An Interview with the Leeds Refugee Forum
The Leeds Refugee Forum (LRF), formed in 2003, is a community organisation with the main objective of providing a strong voice and support system for refugees and asylum-seekers. Local refugee community leaders act as linguistic, practical, and cultural aids for different refugee communities, enabling them to face the various challenges present both within British society and specific to Leeds. I sat down with LRF Charity Director, Ali Mahgoub, and Communications and Marketing Officer, Oman Balkin, for a conversation about the LRF’s aims, how the forum operates and to discuss some of the biggest challenges currently facing refugee and migrant communities.
A major component of the LRF is their utilisation of Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs), whereby meetings and discussions regarding a variety of needs takes place, developing positive and binding links across communities from different backgrounds with the aim of mobilising groups to promote and advocate support for refugee and asylum-seekers. Ali explains that the LRF may assist RCOs through providing help with legal documentation, tackling housing issues, financial and banking help, support regarding governance issues, networking with other organisations and general assistance within viocommunity work. The LRF works with over 56 RCOs, developing skills and working collaboratively on projects to create a structural support framework for refugee and migrant communities, thus effectively combating specific challenges facing the current system. The RCOs tackle language problems, mediate cultural differences and provide a platform to combat any issues that face each community.
Destitute Asylum seekers, Ali highlights, face significant challenges, especially in the Winter, to find adequate housing and financial support which constitute a sustainable, comfortable living situation. The LRF works with other networks and organisations to provide financial and mental health support during these testing months for those who need help most. This support is vital in supplying Asylum seekers with basic necessities to enable a stable structural base for living in Leeds, whilst also preventing unnecessary concern and anxiety surrounding accommodation upon arriving in a foreign country. Furthermore, the LRF understands the significance of helping refugee families and children with educational support. The LRF Homework Club aids children from different backgrounds with their schoolwork, making sure that future generations are confident in their schooling, working with local primary schools collaboratively and training parents in how to support their children with homework. The LRF is constantly adapting to the different needs of refugee communities which throughout lockdown, meant creating an online support system, assisting with Zoom calls and educational support online. This provided a vital link, both linguistically and culturally, at a time when much of society was shut away, by bringing together people who spoke the same language in order to access vital support systems and solve specific issues.
Much of the work enacted by the LRF in bringing refugee and migrant communities together to progress the aims and needs of different groups, is explicitly visible throughout Leeds Refugee Week (LRW). The LRW has occurred annually for over 14 years, providing a celebration of the contribution of refugees to British society whilst encouraging people to view asylum in a fundamentally more positive light. Community leaders, RCOs and other organisations and volunteers from across Leeds come together to produce performances and awareness-raising events collaboratively together. They work with theatres, museums, and universities to produce a broad range of projects which are both educational and celebratory in nature. These act not only as a vehicle for increased unity amongst different communities, but ultimately as a reminding force of the work that is constantly being done to better people’s lives across Leeds and nationally. Raising awareness on specific issues faced by refugee and migrant communities, coming together in unison, producing projects together and educating progressively, acts as a deeply significant form of integration, both for refugees and British society generally.
The main challenge facing refugee communities, Ali emphasises, is access to information regarding basic services and support systems. Sometimes the LRF may not know where to refer people to due to a lack of clarity within the current system, exhibiting a key concern about the state of the current support networks available in this country. Money is also an issue; years of cuts from different governments, both local and national, means that funding for financial support is largely reliant on volunteer aid and fundraising projects.
Many refugees may face educational struggles upon realising that degrees achieved back home may not be recognised in the U.K. This, often alongside a need to learn a completely new language, makes employment opportunities increasingly difficult. Support is needed to build skills for education and employment, which in turn boosts personal confidence and mental wellbeing. When it comes to health issues, using the NHS and understanding who to contact and how the system operates can be difficult for most people. This evidently becomes amplified when English isn’t your primary language. The LRF provides reassurance and support for those facing health problems, both physical and mental in nature. Oman explains that there are even further issues associated with childcare facing women, especially due to the gendered inequalities women often experience. With multiple language barriers, they can often find themselves in a ‘revolving door scenario’; confused about who to contact or where to access support. A task such as booking a dentist appointment becomes progressively challenging if you don’t know where to access the relevant information or how to contact those who can help. This often stems from a sense of feeling isolated, especially if you don’t have a grasp of the culture or language. Oman explains that sometimes healthcare workers may become shut off or unwilling to help upon realising that an individual doesn’t speak English or has a translator, suggesting that a cultural shift in attitude towards refugee and migrant communities in this country is very much required.
With the LRF providing information access and contacting the relevant networks needed for different support requirements, refugee and migrant communities across Leeds have an organisation constantly working to change their lives for the better. Having a physical space, meeting people, and sharing experiences is such an important part of human interaction, fuelling a sense of community pride and boosting mental welfare. LRF has a community centre in Lincoln Green which enables this, but community space is fundamentally lacking in Leeds, and more financial support to provide new centres and sites is necessary to ensure that more people are reached and helped. This centre is in use 7 days a week, with the RCO’s active mainly on weekends, attempting to integrate different refugee communities into the city. What also must be recognised, Ali emphasises, is that often society fails to understand the complex dynamics and issues facing different refugee communities, whether that be through war, tension, or political differences from different countries of origin. People need to be brought together; unity, tolerance and a sense of understanding is vital. The LRF keeps political and religious differences separate from projects and work, this enables a sense of togetherness and develops a shared common interest of actively working collaboratively.
The LRF mainly relies on volunteer support to keep their projects active and their work going, with the student population forming a key section of this force. They collaborate with the ‘Student Action for Refugees’ (STAR) society at Leeds University, with the aim of increasing awareness, gaining support, and mobilising change. The LRF website has plenty of information regarding getting involved, and they provide different projects for different needs, understanding that students may want to help with two hours a week of volunteering, or contrastingly work in a placement role. Every volunteer has a different requirement, and projects are adjusted to student concerns and needs.
Students can get involved with the Leeds Refugee Forum via accessing their website:
Emailing them via: info@leedsrefugeeforum.org.uk
Or calling them: 0113 244 9600
Header Image Credit: Leeds Refugee Forum
