Going the extra mile

Wales Migration PartnershipVolunteering without Limits

Statistics

• According to the 2011 census, there were 167,871 people living in Wales who were born outside the UK. This represents 5.5% of the total population.

(Heaven Crawley/WMP, International Migrants in Wales)

• In 2011 there was a net outflow of international migrants from Wales for the first time since 1993.

• The largest cohort of people outside the UK in Wales are from Poland, India, Germany, Ireland and the Philippines. (ONS 2012)

Research on Fiscal contribution

• Overall, migrants from the EU who have come to the UK after 2004 made a net fiscal contribution to the UK with no negative impact on the UK welfare system.

• Overall there have been no negative effects on the Welsh labour market (Heaven Crawley, Migration in Wales, WMP Briefing Paper, 2013)

Women Migrants; some facts

• 95 million women and girls … make up half of all international migrants http://archives.migrationanddevelopment.net/popular-press-news/?cs_uids:list=1096bc37b2cb06aa955630a973e082fd

Reasons for migration;temporary and seasonal work, family reunion, forced

migration (fleeing conflict), human smuggling and trafficking, labour migration, as students…

Work and remittances

• Recent research on remittances shows that female migrants, many working as cleaners, carers and waitresses, are supporting an average of seven people back in their home countries, making a significantly bigger contribution to development then men in this area.

…

Asylum seekers and Refugees

The population of asylum seekers living in Wales;

• Wales accommodates approximately 1500 dispersed asylum seekers (as at May 2012). Of these 825 are dependants of the main applicant.

• The top 5 nationalities of asylum seekers in Wales are: Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, People's Republic of China and Nigeria.

• The most common age group of asylum seekers is 30-34 years (including single people and heads of families).

• Of the 684 males overall in Wales, 36% are single and 18% are in families. Of the 634 Females overall, 9% are single and 37% are in families.

Global Migration Systems

“The reality is that within a global migration system … there is a squeeze on the social, cultural and physical spaces that people need to make a success of their migration..

In their place are stringent government regulations and borders policies that decide where people can live and work and which services they can access”. (Don Flynn, Migrant Rights Network)

Potential

“The migrant communities we work with are not dominated by victimhood. There is a huge capacity to fight back and change the environment that they are in.”

(Don Flynn, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants).

Volunteering

Many migrants make a success of their migration through volunteering;

“Volunteering was the beginning of the change in me”.

Asylum seeker volunteer, SOVA.

Resilience

• “Women who are lucky to find themselves in a good and conducive environment with reasonable, caring and loving partners are able to function effectively in their roles as mothers, wives, breadwinners, soul mates, homemakers and nation builders”.

(Asylum Seeking Woman, Wales)

Constance Nzeneu; Migrant Woman of the Year Award; 2013

Constance with Julie Morgan, AM, and friends and colleagues, after receiving her award.

WSSAG; Ownership of our own destiny.Refugee Week event, June 2013.

Closing thoughts ..• The only difference between man and man all the

world over is one of degree, and not of kind, even as there is between trees of the same species. Where in is the cause for anger, envy or discrimination? (Mahatma Ghandi)

• The stronger a culture, the less it fears the radical fringe. The more paranoid and precarious a culture, the less tolerance it offers. (Joe Salatin)

• One of the most effective ways to learn about oneself is by taking seriously the cultures of others. It forces you to pay attention to those details of life which differentiate them from you. (Edward T Hall)

The WMP CHAIR; Rev Aled Edwards OBE

WMP TeamZsanett Shashaty, Pat Westow, Selina Moyo, Anne Hubbard, Leanne Dalton, Kathryn Tucker.TEL; 02920 909550, www.wmp.org.uk