Ok, so I'm bored. Everything is going steady which I'm happy with but I need some pressure to get things done, none of this 3 months business. So I asked for some short briefs to do. This is the first of a few editorials. The article was about an asylum seeker waiting, alone, for approval to stay in the country and get his wife and kids with him. It doesn't give information about where he is from, why he had to flee his country, even how old he is etc but I feel that is unnecessary. No matter who you are or where your from, staying somewhere foreign to you without your friends or family would be stressful and terrifying. Everyone could have great empathy for how trapped he feels. That's why I did this piece in this manner, the article tells of how he watches the world from his flat window, how he can't say what he wants to his family, how memories of his wife and kids is all he has right now, until (if he ever does) see them again. He is bullied, tormented and experiences serious racism and prejudice every day, not to mention the overwhelming fear of the unknown wellbeing of his family. The article ends without any conclusion and potentially, even now, his fate may still be undecided. This article really made me think about the other side of asylum seeking. To fear your own home? To be without the little that you have? To live each day without any closure, just fading hope... gotta remember how lucky we are... as I watch my parents argue over watching Coronation Street or some drama set in the Victorian ages, ignoring the fact that there are a further 4 TVs in the house... wish people would open their eyes.
Any comments on this would be great, really wanted to capture a sense of oppression.
I think you've really caught a sense of isolation and helplessness perfectly. Unfortunately, most people frame the 'asylum issue' around economics and 'social cohesion'. "We can't afford to take all these asylum seekers in!" "None of them want to mix with us whites; they all stick together." Unfortunately, these views are largely fuelled by an inherent xenopobia that seems to be particularly pronouced within northern industrial towns and cities, but in truth exists everywhere. The beauty of your piece is that it takes the viewer away from all of that, and instead focuses our minds on the asylum seeker as a person dealing with anxieties, paranoia, frustrations, confusions and fears that few of us can and ever will genuinely understand. It seems strange that you posted this only yesterday since there is an article in today's Sunday Herald about the mental illness epidemic that has hit asylum seekers in Scotland in recent years. I think people really need to wake up to this issue, but the sad fact is it won't win any votes at the ballot box and so will continue to be largely ignored by politicians across the political spectrum.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for really looking at this piece and clearly understanding it very well. Your thoughts and opinions are really appreciated :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I too, judged people in stereotypical ignorance until I read this and saw it from a different point of view. I count myself lucky that I will never have to genuinely understand this...