change.

Since I heard of the new Nationality and Borders Bill, I have been reflecting on the situations people find themselves in which require them to seek asylum and how useful and practicable the Government -backed safe and legal routes are in the face of danger.

From what I know, this Nationality and Borders bill poses that application for asylum will only be accepted from those who came to the UK via a ‘legal and safe route’ and anyone who has come via a boat or other routes, will be deemed ‘illegal’.

The government have listed safe and legal routes that those seeking asylum should use and they are the ‘UK Resettlement Scheme’, ‘Community Sponsorship Scheme’, ‘Mandate Resettlement Scheme’ and ‘Refugee Family Reunion.’ Only those who have entered the UK through these government-backed ‘safe and legal routes’ would have their asylum application looked at. Those who have not entered this way face imprisonment.

According to the Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who, ‘owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable to or owing to such a fear is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country’.

The Nationality and Borders Bill was put in place to allegedly break the business of people-smuggling and thus tackle illegal immigration. At first glance, this seems fair, as it is stopping the motives of traffickers who could be monopolising on the desperation of many people who are seeking a safer and better life. However, when you look past the surface level, you see that it has a consequential effect on those who use these routes to safety, as they will also be seen as criminals.

The problem that I have with this Bill is that, at this present moment, and with the little knowledge that I have, it looks at how people entered the UK rather than whythey entered. Yes, the reality of smuggling is a real thing, but we should focus on the reason and desperations of those willing to put their lives into these people’s hands in pursuit of safety.

Before, a person’s asylum application was based on why they left their country and their proof of it. Now the Home Office takes into account the way in which they arrived in the country. Could this mean that here is no refugee status for people arriving by illegal means?. If so, I think this is a deliberate stumbling block perpetuated by the Home Office because the majority of those seeking international protection in the UK have no access to a safe and legal route. The routes that traffickers provide are often their only route to freedom. So, although our government may call it illegal, to those seeking protection, these ‘illegal routes’ are their only hope.

There is a plethora of reasons why people must abandon their homes and are unable to go back. And so, when a person crosses our borders in need of international protection, they deserve access to fair and efficient asylum procedures, because refugees have rights and it is the duty of states to protect them, not label them as criminals. Unfortunately, this Bill focuses on the business of people-smugglers and not the plight and the human rights of those who are desperate to even use them.

Whilst it is a messy situation, politicians should understand that favour should always be shown to those who need safety. In my opinion, the bill shifts the focus from the humanitarian issue at hand and creates a concern around the people who are making it possible for asylum seekers to enter the country. Surely we can still have compassion for those seeking international protection despite the method of their arrival!

On a surface level, these government-backed routes can be perceived as immensely helpful and just, but how viable, attainable, and practicable are these routes in the face of danger? Are these politicians aware of the many reasons why someone would risk their life and abandon their home and come to a place that they deem safe? Are politicians aware that when danger strikes, the sea is often the only place seen as safe? How do you apply for asylum through the resettlement scheme in the midst of danger?

The stories I have read and listened to show that there is no time to think of these Government-backed legal and safe routes in times of fleeing from persecution. For example, if you are someone who is a member of a particular social group or has an opposing political opinion and are therefore on your government’s watchlist and are in fear of being killed, leaving your country to enter another country for safety via a safe and legal route will be very risky.

To me, these requirements of the Government are so tone deaf to the reality and lived experience of those fleeing persecution. More has to be done to protect these people.

The Columbans have recently signed the Asylum Matters West Midlands pledge opposing the Nationality and Borders Bill and ‘stand united in opposing the policies that this Bill will implement’. We call on other local community representatives across the West Midlands to join us and put pressure on the UK Government ‘to scrap these harmful and divisive proposals’.

A labourer for God’s harvest

This is my first blog as a Faith in Action Volunteer! Here I speak about participating in Justice and Peace Education work in schools with James Trewby (Columban Missionary Peace and Justice Education Officer) and also learning about the work Mauricio Silva (Columban Missionary Inter-religious Dialogue) does in shining a light on the importance of dialogue between people from different religious groups.

