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EU Migrants' Advisers keep their diaries here while on work placement in Europe
not sure that worked. This is the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jul/20/eastern-european-rough-sleepers-deported
Hi Clare,
Very interesting article, I didn’t come across it before.
I am a foreigner, have been in the UK for nearly 7 years now. I have always made my best efforts to understand the system and have always complied by the rules. (I would do the anyway and antwhere). I think that I should do my best to help myself fit in and be accepted as a member of the society, with full rights and responsibilities – I have been paying taxes, I made good efforts with the language, so I think that anyone who wants to stay here should do the same. I am not saying this programme is right, as I think everyone should be judged and checked on individual basis, but overall, people should make more efforts to help themselves integrate and be active members of the society they want to live in.
I will be curious of the outcome after the trial period. Let me know if you come across it.
the above article gives some startling information about how EU migrants are treated in the UK
in reply to Muntean:
I dondidn’t mean to suggest that the wearing of long skirts is typically Spanish. ACCEM’s staff come from all over Europe and the rest of the world. I think their staff are probably much more sensitive to peoples’ needs than the genral population of any country, just as I would expect British CAB staff to be!
You have certainly done your reserach about Huddersfield. it is very true that my district (Kirklees) is very ethnically diverse and has also been described as ‘stratified’, that is that people live parallel lives mainly within their own ethnic group. On my own road, we have Bosnian, Serbian, Polish, Indian, Irish and Pakistan represented as well as of course white British and I try to do my bit by being friendly to everyone in the hope that I get to sample some of their delicious specialities!
More on ACCEM. It was formed in the 1950s to provide support to Spanish nationals who were emigrating and returning after emigration. They now have 500 staff, around 200 volunteers and around the same number of ‘collaborators’ who conduct research and other ad hoc roles. ACCEM has just published a book to mark 25 years of asylum in Spain (I was later given a copy so I must improve my Spanish). Their services are spread throughout the country.
Thursday July 1
Today we visited one of ACCEM’s services, ‘APOI’ (for the future’), a very unusual community on the outskirts of Madrid, described as a Sociocomunitarian Intervention Project for migrant families. APOI has housed 2400 families comprising 8000 individuals since 1999. It was originally set up to house and integrate the Roma community that was cleared by the local council. APOI now houses people from many countries but principally Romania, Morocco and Mongolia.
APOI became an official service 3 years ago. That means there is relative security for ACCEM’s funding for the project and that their covenant (essentially a service level agreement I think) would not be tendered. I was interested to know if services are being commissioned in Spain in the way the are in the UK and if that is bringing private companies into the market. Reyes reported that the ‘Observatory’ in the city was delivered by the University but the contract has now gone to a private consultancy.
APOI residents are a mixture of new entrants to the country and people who are found living on the streets. As in all ACCEM projects, they are encouraged to be independent, in contrast to the state-run CAR we visited yesterday which is run like a hostel with meals provided and cleaning done by staff, at APOI, families shop and cook for themselves, do their own laundry and clean their own kitchen and living areas.
The level and detail of care and sensitivity for the residents is very touching at times. In order for the parents to attend their classes, in Spanish and other matters to promote their integration, they must be separated from their children. For some, for example the Roma, separation of mother and child is unnatural and upsetting for both initially. To help the children settle in the crèche, staff wore long skirts as their mothers do. 0
In the afternoon, we went to the national headquarters of Cruz Rojas Espagnola – the Spanish Red Cross. Two things stand out: the dearth of knowledge I have about the British Red Cross as a comparison and the man who really deserves the title ‘coordinator’.
I resolved the first a little that evening by looking at the British Red Cross’s website and noted the services I know them for: the humanitarian appeals and international work are as well as some local services. The Spanish Red Cross is a huge organisation that appears to have knitted itself fully into the fabric of Spanish society by developing services to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. The coordinator in the call centre was monitoring 6 PC screens as well as three telephones, an intercom and supporting a large team of call centre staff. The staff were working on projects to protect women at risk of domestic violence, isolated older people and people at risk in high temperatures. All the staff in the call centre were wearing Red Cross branded T shirts and tabards which served as a constant reminder of what they were working for and very useful promotion for visitors.
Cruz Roja Espagnola’s income comprise 30% from donations and public appeals with the rest from public contracts. Other than those specifically for humanitarian and specific disaster appeals, donations, including the well supported lottery provide unrestricted funding. There are three large charities that are streets ahead of the rest for public support in Spain: The Red Cross, ONCE, a disability charity and Caritas. It’s interesting to speculate how this has happened.
Friday July 2
Three visits this day, to the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Immigration, the Asylum and Refugee Office and AESCO. America Association – Spain, Solidarity and Development.
At the Ministry, we met the General Deputy Director of Social Intervention Ms. Mar Lopez and discussed the many grant schemes from the Spanish government and the EU they manage and distribute to NGOs and associations. They have actively encouraged the setting up of associations for specific countries.
Funds can be provided for EU migrants if they are vulnerable. However, the impression we were given is that EU migrants are not in need of focussed programmes as they have equal rights with Spanish nationals. What would a Romanian worker do if they felt their employer was treating them unfairly? I asked. ‘Go to their union and seek redress’ we were told. Unless the experience is very different to UK practice, I wouldn’t expect migrant workers doing mainly manual work to be members of unions or for those unions to be recognised by many of those employers. Equal rights don’t always mean equal or fair treatment. A Council against Discrimination was set up in late 2009; it will be interesting to see what teeth it will have.
We then met with Mrs. Maite Muñoz in the Asylum and Refugee office. These meetings provided an incidental matter of interest. Reyes was delighted to find she was to have a break from interpreting as an official interpreter had been booked. He arrived 5 minutes late and his English did not seem to be very good. Lengthy, animated explanations from our host were translated into a handful of stilted words from him. We didn’t get the best from the meeting and it wasn’t possible to understand much of what was being discussed. Reyes told us on leaving that his company now had the contract for interpretation that had previously been held by ACCEM – part of the same contract that was retendered..…….
AESCO was established in 1991 to support Colombian immigrants living in Spain. They now provide services to any Spanish resident but mainly focus their services on migrants from South American countries, primarily Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. They have parallel services in some of those countries. We met their President, Juan Carlos Rois and Cesar Rojas.
Some of their services are focussing on support to people to either stay or voluntarily return to those countries. Money and assistance to set up small businesses is available along with training and micro credit.
In Spain, they provide free legal services. These can be used by Spanish residents, though currently 98% of clients are from Latin America. Legal issues are mainly around immigration, family reunification, debt and housing. Just as in the UK they are finding many families are over-indebted , often due to unemployment. In the past 18 months, Cesar told us, they have given support to 30,000 families and dealt with 3,000 debt cases, of which 30% were Spanish nationals.
The weekend
This was free time and the city was at an even greater fever pitch as Spain’s quarter final World Cup match and the city’s world renowned Gay Pride event, at which Kylie Minogue was appearing, were on. There were gasps and cheers from every direction and to my surprise, lots of spontaneous choruses of ‘Y Viva Espana’.
Monday 5 July
We took a train to Siguenza between Madrid and Barcelona in Guadalajara district where ACCEM has another CAR centre. Siguenza has a population of 5,000 of which 1,250 are ‘foreigners’. The population increases to around 15,000 in summer as this is understandably a popular tourist centre. A picturesque ancient small town with a castle and cathedral as well as several other churches of note, it is close to nature reserves. It also offers a breath of fresh air after the heat and bustle of Madrid.
The centre was set up in 1992 with twin aims to provide a centre where asylum seekers could be supported to integrate to their new country and as socio-economic regeneration to a small rural town where services were being withdrawn and remaining residents would suffer from lack of facilities like schools and transport infrastructure. When the centre responded quickly to successfully integrate a large number of Kosovo Albanians, that brought more funds to complete the refurbishment of their former convent premises. Since 2006, the centre is a Migration , not Refugee centre. There is a lot of public support for the centre locally including at least 15 people who occasionally volunteer to supplement the permanent 5 volunteers.
Our hosts including Mr Fernando Orozco and Mrs. Judith García Padilla gave us more detail of the support provided to asylum seekers and immigrants. I was interested in two matters in particular: the SAMI role which can vary depending on the area: in rural areas it is outreach whereas in a town it might be delivered from one centre. The ‘SAMI’ conducts a variety of activities all to promote integration of the individual. This would incluye some of the activities provided by a Citizens Advice Bureaux adviser; mediation or negotiation. The centre is partly funded from state owned banks (Fernando said their title would literally translate as Savings Boxes: Caja de ahorras). These Banks must spend a good proportion of their profits on social and cultural programmes. I was aware of the Caixa Forum which has funded some excellent art galleries but not this more social angle.
We were also told more about the observatory. This is a network which aims to research and identify the needs of the community. They have extended their research beyond issues of immigration, for example a recent study looked at the problems of young people.
Tuesday 6 July
My last day in Spain and a whirlwind tour of Caritas and then to meet lots of staff at ACCEM’s Madrid office.
Caritas is one of the top 3 favourite charities of the Spanish with roots in the Catholic church. Their structure is similar to the Citizens Advice service, with 68 locally managed services that have developed to meet local needs according to available funding and a national support service.
They have changed their services in recent years, moving from working only with specific groups to supporting anyone who is excluded. In 2008, they helped 281,000 people. They have an annual income of 72m Euros and 60,000 volunteers.
Their primary purpose is to listen and then to provide more in depth support including providing accommodation for women and children, day centres and services for sex workers and victims of trafficking. Like the Red Cross, a large proportion of their funds (in this case 50%) comes from donations which gives them the freedom to develop the services they wish to do, rather than being funder-led.
