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EU Migrants' Advisers keep their diaries here while on work placement in Europe
The last day in Madrid
We visited Caritas Association from Madrid.They offer a wide range of social services trough different programmes, to people in vulnerable situation: immigrants(legal or illegal), abused children or women, victims of human trafficking, drugs addicts, older people.
What I liked wery much was their holistic approach of the individuals, seen as an global entity with different problems they can to solve, in order to integrate in the society that person, and according to the organisation’s mission.
It was, as well, impressive the power of this association to influence the social policies at the european level.They have presented us their proposal submitted to the European decision –makers at the European Congress on Poverty and Social Exclusion
At the head quarter of ACCE we discussed with Teresa about the ACCEM projects on human trafficking: MIRROR, ENPATES, E-NOTES, financed by the European Union and based on international partnerships with organisation from Italy and Romania.
Then, with Isabel we talked about the participation of ACCEM in the Observatory- social research in Spain, consisting in collecting data about social issues in different places(cities, counties, regions) and debates at the local and regional level with relevant stakeholders(social actors) in order to plan strategies and actions according to the real needs of the population. ACCEM is member in the network of Observatories in Spain and of CAENTI(Coordination Action of the European Network of Territorial Inteligence), an international project innitiated by the University of Bensancon(France) and financed by the European Union through the FP 7 Programme.
Dear Olimpia,
I see you were one of the most ‘prolific’ bloggers among us, and now – when you are probably in Romania – maybe you’ll have the time to answer to some questions.
Here they are, hoping they may be interesting for other FLOWCHART participants as well:
1) To what extent did the Romanian community in Madrid seemed affected by the currrent economic crisis? Were they more ‘hardly hit’ or ‘less affected’ than other migrant communities?
2) When I went to Madrid, in Oct-Nov 2008, Romanians there were saying that, no matter how hard the crisis would be (it was just beginning), they don’t foresee large ‘waves’ of immigrants coming back to Romania. Has anything changed since the autumn of 2008?
3) What was the general mood in Spain, now that this country is often regarded as the ‘back sheep’ of Europe after Greece? Do people feel that their country’s economy is one of the most problematic of the EU?
4) Has the current recession made immigrants a ‘target’ in Spain? Did the generally ‘welcoming’ climate in Spain change, as long as economic difficulties pile up, and the unemployment rate stays around 20% of the workforce?
Maybe you’ll find the time to give us some of your opinions.
Thank you very much,
Bogdan
My 5th working day in Spain
In the region of Castilla –La Mancha, ACCEM has centers in Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo and Siguenza.
Today we were in Siguenza, a lovely village in the province of Guadalajara.We took the train from the station of Atocha, as a luxurious green garden.
We visited the refugees reception Center of ACCEM, were are sheltered refugees and asylum seekers, that are under the international protection.The center, founded in 1992, has a building for families and another section for single males from Subsaharian Africa. and Canary Islands. The center has a dining room and a kitchen. The beneficiaries of the center are involved, according to a daily programm, to the administrative activities(such as: cleaning and help in the kitchen).
Fernando, our guide and interpreter told us that the romanians are the biggest foreign comunity in the village.The romanians are well integrated due to their language abilities and their will to be part of the community. The village is famous due to the touristic points: a castle(became nowaday the very expensive hotel Parador) and a romanic cathedral.The hero of the village is a young men, El Doncel, killed in 1486, in a battle against the mauros.The local economy consists of tourism, agriculture and smal industry.
We met the staff of the center and we had lunch together in the dining room. Since 1992, the Center developed continuously.Nowaday, the programes running in the Center are: reception and social attention, interculturat sensibilization, legal assistance, volunteering, participation to social research(national and local), social integration and work placement. The methodology of the center includes: a comprehensive view, intercultural mediation and participation.
This methodology is useful in a CAB, as well, to empower the citizens to be not excluded from the social or civic life, due to its horigin, race, sex, age, health or religion.
My forth Day in Madrid
Our first meeting of the day is at the Ministry of Labour and Immigration.We met with the representative of the Department of Immigrations and Asylum seekers.What is quite interesting is that a list of NGOs are financed by the government to offer support to immigrants on a current basis(yearly budgeted amounts).The department send the asylum seekers and refugees to centers managed by NGOs such as ACCEM.
At the Ministry of Internal Affairs-Department of Immigration, the meeting is was official but friendly, as well. Officially speaking, the legal immigrants as the romanians, have no problems to be integrated, they are european citizens, they have the same rights as the nationals.
