ESRC Seminar Series - Briefing Paper 5 - Swansea University

ESRC Research Seminar Series
‘Understanding the migrant experience’
April 2009 – October 2010
Seminar 5: Who tells the story: the politics of ‘the
migrant voice’
This seminar, held at Swansea University in July 2010, moved the focus onto political issues
involved in understanding the migrant experience and explored the ways in which migrants and
migrant organisations are able (or unable) to tell the stories of their experiences. It also
considered which stories and narratives are more easily articulated in the current political and
policy context. Speakers included Dr Áine O’Brien, (FOMACS), Dr Leah Bassel (City University),
Dr Michal P. Garapich (Roehampton University), Alexa Kellow (Southampton University),
Marcianne Uwimana (University of Birmingham), Maryam Pasha (Migrant Rights Network) and
Nazek Ramadan (Migrant Voice). The seminar was chaired by Professor Heaven Crawley, Director
of the Centre for Migration Policy Research (CMPR) at Swansea University.
PANEL 1 Different voices, different stories
Chair: Professor Heaven Crawley, Swansea University
‘Competing narratives and multidimensional stories: migration, social justice
and the politics of listening’ - Dr Áine O’Brien, FOMACS, Dublin
Dr Áine O’Brien is the Director of The Forum on Migration and Communications
(FOMACS), a collaborative public media project set up in 2007, in Dublin, Ireland. Áine
framed her presentation around the following interrelated themes:
• Notions of the migrant voice;
• The notion of social justice, how it works and the positives of story telling;
• Participatory Media; and
• The politics of listening in the context of grass roots activism and the distribution of
stories.
Áine began by stating that “… there is no obvious dichotomy or difference between the
story of the migrant as the victim, as dispossessed, and the story of the migrant as having
political agency with individual rights… in some ways a story about precarious vulnerability
is the ultimate story about agency … to deny agency is to deny narrative, there is no story
without agency and there is no story without the negotiation of agency even if it is about
public liberty and the lack of rights.” Áine is critical of the tendency of policy to unidimensionalise
the notion of victimhood and part of the work of FOMACS is to collapse the
victimhood versus agency dichotomy, through the use of ethnography represented through
media.
FOMACS focus is upon the use of ‘Participatory Media’ in order to facilitate the telling of
‘real life stories’ of migration that are authentic, accessible and persuasive and uses a variety
of media and methodologies to achieve its aims, which are primarily to:

• Amplify migrant voices and perspectives and to reach and engage a diversity of
audiences;
• Facilitate workshops, events and mentoring activities and then to transfer skills, into
the NGO sector; and
• Research migration and produce media in the service of social justice
A critical point for FOMACS is the politics of story telling - the politics of the voice in terms
of migrant experiences. As Áine highlighted “…everybody has voices, everybody has
agencies, however, the problem is not just about giving voice it is about having those voices
heard meaningfully.” Áine identified the politics of listening as a major factor in the
intersection between story and strategy, particularly in relation to the impact of social media
campaigns and their ability to effect change. Drawing on Romand Coles’ work on the power
of listening, Áine left us with the following quote:
“A big part of the problem too, is likely to be that most of us do not listen to one
another well if and when we listen at all. We have not only marginalized the arts of
voice, we have, relatedly, and perhaps even more so, marginalized the arts of
listening. Certainly the democratic arts of voice and listening are deeply related, but
all too often we interpret and seek to nurture democracy through a lens that greatly
accents the former and adds the latter almost as an afterthought. The alternative
idea here is that if democratic voices are weak in a community, it is probably
significantly because efforts to develop political voice have not dwelled in nor
sufficiently passed through the arts of listening” (Coles, 2004, p.687)
The presentation was concluded with the showing of a variety of examples of FOMACS
work, each of which represented very different types of story telling. These included a
documentary film, an excerpt from a feature length film, a three minute animation and a
digital story.
