HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Oxford Indymedia

Namaste update & call for support - help asylum seekers

Miriam & Player of Games | 28.07.2011 22:46 | Migration | Oxford

Namaste encourages and supports local volunteers to offer a spare room to an asylum seeker who would otherwise be destitute. People may choose to host a guest for a few weeks, or a few months, or in some cases longer. Throughout, Namaste offers support to both the host and the guest.

I am delighted to say that the last few weeks have seen the successful conclusion of our first hosting arrangement!

Our host was able to offer accommodation, initially for one month, to a young man who had nowhere to stay with very few contacts or extended community members and very little English or awareness of British culture. Fortuitously, early in the process, the guest received his indefinite leave to remain. This meant that the hospitality was offered at exactly the right time, giving him the stability he needed to pursue benefits, accommodation and education, as well as some health issues. After a slight extension of the arrangement, allowing him to stay six weeks, he was able to move into his own permanent accommodation. During the time he was hosted, his confidence and his English improved enormously, setting him well on his way to his future in the UK. For the host, there was the delight and privilege of being able to support him through this process, a fascinating insight into a country and culture about which very little was previously known, and perhaps a bit of an eye-opener for some of the family members.

In all, it was a highly successful outcome, for the guest, for the host, for the referring agency and of course, for Namaste - what a great start!

Of course, we can't always hope to replicate quite this level of success. The timing of the Indefinite Leave to Remain could not have been foreseen, and we all know that these happy endings are not always the norm for asylum seekers. which, in a way, is just another reason why it is so important to extend friendship, welcome and acceptance to people who may feel tht the whole world is against them.

Despite this great news, in some areas, the work of Namaste is not currently quite as positive. In particular, we are desperately short of hosts. In addition to the above, another offer of very short term, emergency accommodation was made to one woman, but two people have had to be put on hold, pending more hosts coming forward. Whilst a number of people have made initial enquiries, at this point in time there are no hosts currently "ready to go".

From what I know of people in Oxford, however, I remain confident that there are people locally who would be both willing and able to make an offer of accommodation to an asylum seeker, knowing that the arrangement would be on their terms and supported throughout.

Please also consider seriously whether you yourself of someone you know would be able to consider becoming a host with Namaste, and build on the success seen so far.

Please don't assume that there are plenty of people stepping up and so your involvement would not be necessary - every enquiry is appreciated. As always, an enquiry does not imply a commitment, but simply that you are willing to think and talk this through.

And of course, do please remember that I am always happy come and talk to your group, to send you more information to distribute, and to discuss either with you as an individual or with a larger group what hosting with Namaste might mean
for you.

Miriam

Miriam & Player of Games
- e-mail: namasteoxford@yahoo.co.uk

Publish your news
-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Oxford Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech