We asked our participants what resources they use to challenge the effects of being made a migrant. We discussed where they turn for a sense of hope in the future, where they could find mutual support from others, but also where they might seek some temporary relief from the pressures and hardship of the asylum system and the everyday discrimination they faced. Faith, music, comedy and involvement in migrants’ organisations were important for our participants, although for those of them living on asylum support, this was with very limited financial resources. Knowledge of colonial legacies was also important for them to understand their everyday experiences in relation to global inequalities (for example, the mobility enjoyed by Europeans versus their own lack of mobility).
However, at times participants were reluctant to engage in these discussions because it was more important for them to tell us how the asylum system made it difficult for them to relax, or because the pressures to show they deserved to stay in the country were so strong.Resistingmigrantification
Click on the image below for The Double Standard, an alternative newspaper produced in a workshops with Global Sistaz United.