‘Stories that matter: refugee women and the representation of political claims’ -
Dr Leah Bassel, City University
Dr Leah Bassel’s presentation explored the ways in which migrant voices are, or are not,
taken up in broader social and political narrative and how this particularly impacts upon the
voices of migrant women and their ability to be heard.
Leah firstly outlined the theoretical elements of her argument, drawn from democratic
theory and the approach known as intersectionality. She then discussed practice on the
ground in terms of the existing power relations and limits to articulating an alternative
perspective, and how these become visible at the intersection between asylum and
integration and immigration. Situating this in the broader social context of a “gendered
politics of integration, the gendered politics of the way people make the transition from
outsider to citizen”, Leah postulated that some women’s voices may be subject to
misinterpretation and instrumetalisation whilst others may be denied or silenced. Leah
related this to current debates around multiculturalism articulated through the veil, the
burka, or full face covering, and issues around female genital mutilation and forced marriage,
in this context she argued, the politics of integration can increasingly be viewed as a
gendered politics of the body. However for Leah the issue is less about the politics of
multiculturalism and more about the voice, agency and possibilities of participation for the
women who are at the centre of these debates but who are also situated at the interception
of multiple social justice agendas.
Leah argued that “…it is not enough for the women who are seen to be at the centre of
these debates to just be able to participate within them…meaningful participation …has to
mean something more. It has to mean being able also to challenge the terms of the debate
itself, to challenge the way that democratic context is even constructed.” Furthermore, Leah
perceives the exclusion of voices that do not conform to the victim versus agent narrative
as a democratic failure, a failure of politics. She concluded her presentation with an appeal

for a politics that doesn’t restrict political subjects just to “…responding to predetermined
positions … but rather understands them as agents in the intercepting fields of multiple
social justice agendas.”
PANEL 2 Creating space for ‘the migrant voice’
Chair: Dr Alex Rotas, Cardiff University
‘Nothing to do with us: class, ethnicity and power among Polish immigrants in
UK’ - Dr Michal P. Garapich, Roehampton University
Dr Michal Garapich discussed the performance and articulation of meaning making practices
through the medium of ethnicity, with specific reference to Polish immigrant communities in
the UK. For Michal “…ethnicity is not something that people have it is rather what people
do, and this means that it is a strategic resource that can be deliberately showed off in
particular situations and might be under communicated in other situations” Refering to the
title of the seminar, Michal observed that, “Who tells the story?” is only one aspect of the
dilemma because it is not possible to abstract the teller of the story from the listener.
Furthermore, the dominant story “…is a complex outcome of both internal competition for
power, prestige and recognition within a particular group, … as well as what is the cultural
and social environment that renders some stories more valuable and acceptable than
others.”
Michal illustrated this point with reference to the dominance of the ‘soldier narrative’ which
constructs Polish and Eastern European Migrants as a model group for other migrants with
regard to integration. Michal further developed this theme and applied it to the situation of
London-based British Polish immigrant communities, arguing that there are particular
dominant traits in discourses of emigration and Polish culture, one of which is the
dichotomy between the economic and the political. Through his research, Michal has
identified strong tensions and conflict between established groups of British Polish
immigrants and those who arrived more recently as a result of the EU enlargement in 2004.
Michal suggested that the dominant discourse excludes stories that do not fit or contradict
the soldier narrative and its associations with productivity and work ethic, an example being
the real and significant growth of poverty and destitution among Eastern European
immigrants in the UK.
For Michal, this is demonstrative of the complex interaction of class and ethnicity that is
utilised to reproduce and maintain the dominant power relations within an immigrant group
and control access to social inclusion.
‘Refugee community organisations and the creation of social capital: a case
study’ - Alexa Kellow, Southampton University
Alexa Kellow began by outlining the research project from which her case study was taken.
She then introduced the notion of social capital, concluding with some findings and
examples.