I asked if it was in the Spanish culture to give donations? Our hosts Mrs. Francesca Petriliggieri and Mr. Paco Cristóbal laughed along with Reyes and said it wasn’t, but if donations were made, it would generally be to one of these charities. They are also increasingly finding they are being approached by businesses offering funds to fulfil their CSR.
ACCEM services
Programme for Humanitarian Attention to Migrants – PAHI – Concha Maquis
This service started in 2006 to need the needs of the large number of people who were arriving at the Canary Islands. As in all ACCEM’s services, they have built it from a clear understanding of peoples’ needs which have been fed back to government. In 2009, they helped 4000 people with various services including housing, learning Spanish, psychological support and generally to integrate into their new country. Their funds have been cut by 50% in 2010 along with the other four funded organisations. This service can’t meet everyone’s needs so the social emergency centres provide a safety net with lockers, showers, a canteen and chance to meet others and use the internet café. We discussed the difficulty of delivering consistent services across Spain because of very different styles of government in the different autonomous communities. Administration to vulnerable people is very different in the regions.
The Territorial Intelligence Programmes (Observatory) Mrs. Isabel Mahe
This was established in 1999 built from the territories up, not vice versa, in recognition that services were not joined up. The observatories register data from the services of their 40-50 members covering wide needs including health, education and employment. Different observatories have different specialisms but the main objective of all is to share the knowledge gained with all stakeholders and develop joint actions to address these.
I saw clear comparisons with the Social Policy work that Citizens Advice does as its second and equal aim.
The methodology used (‘Research Action’) was developed by an external supervisor of the network who works at the University of Besancon. I checked on return and found I was correct, Besancon is the twin town of Huddersfield where I live….
Olimpia was interested to know if it is possible to join this network and it is – perhaps this would be of interest to Citizens Advice?
The research is not just theory, it is making a real difference. Other universities have noted that it is filling a unique niche. The observatories are not covering the whole country, they have developed where there was already a functioning network. Isabel told us they are developing in the same way ACCEM does all its services: slowly to ensure it is done to the correct quality.
Trafficking programmes Mrs.Teresa De Gasperis
Our final presentation covered 3 EU funded projects, all being managed by Teresa.
Mirror project is working with Romaia, Italy and Belgium
Enpates is sharing best practice and policies. The UK partner is Anti-Slavery International
E Notes is doing in depth research of practice.
Dear Clare,
I was nice reading your account about your Spanish experience!
A little aspect which drew my attention is that the stuff of the crèche for Roma children were wearing long skirts (like the babies’ mothers). I’d say that this concern for detail is rather typically British than Spanish
***
As for this advice to a (hypotetical) Romanian worker – “Go to their union and seek redress” – I’m a bit skeptical about its effectiveness. Aren’t Spanish trade unions reluctant to receive immigrants within their ranks?
Given the grim reality of a 20% unemployment rate, aren’t immigrants becoming more vulnerable in Spain?
***
I see you are from Huddersfield… That’s one of the most ethically mixed places in the UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huddersfield#Demography)…
How has the local economy been doing for the past years of economic turmoil all over the world?
note mistake in last post, it was 2000 asylum applications last year, not 200.
My first day in Madrid has been fast paced and interesting. Olimpia and I met over breakfast and walked to ACCEM’s office where Reyes and her colleagues gave us an introduction and overview of their organisation and the many services it delivers. We then took the train to Alcobendas to visit a Refugee Reception Centre (CAR). The centre is a place provided by government where asylum seeking and refugee individuals and families can live for 6 months. Whilst there, they will learn Spanish, gain understanding of Spanish culture and receive training to help them in finding work (which they are able to do after being in the country for 6 months). Further services that are provided are welfare and health support and psychological counselling. Residents are encouraged to participate in the local community and children attend local schools. Always one to cut to the chase I asked if this investment works: is there a social payback? Both Reyes and the Director of the Centre believes it makes a major contribution to what in the UK we would call community cohesion. Some areas of difference from the UK that occurred to me were that asylum seekers can work and that Spanish legislation has 2 designations for people from abroad: asylum seekers and immigrants – the difference being that immigrants may only enter the country if they have work. This keeps the number seeking asylum low (only 200 applied last year) and there is a place in a CAR for all.
Looking forward to tomorrow and my only regret is that my spoken Spanish is non existent.
Dear Clare,
What you posted from Spain raised my eyebrows: asylum seekers are still not allowed to find work in the UK???
That’s ‘tragic’ I’d say, given that they are so many – some 25,700 according to these figures from 2008: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=261
How can these people live? Only on state benefits? And are the little sums offered by the UK Government enough?
***
I wonder how much does the British public know about this situation…
When I was in the UK, I was impressed by this Student Action for Refugees (STAR – http://www.star-network.org.uk/), and I liked the fact that at least some younger people are trying their best to make the situation of these asylum seekers known in Britain.
My post is only in Romanian, but I noted this ‘STAR’ as a ‘Good Brit Example’ on my blog: http://munteanuk.blogspot.com/2008/03/via-de-student-4-student-life.html