St Sebastian’s Community and SERV – Salford Edmund Rice Volunteers

John Hume once said that the essence of politics is reconciliation. Sadly, currently the essence of politics appears to be division, and none more so in the debate about asylum seekers and refugees. It is a debate characterised by much heat but not much light. In a debate in the US, a politician once said that his opponent was entitled to his own opinions but not to his own set of facts. There is no doubt there are legitimate concerns on all sides of the issues which need to be addressed but equally there are a lot of myths which are not helpful.

On a more positive note, after three refugees from SERV came to talk to the pupils at St Ambrose during advocacy week, the pupils and drama department have been inspired to base this year’s school production around the plight of asylum seekers and refugees. As part of this process, hopefully greater interaction between the pupils of St Ambrose and the clients of SERV will now happen – with mutual benefit.

On the same theme, Brother Ger visited St Joseph’s on 17^th November, with Shanan from Sudan, Karim from Chad, and Zarif from Iran, building on the already strong links between St Joseph’s and SERV. This connection will continue when pupils of St Joseph’s come up to Salford and help the team at SERV put on the annual Christmas Party for the refugees and their children.

I have previously talked about the importance of individual stories. Yesterday at SERV was a prime example of this. My first client was a barrister from Chechyna, who had to escape because of his political views. He was telling me, for example, that if you viewed any anti-government rhetoric or ‘liked’ it on social media, you were tracked down and arrested. He is now trying to get on a university foundation course to start building his career again. My second client was from Iran. I was intrigued that his email address started with ‘captain.’ I asked him why. He then showed me the photographs of the ship he owned and the crew he oversaw. His crew was of about ten, all smartly dressed as he was. The ship transported people to and from oil fields in the Arabian Gulf. It was seized, along with all his other assets, by the Iranian Government and he was forced to leave Iran. Much as they both appreciate the help that they have been given, they both have the look in their eyes that you notice with all refugees when they talk of their home country – sadness for the family and friends they have had to leave. Their coming to the UK is not a lifestyle choice.

By Richard Simpson, SERV volunteer and St Ambrose College governor