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Changing attitudes on asylum seekers

Bristol has been chosen as one of three cities to host a project aimed at helping people to change their attitudes towards asylum seekers.

Alongside Nottingham and Liverpool, Bristol will see trained teams of British volunteers and refugees speaking to a range of groups around the city. The aim is to prepare communities for the arrival of asylum seekers and dispel myths and rumours which are generated by far-right organiastions.

Bristol was chosen because of the relatively new trend of asylum seekers making homes in the South West. Over the next three years the Refugee Awareness Project aims to hold 250 sessions with schools, businesses, sports clubs and tenants associations.

In a national survey by Refugee Action, the charity which is running the scheme, 44 per cent of clients said they had suffered abuse because they were an asylum seeker or refugee, while 60 per cent said they lived in fear of harassment. Now people from all walks of life are volunteering with the project, which was set to be launched at Bradley Stoke School today. The project offers relevant and up-to-date facts and is accompanied by a pocket guide (left, available from Refugee Action) which aims to put information at the fingertips of local people.

Elinor Harris, asylum advice manager a the Bristol Branch of Refugee Action, said: "When we did our research, Bristol had quite a lot of right-wing activity. So it's clearly an issue which needs dealing with. It is vital that people who lives in communities to which asylum seekrs are dispersed have access to reliable information. It is equally important that people feel their concerns are being listened to, not dismissed. Otherwise organisations like the BNP will continue to capitalise on local fears and anxieties. The project is about listening and learning, not lecturing. So rather than telling people wat to think about refugees, we helping them think through the issue in a balanced way and to make up their own minds."

The project aims to improve people's awareness by getting them to meet a refugee and hear their story first-hand.

Bristol Evening Post

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