RAPAR

1. European Urban Boundaries Project Education and Social Research Institute: Manchester Metropolitan University Tuesday 25th March 2014 Introducing …. RAPAR Working Together To Achieve Equal Human Rights Dr Rhetta Moran

2. STRUCTURE RAPAR’S evolution – so far… Case example – so far… Some questions about researching through participatory action

3. RAPAR’s Evolution 2000-2001: ground level reactions to forced dispersal

4. RAPAR’s evolution 2000-2001: ground level reactions to forced dispersal 2001-2002: beginning pre 9/11, refugees, academics, practitioners organise together and create a limited company and registered charity

5. RAPAR is: An acronym for Refugee and Asylum seeker Participatory Action Research • Spring 2001- RAPAR network forms in response to introduction of forced dispersal, seedcorn funding follows (Moran et al, 2002) • A collection of organisations and individuals well placed to create evidence bases about the needs of communities in the North West of England where people fleeing persecution have been dispersed by central government • An action network that begins to inductively develop constructive responses to evidence bases about need that derive from the lived experience of asylum

6. Material Context: Social- economic- cultural- political Community Member/ Client/ User Practitioner RAPAR E.g. service delivery setting E.g. Public or private space Researcher Material conditions, specifically situated in time and space: e.g. housing, employment, mix of people, form of government

7. RAPAR • Feb- Mar 2002: RAPAR limited company and charity in process of development • September 2002: RAPAR’s bid to lead SRB5 project (worth £650,000 over three years) goes live “to develop evidence about needs and action in services with refugee people seeking asylum” (Private Eye 2005) • Oct 2002: First destitution presentation (Moran, 2003)

8. RAPAR’s evolution 2000-2001: ground level reactions to forced dispersal 2001-2002: refugees, academics, practitioners organise together and create a limited company and registered charity Oct 2002: first destitution presentation Oct 2002 – June 2003: Media coverage and effective engagement with practitioners

9. RAPAR’s evolution 2000-2001: ground level reactions to forced dispersal 2001-2002: refugees, academics, practitioners organise together and create a limited company and registered charity Oct 2002: first destitution presentation Oct 2002 – June 2003: Media coverage and effective engagement with practitioners 2003-2005: Concerted efforts to shutRAPAR down….. coinciding with the war against Iraq

10. A cold shoulder for Saddam's victims • The Guardian, Saturday 22 March 2003 The government uses Saddam's persecution of Iraqis as a justification for war. But when those same people escape to the UK, they are given a wretched reception. By Melanie McFadyean. In a sparsely furnished lounge in a flat on the 14th floor of a Salford tower block, a group of Iraqi Kurdish asylum seekers gather to talk. Their hosts, Mohammed Saeed and AsoBaram, make them welcome, observing Kurdish hospitality in spite of their poverty, handing round a dish of strawberries.

11. RAPAR’s evolution 2000-2001: ground level reactions to forced dispersal 2001-2002: refugees, academics, practitioners organise together and create a limited company and registered charity 2002-2007: Salford based. Action Learning Model 2003-2005: Concerted efforts to shutRAPAR down…..coinciding with the war against Iraq 2007- now: City Centre Manchester. Starting from the lived experience of the person who presents to us – work out, with them, how to set out what they need and how to make it become reality

12. RAPAR Casework (ACT) Example What do we do? The presenting client is living their complexity • enable them to re-present that complexity, to themselves and you in the first instance, ideally in a documented way (writing, film, audio, image) that is structured, chronological, detailed and, where possible, underpinned with primary evidence

13. RAPAR Casework (ACT) Example What do we do? The presenting client is living their complexity • enable them to re-present that complexity, to themselves and you in the first instance, ideally in a documented way (writing, film, audio, image) that is structured, chronological, detailed and, where possible, underpinned with primary evidence Explore • Overarching Context/Environment: • Reasons for the “push” factors that led to flight from home/presentation • UK Legal status as ? sub-human/criminalised

14. RAPAR Casework (ACT) Example What do we do? The presenting client is living their complexity • enable them to re-present that complexity, to themselves and you in the first instance, ideally in a documented way (writing, film, audio, image) that is structured, chronological, detailed and, where possible, underpinned with primary evidence Explore • Overarching Context/Environment: • Reasons for the “push” factors that led to flight from home • UK Legal status as ? sub-human/criminalised • Self – confidence and Sense of Self Worth • Who are they? • What can they do? • Who can they work with?

