Community, campaigning and hope - A Brighter Futures reflection
Brighter Futures is our group for young people facing immigration issues. After celebrating Refugee Week, they have been reflecting on what it means to ‘heal’, how it can be difficult when living in a hostile environment and the power of community and campaigning as a practice to hold onto hope.
Group members created this collage to express how they feel about their immigration status. The cage symbolises no access to things like the freedom to work or study. They have a lot to share or contribute with the society but at the same time are being restricted by their immigration status.
Most of us were forced to leave our countries because of war, sexuality, religion etc and are separated from a life we had and separated from our loved ones.
Healing is not something to be completed, but rather a continual process and this can be exhausting, especially when we must adapt to a new society and the hostile environment. Asylum seekers cannot work or study; we struggle to access education; we are forced to live in inadequate accommodation thus leading to mental breakdown.
How do you expect us to heal while going through this harsh process? How do you expect us to heal when the Government is planning to send us back to Rwanda? How do you expect us to heal with this harsh hostile environment?
“My Journey” - a poem from a Brighter Futures member
“Where I come from, I cannot return,
running away from bullets, I fled to become a refugee.
They are not welcome,
Let us make them go back from where they come from,
They cannot share our food,
They cannot share our homes,
A place should only belong to people who are born there."
I hear these words a lot in my struggle, and I do wonder.
Longing for peace, safety, love and a normal life,
That is all I can ask for.
We call her refugee,
she could be you,
she could be me.
"I have dreams and I know where I am heading to.”
Though it can be hard, we will always find a way to take care of each other and never give up.
Brighter Futures members come from various parts of the world, diverse cultures, but together, we form one community. We support each other and find a way of healing.
We meet every week and have fun and try creative activities like collage, painting, knitting, drama, games and sharing meals. We campaign on issues affecting migrants and refugees, such as access to accommodation, education and mental health support; all while hoping for change.
Healing is all about the little things, about moments of laughter or the chance to express yourself and finding out that you’re not alone. It’s all about hope and holding on.