I’ve really enjoyed my first month here in Birmingham as a Faith in Action Volunteer. Throughout the induction I’ve been introduced to many things and I’m looking forward to learning more along the way. The induction was split into projects which focused on Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation led by James Trewby, Columban Justice and Peace Education Worker and projects concerning Interreligious Dialogue with Mauricio the Interreligious Dialogue Coordinator.

For the JPIC part, James explained his role to us, how it came to be and his passion for his work. I was awakened to the inextricable link between people and the planet. I learnt that the climate crisis does not just affect the communities that have been displaced or destroyed because of things like erosion to soil and more intense and frequent weather patterns, but that the habitats of non-human species are also destroyed. Climate change not only affects individuals and communities but our planet’s whole biodiversity. This made me understand a little better, Pope Francis’ encyclical ‘Laudato Si’’ in which he urges us all to listen to “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”.

Myself and Juliette (and Fr. John Boles) supported James on a visit to a Religious Studies and Geography College and two local primary schools that James had pre-existing partnerships with. The purpose of the school visits was to hold a 1-2 hour session during which we spoke to the pupils about communities that are experiencing the damaging effects of climate change and how these communities that are the most affected by climate change are the least emitters of carbon. We also used the framework ‘See. Judge. Act.’ from the ‘Catholic Social Teaching’ which encourages students to open their eyes to the plight of communities negatively impacted by climate change, reflect on it through prayer or discernment and then make a pledge or write to their local MP’s to consider climate change policies as important.

In the induction, I was introduced to the concept of interreligious dialogue and the importance of it. In my own words based on what I’ve learnt so far, interreligious dialogue is the encouragement of conversations between people from different religious backgrounds or none and the overall promotion of positive relations between these groups.

One of the main points of interreligious dialogue is to encounter differences and to be made aware of the many similarities we have, despite the demarcations of race, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender etc. Mauricio set up a Summer School during September over Zoom and invited people from many faiths to listen to speakers who work in their communities that encourage dialogue between people.

In the sessions we were asked to answer questions like “What is the value of working alongside people from other faiths?” and “Do religious beliefs and faiths hinder or promote ‘encountering differences’?” One of the sessions that has stuck with me is where a Muslim lady talked about ‘A divided Britain’. Division in Britain is galvanised through the demonisation of migrants in the media and these dangerous narratives misinform people and can harm refugees. This session shed light on the positive contributions of interreligious dialogue as faith groups can come together and tackle humanitarian issues like the Refugee Crisis. It aids us to create a world where we can all work together to bring about peace and harmony.

Mauricio also introduced us to a befriending charity called Restore. Restore works with refugees and asylum seekers in Birmingham and their purpose is to ensure refugees and asylum seekers are ‘welcomed, valued and integrated’.

In the induction, we were also able to grasp a deeper understanding of the work Mauricio does and the importance of it. For example, Mauricio runs a place called Fatima House which houses women who have come to the UK, for international protection but have had their claims rejected by the Home Office which results in them being destitute. Fatima House provides a safe temporary shelter for these women as they try to figure out their next step through the precarious and inconsistent UK. immigration system.

Lastly, I was able to meet the Columban Missionaries who come from places like New Zealand, South Korea and China. I love hearing their stories of how they found the faith and became missionaries. I love how the nature of the Christian faith brings many people together from around the world.

The reason why I chose to apply to become a Faith in Action Volunteer is because I was interested in the work of the Columbans and wanted to learn more, whilst at the same time strengthen my own faith. I believe that this year will be a good opportunity to put my faith into action through learning about the plight of people across the world due to the effects of climate change, understanding the cry of the planet and of people having to flee their homes because of persecution and are now seeking international protection.

As a Faith in Action Volunteer, I remind myself that I am doing the Lord’s work. There is always something that God has called us to do, there is always a harvest that God needs our labour for. I believe that God has positioned mine and Juliette’s hands to be labourers in the harvest of the work of the Columbans. This is a piece of scripture that I will therefore keep in my mind as I journey as a Faith in Action Volunteer.