A domestic worker in London writes about her difficult situation. Before coming to London, she had never worked as a domestic worker. In her country, she had worked in a garment factory, but here, as a domestic worker, she makes a little bit more money to help her family back home. She is glad to be an active member of J4DW, a group of domestic workers supported by Unite the Union. Since finding out about the group, she feels better and more confident. Before, she was ashamed to speak, but she says now it’s hard to stop her! If you are a domestic worker in need of a support network, J4DW could be a valuable resource for you. Click here to find out more about it.
I am a domestic worker. I have had bad experiences but what I discovered with one employer is very different. They show no respect at all and I have a lot of friends having the same problems, even worse. Some of them never go out, sleeping on the floor, eating expired food, with no day off, no holiday pay, long hours of work, with low salary. They do not pay the minimum wage. They do not pay tax and NI. Even when they have a written contract they never follow it.
They don’t give sick pay, and along with all that, they are shouting, breaking their bodies with sticks, and throwing boiling water on them. They treat them like rubbish. They call them a cow (bagara). They call them a dog (kalba). They call them a donkey (hamara). And they call them stupid (ghabiya). And the domestic workers, they don’t understand what is the meaning of the words.
Paula shares with us her reflections on her experience as a mentor with the New Beginnings project. If you are interested in becoming a mentor or mentee, please click here.
When I started mentoring, I never for one second envisaged the enriching journey that would beckon. Certainly, life can be joyously wonderful, but difficulties can also pop up, and as a vulnerable refugee with no place to call home, these difficulties can be felt more profoundly. It is my experience that you don’t necessarily have to be a certain type of person to mentor or have a particular job to be qualified. You only need to be able to listen to what another person has to say, to empathise, and just to really see yourself in another. In the end, it is the simple things that count. Going to the cinema, seeing a nice exhibition or even going for a coffee are all invaluable when faced with immense pressure or 'rejection.' Furthermore and more significantly, it makes a huge difference, or it is rather a pleasant breath of fresh air to have someone to talk to, to share stories with, and just to partake in normal everyday activities with. It was not only possible to see the positive changes in my mentee, but I also saw positive changes within myself. Indeed, it is a journey where the mentor reaps as much as the mentee. I saw that it is possible and realistic to withstand the hurricanes and emerge stronger, wiser, kinder and more compassionate. In perfect honesty, it felt as though I did nothing but listen and turn up, but when our mentoring meetings came to an end, there was a tear in my eye, as it was truly wonderful to see my mentee confidently getting ready for her life ahead and genuinely happy about the opportunities that lay before her. I could not believe it was the same person. What quickly became clear to me is that everyone at some point benefits from a gentle word of encouragement. It felt really good to echo the message to my mentee that nobody can reject you and that things can and do improve with time.
From Aissata: These past three weeks, we have had the opportunity at MRCF to learn some techniques in the art of paper crafting. This was really fun as we made some very nice greeting cards. Some of them were donated to the elderly and we were lucky to keep others for ourselves. It is very good to be able to attend those kind of activities. While making the cards, we had some nice talks and laughs. It was great! That is why I am very grateful to Sonia who offered the material that we all worked on and Sue who was so dedicated in teaching these new techniques. Hopefully, we will see them soon for more workshops.
Depression is a word used often and often misunderstood. The stigma attached to depression can be due to a lack of understanding of the disorder. If people understood that depression is something that could affect anyone at anytime and is actually very common and nothing to be ashamed of, then maybe more people would be able to come forward and seek the support they need in overcoming it.
Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, unexplained episodes of tearfulness, bleak thoughts about the future, fear of going insane or losing control, thoughts of self harm, irritability, indecisiveness or a loss of interest in activities usually enjoyed including sex....are all signs that one may be experiencing depression. These are by no means the only symptoms of depression. There are many, including physical symptoms such as chest pain, digestive problems, headaches, bad memory, lack of appetite and sleep, back pain, body aches, weight gain or loss amongst many others!
So why do people get depressed?
Recently, Shazea Quraishi, English PEN's writer-in-residence at MRCF, led a workshop with the Theatre Group entitled Letters from Tomorrow. We invite you to listen to the group's moving podcasts by clicking on this link.
Check out this exciting upcoming event through St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace...
Stories that heal, stories that harm
Friday, 29 June, 2012, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
A participatory day of cross-disciplinary dialogue and discussion. The aim is to pool learning from those working with personal and community narratives, in order to build a more complete picture of the field, stimulate best practice, and allow cross-fertilisation of ideas.
In collaboration with the London Inter Faith Centre, The Forgiveness Project and The International School of Storytelling
You are invited to attend the Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum's
Engage to Change: Integration – Where next?
Thursday, May 24, 2012, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Our key note speaker is Don Flynn, Director of Migrants Rights Network.
The government’s Creating the Conditions for Integration strategy transfers responsibility for integration to local areas, without refering to any models or guidance about what successful integration looks like, whilst also hijacking integration as yet another excuse to speak about security and extremism. Resources, of course are not attached to any of it. It was also disappointing for those of us working on the integration of new citizens that the government completely ignored our efforts, expertise and contributions.
When I started mentoring, I never for one second envisaged the enriching journey that would beckon. Certainly, life can be joyously wonderful, but difficulties can also pop up, and as a vulnerable refugee with no place to call home, these difficulties can be felt more profoundly. It is my experience that you don’t necessarily have to be a certain type of person to mentor or have a particular job to be qualified. You only need to be able to listen to what another person has to say, to empathise, and just to really see yourself in another. In the end, it is the simple things that count. Going to the cinema, seeing a nice exhibition or even going for a coffee are all invaluable when faced with immense pressure or 'rejection.' Furthermore and more significantly, it makes a huge difference, or it is rather a pleasant breath of fresh air to have someone to talk to, to share stories with, and just to partake in normal everyday activities with. It was not only possible to see the positive changes in my mentee, but I also saw positive changes within myself. Indeed, it is a journey where the mentor reaps as much as the mentee. I saw that it is possible and realistic to withstand the hurricanes and emerge stronger, wiser, kinder and more compassionate. In perfect honesty, it felt as though I did nothing but listen and turn up, but when our mentoring meetings came to an end, there was a tear in my eye, as it was truly wonderful to see my mentee confidently getting ready for her life ahead and genuinely happy about the opportunities that lay before her. I could not believe it was the same person. What quickly became clear to me is that everyone at some point benefits from a gentle word of encouragement. It felt really good to echo the message to my mentee that nobody can reject you and that things can and do improve with time. 