Alexa’s research focuses on refugee led community organisations (RCOs) and has examined
in depth, the process by which RCO’s increase access to social capital. Her case study was
undertaken over a period of six months with an RCO for Albanian speakers and was used
to develop a survey of London based RCOs. Alexa applied Social Capital Theory (the idea
that people have social as well as political, financial or human capital which they can use as a
resource in various ways) as developed by both Putman and Woolcock to the data from the
case study. Woolcock identified three kinds of social capital:
• Bonding social capital - connections between close friends and family;
• Bridging social capital - connections between remote associates or friends; and
• Linking social capital - connections to or between formal institutions.
Alexa emphasised the importance of recognising that a social capital connection does not
necessarily result in a resource. In light of this, her analysis separates resources and

categorises them as functions of immigrant associations as developed by John Rex. Rex
identified five functions which immigrant associations carry out for their members:
• Pastoral and social work;
• Overcoming social isolation;
• Goal attainment;
• affirmation of culture, beliefs and values; and
• maintaining links with the homeland.
In presenting her findings, Alexa identified very strong evidence that the RCO in her case
study provided opportunities for bonding social capital in terms of both new and existing
connections. With regard to linking social capital, there was strong evidence of this at an
organisational level. The evidence for bridging social capital was however less clear. Equally
there was evidence of resources in terms of the five functions, with the exception
maintaining links with the homeland, for which there was limited evidence.
In conclusion, Alexa suggested that the evidence showed that the RCO presented in the
case study provided its members with opportunities that they would not of otherwise had
and that this in itself created social capital that often resulted in resources of the type
identified by Rex. Alexa ended her presentation with a cautionary note regarding the impact
of the precarious nature of the funding that RCOs receive.
PANEL 2 Hearing ‘the migrant voice’
Chair: Don Flynn, Migrant Rights Network
‘Stories from the inside: using insider knowledge to make a difference?’ -
Marcianne Uwimana, University of Birmingham
Marcianne Uwimana presented her work as a community researcher for ‘Making a
difference’, a project undertaken by Birmingham University and funded by the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation. In collaboration with RCOs, the project identified four core themes
where evidence was needed in order to achieve change at the policy level, these were:
• Skills, work experience, qualifications and aspirations;
• Experiences of ESOL;
• Mental health and well being; and
• Young people and education.
The aims of the project included:
• Building the capacity of researchers and RCOs to collect reliable evidence;
• Gathering evidence around the themes; and
• Using the evidence to lobby for change.
In keeping with the stated aims, sixteen individuals were identified by the RCOs and
underwent a programme of accredited training to become community researchers (CRs) for
the project. Marcianne suggested that CRs have specialist knowledge and bring the following
benefits to a project by virtue of being an ‘insider’. These benefits include:
• Shared experiences that enable them to understand what migrants are trying to say;
• Special access to communities because they are trusted;
• Knowledge about how the needs and experiences of migrants can be known;
• Language and cultural knowledge that can break down barriers; and
• The ability to tell the story of migrants in migrants own words.

Referring to her own experience as a CR, Marcianne made a number of recommendations
as to how academics could work with CRs in order to acknowledge their contribution and
enhance their future opportunities. These included:
• Build CRs into projects – as named researchers;
• Give CRs the opportunity to contribute to the whole process;
• Don’t assume that CRs can ONLY interview their peers;
• Pay them at the same rate as other researchers;
• Help them to develop their careers;
• Think about how to support them i.e. developing a community research enterprise;
• Credit CRs in the report; and
• Work with CRs to disseminate findings and find new ways to disseminate.
Marcianne concluded by presenting some of the findings and outcomes of the project in
order to illustrate the distinctive value of using CRs, which she summarized as:
• New insights – different perspective, powerful stories, wider access; and
• Different ways of presenting information to policymakers
Finally, and with regard to outcomes, Marcianne highlighted some of the developments that
had taken place within the core areas of concern identified at the outset of the project.