15. RAPAR Casework (ACT) Example What do we do? The presenting client is living their complexity • enable them to re-present that complexity, to themselves and you in the first instance, ideally in a documented way (writing, film, audio, image) that is structured, chronological, detailed and, where possible, underpinned with primary evidence Explore • Overarching Context/Environment: • Reasons for the “push” factors that led to flight from home • UK Legal status as ? sub-human/criminalised Self – confidence and Sense of Self Worth • Who are they? • What can they do? • Who can they work with? • Material bases of their needs

16. RAPAR Casework (ACT) Example What do we do? The presenting client is living their complexity • enable them to re-present that, to themselves and you in the first instance, in writing, in a structured, chronological, detailed, and documentarily evidenced way Explore • Overarching Context/Environment: • Reasons for the “push” factors that led to flight from home • UK Legal status as sub-human • Self – confidence and Sense of Self Worth • Who are they? • What can they do? • Who can they work with? • Material bases of their needs • Whether and how to use the legal framework

17. RAPAR Casework (ACT) Example What do we do? The presenting client is living their complexity • enable them to re-present that, to themselves and you in the first instance, in writing, in a structured, chronological, detailed, and documentarily evidenced way Explore • Overarching Context/Environment: • Reasons for the “push” factors that led to flight from home • UK Legal status as sub-human • Self – confidence and Sense of Self Worth • Who are they? • What can they do? • Who can they work with? • Material bases of the health needs • Whether and how to use the legal framework • Whether and how to profile their circumstances publicly

18. RAPAR Casework (ACT) Example What do we do? The presenting client is living their complexity • enable them to re-present that, to themselves and you in the first instance, in writing, in a structured, chronological, detailed, and documentarily evidenced way Explore • Overarching Context/Environment: • Reasons for the “push” factors that led to flight from home • UK Legal status as sub-human • Self – confidence and Sense of Self Worth • Who are they? • What can they do? • Who can they work with? • Material bases of the health needs • Whether and how to use the legal framework • Whether and how to profile their circumstances publicly • Where they fit into the big picture and who else is there? - YOU Act with Compassionand Tenacity

19. The Vahidi Family….extracts from RAPAR website September 2009 Mohammad, Zahra and Farhad Vahidi arrived in Britain from Iran in 2006, and applied for asylum in January 2007. Mohammad had inadvertently leaked information regarding Iran’s nuclear programme, which came to the attention of Iran’s security authorities, placing Mohammad in serious danger. Their asylum application was refused and all other avenues were gradually exhausted. They were told by the UKBA in July 2010 that they were required to leave the country, or face enforced removal.

20. The Vahidi Family….extracts from RAPAR website September 2009 Mohammad, Zahra and Farhad Vahidi arrived in Britain from Iran in 2006, and applied for asylum in January 2007. Mohammad had inadvertently leaked information regarding Iran’s nuclear programme, which came to the attention of Iran’s security authorities, placing Mohammad in serious danger. Their asylum application was refused and all other avenues were gradually exhausted. They were told by the UKBA in July 2010 that they were required to leave the country, or face enforced removal. Christmas 2010 Family go into hiding, in the wee hours of youngest son’s 18th birthday, and just before UKBA come to dawn raid and remove them to detention…..Regional TV…….Mohammad and Zahra are currently being held in Yarl’s Wood detention centre, and their son Farhad, who recently turned 18, is in Harmondsworth detention centre. All three are fighting to avoid removal. Sign the petition to oppose the deportation of the Vahidi family here. Meanwhile, older son Farid, then aged 20, remains outside detention and alone.

21. The Vahidi Family….extracts from RAPAR website 09/04/12  The Vahidi family, on point of being removed from the UK, have WON their asylum case. An Asylum and Immigration tribunal judge ruled that it would be unsafe for Mohammed and Zahra Vahidi and their 19 year old son Farhad to be returned to Iran and they can now stay in the UK.  The family's eldest son Farid's case is separate and still ongoing - his campaign for asylum continues.

22. 18/04/12**Farid Vahidi On BBC Radio Manchester** Farid Vahidi, RAPAR's Leadership member and Acting Volunteer Co-ordinator talks about his family's journey through the British asylum system. He talks about the sponsored run that he and his younger brother Farhad are running on May 20th to raise funds for RAPAR. And he explains how RAPAR works. The Sound footage is from BBC Radio Manchester that was broadcast on Wednesday April 18 2012. Please click here to listen to this interview.

23. Keep Manjeet safe in the UK RAPAR Press release 24/05/2011 The UK Border Agency plans to evict a disabled woman from her accommodation in Whalley Range later today (Tuesday).Manjeet Kaur, 32, who is wheelchair-bound, has been living in Oaklea, Upper Chorlton Road. She sought asylum in the UK following the disappearance in India of her husband Amitt Bhatt, a journalist and human rights activist. Her husband had been threatened and attacked for his journalistic work before his disappearance in February this year. Afterwards, Manjeet continued to receive threats, by post and over the phone. She has also been physically attacked.Although Manjeet's solicitors are still working on her asylum case to see if there are grounds for a judicial review, the UKBA has withdrawn her housing support and she has been told she must leave her accommodation by 5pm today.

24. Keep Manjeet safe in the UK RAPAR Press release 24/05/2011 The UK Border Agency plans to evict a disabled woman from her accommodation in Whalley Range later today (Tuesday).Manjeet Kaur, 32, who is wheelchair-bound, has been living in Oaklea, Upper Chorlton Road. She sought asylum in the UK following the disappearance in India of her husband Amitt Bhatt, a journalist and human rights activist. Her husband had been threatened and attacked for his journalistic work before his disappearance in February this year. Afterwards, Manjeet continued to receive threats, by post and over the phone. She has also been physically attacked.Although Manjeet's solicitors are still working on her asylum case to see if there are grounds for a judicial review, the UKBA has withdrawn her housing support and she has been told she must leave her accommodation by 5pm today.……Update: Manjeet's housing provider has now said that she can stay in her home until Thursday (26/05). She can only hope to find alternative accommodation by then.