We visited AESCO, an american espanish association for solidarity and cooperation, created in 1991, which offer support to latino-american people to be integrated in the spanish community and to help them as well to return in their horrigin countries if they want.Nowadays, the association is an important actor promoting social policy concerning the migratory issues.The mission of the organisation has 3 dimensions: it is an organization existing for the needs of immigrants(to be integrated in the community) and for other people needed to be integrated; it is a transnational organization focused on efficiently and right public policy on migratory issues; it is an organization promoting cultural integration of the migrants.
We discussed with the president of the association, Juan Carlos Rois about the main projects of the organization.They are currently offering legal advice, social and labor orientation to the immigrants(legal or illegal) in Spain and to nationals, as well.
My third Day in Madrid
Liliana, native of Republic of Moldavia, leads us to the project APOI, a center for refugees and asylum seekers, located in Madrid. In 1992, the project named ACUMA(in romanian means “now”) was destinated to shelter the rroma ethnical minority from Romania wich “invaded” Madrid.The authorities solved the social problems raised by the rroma people by allocating financial resources to build this center, offering rooms with 2 bads, common areas(bathrooms, kitchen with refrigerators and lundry. After 8 years the project became APOI (“after” in romanian), being dedicated to refugees and asylum seekers from Marocco, Canary Islands, Subsaharian countries.The center has a trainig room for adults and a room for babies aged 0-3 years. Are organized activities for intercultural integration as well.The staff of the center is including: a psychologist, a legal adviser, a social worker and a mediator.The mediator is a romania, Raissa, born in the Republic of Moldavia.
Carmen, a romanian young women married in Spain, is the social worker of the center.
It was a pleasure and a great satisfaction for me to know the positive experience of romanians abroad.
The Red Cross is wery well organized, at the headquarter from Madrid is a call center, with 44 individuals to respond at the emerngies calls of the population in dificulty: eldelry at home, women victims of domestic violence, children abused, homeless people, victims of human trafficking. The social intervention department of the Spanish Red Cross made us a presention of the principles of intervention, horizontal issues, strategig aims and running programmes and services. What is noticeable to mention is the effort of this department for social inclusion of those who are in social difficulty (immigrants, elderly people, people with disabilities, children, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, drugs addicts,women) and fight against poverty. The number people assisted in 2009 is increased to one million.
My second day in Madrid
In the morning, I met Clare from CitA England and Wales. Following the map, we went together at the headquarter of ACCEM
Reyes Castillo, responsible for the International Department, our host and mentor, introduced us in the main dimensions of ACCEM such as: mission, goals, values, principles and areas of work.
It is good to know: in the staff 68 % are women and among them many romanians.In my opinion, ACCEM is a example for integration the romanian migrants.
Paula, the manager of the MADRID office, presented the projects developed in Madrid for refugees, asylum seekers and imigrannts.In the office, I met 3 young romanian women, working there.Tomorow is planned to have a dialogue with them.
We visited the center for refugees and asylum seekers from Alcobendas, a town of 100.000 people near Madrid.We had a pleasant dialogue with the director and the administrator of the center.The building has 80 places for people from Russia, Colombia, Marocco, Irak, Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, dining room, library, computers room, training and TV rooms.The refugees and asylum seekers are hosted 6 months. After that they have to be able to manage their own lifes (to work, to rent a flat) being in a so named “regularly situation”, that means a legal situation. The center is financed by the Ministry of Labour. The spanish law protect the refugees and asylum seekers and the state support by financial funds their integration.In Romania, where we have our refugees, as well, the conditions and the resources to integrate them are very weak.
First day in Madrid
People are not speaking english, if I ask them, they are saying: “ a little”.
At the airport I find a taxi: white with red line-the authorised company.The driver-a young man tries to maintain a conversation, partly in english, partly in spanish. He seems responsible to present me the route to the hotel, the main builidings and streets in the city: the Bank of Spain, Museo del Prado, Puerta del Sol, Plaza de la Independencia, Plaza de Cibelles, Plaza de Espana, Grand Via.
The traffic is verry busy, police officers are at the duty on the cross roads.At the subway is strike. The underground workers are not happy with the 5% wage reduction that the government has decided to implement. People have no option but to use buses and taxis to get to work and this has pushed the level of polution to an even higher level in Madrid. In the bus stations people loose their patience.All buses are full. The president of the Community of Madrid says at the news “it is not right to block the transportation services”.Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon criticized unions for not living up to a binding agreement to provide at least 50 percent service.
On the TV, the journalists are saying: “the transportation services Madrid are in collaps”.People have to take buses or cars to go to their jobs.I think, they are romanians, too.