Problems Faced by Asylum Seekers, Newcomers, and Refugees Artists in the UK to Practice Art - Assignment Example

Problems Faced by Asylum Seekers, Newcomers, and Refugees Artists in the United Kingdom to Practice Art Problems Faced By Asylum Seekers, Newcomers And Refugees Artists In The United Kingdom To Practice Art. It is of importance to define the various terms used in the document. An asylum seeker is ‘someone who has made a formal application for asylum in the UK awaiting response from the Home Office on their claim.’ On the other hand, ‘someone who has gone through the process of applying for asylum and succeeded to remain in the UK by the Home Office’ is a refugee (Home Office, 2008). On the contrary, an illegal migrant is ‘someone who has entered the UK with false documents; has come without Government permission or has stayed on once their legal agreement has expired.’ Putting in mind the definitions, navigating through the paper becomes easier. The document discusses some of the traditions and laws in the UK that the refugees ride upon. In addition, it presents some of the policies and programs on the practice of art, as well as the challenges they face hitherto. Global activities have significantly affected the influx of refugees and asylums into the United Kingdom. For instance, from the years 2001 to 2005, there was an 85% increase in Afghanistan refugees, leading to a total of about 6% in the year 2006. The decrease coincided with the ‘war on terror’. The ‘United Nations High Commission for Refugees’ has reported a constant annual drop from 2002 in asylums seeking refuge in United Kingdom (Home Office, 2008). The UK has been a place of refuge for people escaping from their countries due to family relations, colonial links and the fairness in the UK’s legal system. In addition, the UK has been known to be friendly to newcomers. However, with the recent claims trying to taint its image, the UK has come up with some policies that deny asylum seekers and refugees access to essential services, but, has not restricted the number of people visiting it. The Labour government has come up with laws that give restrictions to people going to seek for job opportunities in the UK. Nevertheless, the same law does not restrict the number of people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. Mostly, people looking for asylums have gone through traumatic experiences in their mother countries; hence, need to find peace in the host country. However, in the UK, the process of applying for asylum takes quite long, from months to sometimes even years. Bearing in mind the kind of experience they underwent in their country, most of them face psychological and mental issues as they await acceptance into the host country, like the UK. The situation makes asylum seekers different from other immigrants (Merli, 2002: 107-118). The challenges these people face cause disruption of unity of the community. Some of the challenges faced include barriers to language, inadequate housing, and sensitivity in mental and physical wellbeing as well as deleterious stereotypes. Having run from unfair treatment from their countries, asylum seekers hope for better treatment when they get to the host state. However, if they fail to get a better treatment, and only encounter further hostility, such a person may be more damaged (Mc Master, 2008: 67). The reason for this could be that they will feel they are the cause of what experience. Therefore, it would be recommended that asylum seekers find systems and policies in place to offer more protection from abuse and negative stereotypes. As a result of the problems faced above by newcomers as they come into the UK, Arts play a significant role in helping the people adapt to the environment and promote cohesion of the community. It is a safe place for one to get away, meet new people and even make a living. The UK, therefore, substantially supports the refugees with the passion for arts, as it has such programs in place. Refugees started getting involved in the practice of art in early 1990s (Colledge, 2003). However, this gained momentum in the years 2000s, going forward. With the need to shun negative publicity by the media, implementation of programs for funding the initiatives, as well as dispersal policy impact, considerable growth is achieved. A prodigious shift in the policy realization occurred in the middle of the1980s as a result of a greater profile in the politics of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Due to this, focus went to Asian, Caribbean and African communities’ art. With this came the ‘Black theater and dance companies’ which were then given support by the funding system of the arts and ‘local authorities (Blake, 2008). Due to this, ‘Minorities’ Arts Advisory Services’ (MAAS) came into being. Its main agenda was focusing on all the ethnic groups’ art. However, this took a different turn in the 1990s when more attention shifted to Caribbean, African, and Asian arts. In the previous ten years, the arts industry has grown tremendously, giving room for asylums with an interest in art to develop. The arts industry for refugees has received significant support from many organizations. However, a precise quantification of the investment in that sector cannot be brought out clearly. It is not easy to convince organizations that have no interest in arts to invest in the sector. In a span of three years, between 2003 and 2006, Arts Council England gave an investment of above one million Euros. The program came to a conclusion in 2008. In addition, the Baring Foundation, in its program of five years support of refugees art, had invested two million, five hundred thousand euros. In addition, a contribution of one million euros was put into the kitty by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, within 2003 to 2007. The arts and refugees projects have received a support of over ten million, five hundred thousand euros from charity trusts such as the Wales princes and Diana (Belfiore & Bennet, 2010). Moreover, other investors include Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery