Note from the meeting with Yuvi Basant

 

 

 

20/09/16

 

On Tuesday Aleksandra Kubiak (helpline coordinator of Barka Ireland) met Yuvi Basant (Project Manager) in Kilkenny to discuss the project “Experience of migrant women”. The focus of the project is identifying the experiences of migrant women living in Ireland, Italy, Germany, Turkey and Poland.

This project is designed by the Center of Aware Study (Ireland) and it involves five countries: Poland, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Turkey. Important aspect of this project is to look at the experience of migrant women from ethnically diverse group such as asylum seekers, refugees.

During the meeting Aleksandra Kubiak and Yuvi Basant agreed that it would be very important to make the best of this project so that the voice of women in direct provision centers in Ireland is better heard. More than 5,000 people are currently living in direct provision centers in Ireland as asylum seekers, waiting for a decision on whether they would be awarded a refugee status.  In these centers families often live together in one room, while single people share with others. They are not allowed to work – though children can go to school – and adults receive €19.10 a week from the State. Many are left in limbo while the State decides on their future. A great challenge is to overcome the sexual exploitation taking place in direct provision centers. These includes women and minors being approached by pimps for the purposes of prostitution, children being groomed by men in the hostels and in the community and cases of sexual harassment and propositioning.

Aim of this project is to highlight experience of migrant women, their struggle and obstacles to develop academic models that could be introduced to officials and influence greater integration and education policy in the countries involved in the project.

Project outcomes:

Interviews (off camera if needed)

Digital handbook with stories of individuals and their experience in the host country

Photos exhibition

Final conference sharing the achievements of the project