Poetry Anthology Project
Using the poems from people’s interviews as a base, I worked with my PhD participants and KCL MSc students to create a poetry anthology. We are currently working with schools to use the anthology as a learning material for social education and English classes.
Poem from Morteza, an Iranian refused asylum
I’ve seen this place before, I was passing through,
I didn’t come out of my room and I withdrew,
My entire body was bloodied and eaten,
I thought that here they value what is true.
Migrant Connections Festival
The Migrant Connections Festival is a migrant-led festival of art, music, campaigning and healing activities. We aim to create a space of community and solidarity via education and creativity for people of all backgrounds. It is about creating a microcosm of the world we want to see, one where immigration status doesn’t dictate how we relate to each other.
Creating a mental health guide for Afghan sanctuary seekers
This project created a guide for mental health professionals (psychologists and psychiatrists) working with Afghan sanctuary seekers. It did so by collating and synthesising pre-existing knowledge in the academic literature and Afghan organisations, and hosting a stakeholder consensus meeting on creating a guide. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and included the Afghan Charities Paiwand, the Afghan Academy and the Association of Afghan Health Professionals on its advisory board and employed a lived experience researcher. You can access the guide here.
Speaking Statues
Speaking Statues is an activist group trying to raise awareness about British colonialism and the impact it has today. We’re currently organizing a series of events on structural racism and colonialism (in response to the whitewashed government report). Last month I facilitated a workshop on structural racism in the asylum process.
Walk and Talk Migrant Welcome Tours
Walk and Talk Migrant Tours fosters community and builds solidarity with refugees and migrants through tours, grassroots campaigns and resources to support wellbeing for people too often left at the margins. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Walk and Talk is currently on hiatus.