Fund, The Home Office, among many more investors and donors. The rich culture of the UK experienced a boost from people who initially came to the country as refugees, who, using their voices brought a big influence on the nation. As shown by various studies, some of the refugees give credit to their state as refugee to get inspiration to be more creative and sensible. In addition, most of them call themselves artists but do not forget they are also refugees. Together with other activities, the ‘Refugee week’ provides a platform for refugee who likes to practice art as a profession. The importance of such events is to get the individuals out of the “refugee” cocoon. However, this is sometimes impossible due to the many challenges these people face. Thus, making it only realistic for the process to narrow down to working up on the plights of refugees and asylums (Belfiore & Bennet, 2008:125). The UK has no strategic policies and plans for artist refugees except for the famous refugees’ week that is known well in the UK. The establishment of the week in the UK was in 1998. The occasion is an excellent platform for community cohesion as it allows for the interaction between the refugees and people of the UK (Belfiore, 2007). The objectives of the event are to help get over hostility and promote understanding. Additionally, the occassion encourages a broad range of activities to promote diversity and curb stereotypes, and to display the kind of talents the refugees bring along with them to the UK. It is managed by the Refugee week team, which comprises the Refugee week team coordinator, Scottish and Welsh coordinators together with some skilled volunteers. In addition, there exist Refugee Week events represented in every town. With a representation of 75% in the arts, Refugee week has so far endorsed over four hundred and fifty activities (Home Office, 2008). There is evidence to demonstrate that promotion of activities that involve the participation of both the refugees and people of the host country has encouraged development. Community cohesion and scraping off the negativity conceived by individuals against refugees and individuals seeking asylum (Curtler, 2007:87). The introduction of arts for refugees has helped many refugees cope with their situation and assimilate quickly into the country and community without much difficulty. The process would lug if there were no such systems. Despite all the beautiful things brought to the lives of refugees due to arts, they still face a myriad of challenges and shortcomings in their quest. Firstly, the UK laws are stringent in a way that they restrict them from accessing certain services, which would otherwise, help them build their careers. With such harsh laws in place, the refugees are confined to a particular location, doing specific activities. Thus, they lack freedom. Another challenge the refugees face is racism and discrimination. For instance, people never desired to stay in Newcastle in around 2003 because of violence, criminal activities, and racism. Such activities significantly affect their art practice (Blake et al., 2008). In addition, the issue of stereotypes can be a real bug, slowing down ones progress as well as enhance comfort in a person. Changing perceptions built over years cannot be done in a day; it takes time. In other instances, due to inadequate stress management procedures and policies, some artists sink into depression when they encounter more hostility in the UK. The infrastructures in the refugee camps are not well integrated. Due to this, it becomes difficult for people to invest even in such a system, leading to reduced growth of the art industry. The artists do not want them to be known to be refugees. Doing this is a limiting factor as they end up not being as equivocal as they should be. Another problem encountered by refugee artists is competition from the artists of UK origin. It is not easy to outdo one in his home (Colledge et al., 2003: 128). Finally, the UK government has a great system that does not only accept people into their nation, but also support the talents of the refugees by and large. The support is a great component as they don’t just help refugees escape from home but it builds them into people they will admire, so that than when they left. Other nations should emulate the move from the United Kingdom. Reference List Belfiore, E, 2002, Art as a means of alleviating social exclusion: Does it really work? A critique of instrumental cultural policies and social impact studies in the UK, International Journal of Cultural Policy 8 (1): 91-106 Belfiore, E. Bennett, O, 2010, Beyond the Toolkit Approach, Arts Impact Evaluation Research and the Realities of Cultural Policy-Making, Journal for Cultural Research 14 (2): 121 — 142 Belfiore, E. & Bennett, O, 2008, The social impact of the arts Basingstoke: Palgrave. Blake, G. Diamond, J. Foot, J. Gidley, B. Mayo, M. Shukra, K. and Yarnit, M, 2008, Community engagement and community cohesion An exploration of the challenges to be addressed if Government policies to promote community engagement are to be genuinely inclusive of newcomers, as well as more established communities, York, Joseph Roundtree Foundation. Colledge, C. Holmes, K. Horrobin, D. Murphy, L, and Rahilly, A, 2003, Engaging refugees and asylum seekers - a best practice guide for museums and galleries, Liverpool, National Museums Liverpool. Cutler, S. (2007, Refugee Council Response to the Community Cohesion and Migration Inquiry by the Communities and Local Government Committee, London, Policy Response Refugee Council. Home Office, 2008, Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2007 Office of National Statistics, London, Office of National Statistics. McMaster, B, 2008, Supporting Excellence in the Arts, From Measurement to Judgement London, DCMS. Merli, P, 2002, Evaluating the Social Impact of Participation in Arts Activities International Journal of Cultural Policy 8 (1): 107-118 Your Homes Newcastle, 2007, Annual Report 2006/07 Local Solutions to international problems Newcastle, Newcastle Asylum Seekers Unit. Read More