These include the following:
• ESOL – findings from the research led to a review of ESOL provision in Birmingham;
• Mental Health – a conference, the development of a Mental Health Network and
commitment to providing a ‘one door’ Mental Health Service came about as a direct
result of evidence gathered by CRs;
• Employment – a displaced persons employment project was funded by The Working
Neighbourhoods Fund; and
• Migrant maternity – information regarding migrant women’s experiences of accessing
maternity services was collated in order to inform both policy and practice.
‘Strategies for empowerment: what should we aim for in our networks?’ -
Maryam Pasha, Migrants’ Rights Network
Maryam Pasha began by explaining the history and background that led to the formation of
the Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN). She then described MRNs role and function, outlining
for the group some of MRNs current and future plans and projects. Maryam concluded by
posing some important questions regarding the potential of migrant networks.
According to Maryan, MRN is based on themes and issues identified as being of concern to
migrant community organisations across the country and developed out of a response to a
number of factors including:
• The government’s prevailing perspective, i.e. ‘ managed migration’;
• Questions such as ‘What are migrant rights?’ and ‘What is the role of citizenship?’;
• Examining what was happening locally which led to concerns regarding the variability
across country; and

• Identifying what was missing -
• National voice
• Resources and skills
• Practical information and tools from NGOs and researchers
Maryam summarized the role of the MRN as providing support to organisations by
establishing networks, identifying issues and influencing the outcome of policy discussions.
MRN sees its role less as one of representing migrants but rather as a facilitator, promoting
and enabling dialogue between organisations at both a local and national level and providing
strategic analysis of national policy. Within this broader remit, a key aim of MRN is to
facilitate discussions between different organisations and enable local groups to act outside
of their immediate contacts. This led to the development of the MRN’s Communication
Strategies Project. Maryam explained that the Communication Strategies Project is a pilot
project which aims to:
• Develop the skills and capacity of activists and organisations working at regional level
to communicate messages in support of migrants;
• Establish an interactive web-based platform for communications which support
progressive debate on migration; and
• Feed regional perspectives on migrants’ rights into wider policy and advocacy
debates in the UK;
The Project aims ultimately to change the debate in the UK by empowering local activists to
build regional and national networks of migrant organisations.
Following a detailed explanation of how the project intends to achieve its goals, Maryam
returned to her opening question, namely ‘what should we aim for in our networks?’ and
presented a number of potential answers for the group to consider. Maryam concluded by
outlining the on-going aims of the MRN at both the local and national level, stating that
“ultimately doing this will establish a progressive narrative and promote migrants’ rights and
needs and really hold up something in opposition to what is prevailing”.
‘Voices for change: transforming how migrants are seen and heard in the media’
- Nazek Ramadan, Migrant Voice
Nazek Ramadan is the founder and editor of the Migrant Voice organisation. Nazek
described Migrant Voice as a migrant-led organisation set up to develop the skills, capacity
and confidence of members of migrant communities, to enable them to author and produce
their own media representations in order to influence policy making, and as a counter to
the very successful but negative media campaigns of organisations such as Migration Watch.
Although Migrant Voice has a number of expert members it considers itself to be a platform
primarily for those migrants whose voices are not usually heard.
Nazek outlined the circumstances that led to the publication of the first issue of the Migrant
Voice Newspaper. The target audience of this publication was the general public, with the
aim of increasing the visibility of migrants whilst countering the prevailing negative public
opinion. The newspaper, written by migrants, about migrants and migration related matters,
was distributed for free across London by those who had authored it. An important
element of this method of distribution was that it enabled the public to ask questions of, and
engage directly with the journalists about the material. As Nazek remarked: “You hear them
better when you look them in the eye. You hear anyone better when you look them in the
eye but we are not visible and people don’t see us”.
Nazek outlined Migrant Voice’s plans for future work and concluded with the salient words
of President Obama: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some
other time. We are the change that we seek”.

