What next? The forgotten chapter of migration
A documentary exploring what it’s like to integrate in the UK’s second city, and what more needs to be done to support this process.
Amani is a mum of three who arrived in the UK after months in a refugee camp in Lebanon.
Before fleeing Syria, she was a primary school teacher and has now found work as a teaching assistant and an interpreter. Under the VPRS (Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme), Amani and her family have had support from the government with learning english, finding a job and securing a home.
She’s a success story for resettling here.
Likewise, Zirak has been in Birmingham since 2002, after fleeing Iraqi-Kurdistan at the height of the conflict. He too didn’t speak any english when he arrived.
Both have embraced the chance of a fresh start in the UK, but integrating into a new community is not easy, and not helped by cuts in funding for things like english lessons and community cohesion initiatives.
Throughout this documentary, I find that not everybody receives the same level of support with resettling in the UK, and the effects of cuts in funding for the provision of ESOL (English for Speakers of a Second Language) are showing.
This documentary comes as the UK government continues to adopt a hostile environment with aims to implement an Australian-style points system.
But British Future have written to the new Home Secretary, Priti Patel, suggesting five key reforms to the system which would help with integration.
An important exploration of the forgotten chapter of migration — learning to live in a new place, which doesn’t always show welcome.
Watch: What next? The forgotten chapter of migration
This documentary forms part of my MA Major Project and is informed by in-depth research which responds to the need for better coverage of migration.