PANEL 4 Conclusions and reflections
Professor Heaven Crawley, Swansea
The seminar concluded with a discussion of the key themes and issues which emerged over the
course of the day. Despite a diversity of experiences and perspectives, a number of issues
resonated across the presentations and discussion and require further consideration when
thinking how best we can represent the voices of the migrant communities with whom we work:
• There is a tension in dominant representations of ‘the migrant voice’. Migrants are most
commonly presented as victims or oppressed but there is also a story (less often heard)
of the migrant as a political activist or an individual with rights. The question of which of
these represents the ‘authentic voice’ or the migrant remains contested and changes over
space and time.
• The issue of ‘who tells the story?’ is a complex one and largely contingent on who is given
the space to express / articulate a voice. This will depend in part on differences of power
and access which are associated with different statuses and identities within and between
migrant communities. These differences in power and access are associated, most
commonly with age and gender, but also with educational background and previous
experience of political engagement and activism. The dangers of ‘essentialising’ the
migrant experience through particular associations and representations were emphasised
by several speakers.
• The content of the story is as important as who tells it. Differences within and between
the experiences and backgrounds of different migrant communities were emphasised.
Many participants considered that there is no necessary dichotomy between the migrant
as victim and oppressed and as an individual with rights but considered that some migrant
groups and some communities choose to present specific aspects of their experiences and
identities over others to reflect the wider political and policy context within which they
find themselves.
• Several speakers reflected on the implications of utilising different approaches to
capturing and representing ‘the migrant experience’. Reflecting and building on earlier
methodological considerations (Seminar 3), there was a focus on the constraints and
opportunities provided by different techniques, for example, digital story telling, and in
working with researchers from different backgrounds.
• It was concluded that ‘who hears the story’ of migration and of the migrant is often a
reflection of the political context within which the story is being told and the motivations
of those to whom it is being communicated. This may require some difficult strategic
decisions to be made about where to target stories about ‘the migrant experience’.

List of participants
Nilu Ahmed
Dr Leah Bassel (speaker)
Simone Bizzell-Browning
Maria Boex
Kirstie Bowden
Katy Brickley
Maria Brightwell
Alex Collis
Professor Heaven Crawley (chair)
Dr Lisa Doyle
Dia Flores
Don Flynn (chair)
Dr Michal P. Garapich (speaker)
Dr Keith Halfacree
Lucy Jackson
Katharine Jones
Stuart Jones
Senzeni Kamuriwo
Alexa Kellow (speaker)
Lynda Lawrence
Mike Lewis
Kuchi Makari
Jason Matthews
Norbert Mbu Mputu
Joy Merrell
Aitemad Muhanna
Latefa Narriman
Dr Áine O’Brien (speaker)
Maryam Pasha (speaker)
Nazek Ramadan (speaker)
Emily Robertson
Dr Sam Scott
Eleanor Staniforth
Dr Peter Skrandies
Beata Switek
Professor Alan Thomas
Ayo Thompson
Dr Caroline Tie
Constance Tounkap
Marcianne Uwimana (speaker)
Fides Vyubuzima
CMPR, Swansea University
City University
CMPR, Swansea University
Swansea University
University of Exeter
Cardiff University
Royal Holloway
Anglia Ruskin University
CMPR, Swansea University
Refugee Council
London School of Economics
Migrant Rights Network
CRONEM, Roehampton University
Swansea University
Aberystwyth University
Manchester University
Swansea Digital Storytelling
Queen Mary University
Southampton University
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Welsh Refugee Council
IOM
South People's Project
Swansea University
Swansea University
CMPR, Swansea University
FOMACS, Dublin
Migrants Rights Network
Migrant Voice
African Community Project
University of Bristol
Swansea University
University of Greenwich
University College London
Swansea University
African Community Project
University of Bedfordshire
Women Seeking Sanctuary Advocacy Group
Wales
University of Birmingham