25. Keep Manjeet safe in the UK Sign the petition here, email Damian Greenhere Manjeet with one of Amitt's books URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED TO STOP THIS EVICTION INTO DESTITUTION A picket is underway outside Manjeet Kaur's house: OAKLEA, UPPER CHORLTON ROAD, M16 7SG - OPPOSITE SYLVAN AVENUE. Please call Kath on 07812471047 for directions.

26. Keep Manjeet safe in the UK 26/05/11 Today (Thursday), following: • a determined picket line outside Manjeet Kaur's home in Whalley Range • radio and TV coverage • a last-minute intervention from Kate Green MP ….. the eviction was delayed for a second time, this time until 8am tomorrow morning. The UKBA recently withdrew her housing support, leading the private housing company Happy Homes UK Ltd to attempt to evict her.

27. Keep Manjeet safe in the UK 26/05/11 Today (Thursday), following: • a determined picket line outside Manjeet Kaur's home in Whalley Range • radio and TV coverage • a last-minute intervention from Kate Green MP ….. the eviction was delayed for a second time, this time until 8am tomorrow morning. The UKBA recently withdrew her housing support, leading the private housing company Happy Homes UK Ltd to attempt to evict her. Update: 27/05/11 This afternoon Trafford social services have informed Manjeet that they have approved that social services support Manjeet, and are sending a duty officer to see her at her flat in Oak Lea this afternoon.  Refugee Action have advised Manjeet that social services have found potential accommodation in a residential home and are looking for a place that is age appropriate.

28. Keep Manjeet safe in the UK 26/05/11 Today (Thursday), following: • a determined picket line outside Manjeet Kaur's home in Whalley Range • radio and TV coverage • a last-minute intervention from Kate Green MP ….. the eviction was delayed for a second time, this time until 8am tomorrow morning. The UKBA recently withdrew her housing support, leading the private housing company Happy Homes UK Ltd to attempt to evict her. Update: 27/05/11 This afternoon Trafford social services have informed Manjeet that they have approved that social services support Manjeet, and are sending a duty officer to see her at her flat in Oak Lea this afternoon.  Refugee Action have advised Manjeet that social services have found potential accommodation in a residential home and are looking for a place that is age appropriate. 06/06/11 Report and video, by Real Radio, regarding the concerning conditions found recently in Happy Homes accommodation.

29. Keep Manjeet safe in the UK Press release 22nd March 2012RAPAR MEMBERS HELP CREATE UK'S FIRST MURAL DEPICTING HOPES AND FEARS OF DISABLED ASYLUM SEEKERS

31. … Hypothesis: The dialectic between making the evidence base and communicating about it: • Changes perceptions about the meaning and significance of the research topic AND • Stimulates support and demonstrably constructive interventions for change within and beyond the community of people directly affected …contested…is it science?... Or have you gone ‘native’?

32. A question of science The act of researching brings the reality of the phenomenon from the perspective of those experiencing it, into the public domain: “The theory of practice remains among the underdeveloped regions of the academic world…successful theory is merely that which enables him[her] who is suitably armed to carry through successful practice. This is the argument of the pragmatists, William James, John Dewey and even Karl Marx: to understand an idea one must be able to apply it in practice, and to understand a situation one must be able to change it. Verbal description is not command enough. Revans RW, 1982. “Management as Creativity and Learning”. In the Origins and Growth of Action Learning: Bromley:Chartwell-Bratt: 494

33. What is the purpose of participatory action research? To understand an idea one must be able to apply it in practice, and to understand a situation one must be able to change it. Verbal description is not command enough. [We describe successful theory] as consistently replicated and successful practice that distil[s] and concentrate[s] the knowledge. (Building on from Revans 1982:494) The process by which one is transformed into the other is the scientific method and the essence of the scientific method is the experimental test. (Revans 1982:494)

34. Traditional maintenance of separation of researcher from both subject and subjects being studied… PAR - is it denoting the involvement of members of populations who have direct experience of the phenomenon being investigated as suppliers of data? What each part of the participants brings to the study: ResearcherPractitioner Community member/client/user Skills Experience Experience (work) (life) Explicit Objectivity Objectivity Subjectivity (about (about client) (about service/life) research Subjectivity issue) (about practice)

35. Predicated upon a tacit, dualistic premise (Gouldner 1970).. ObjectiveSubjective Quantitative Qualitative Scientific Humanistic Natural Social Material Ideal Inference/meaning about the real world is derived through… Statistics The spoken word The research records changes in the Outside world Subject as Self This dualistic premise does not stand up to the pressure of application in the real world...

36. If the purpose of the research is to create action… and • the actionis to be taken by human beings it: • Is sensuous, physical, material……objective • Impacts on the outside world…. objective • Impacts on individuals’ experiences of the • world… subjective • Occurs between people… intersubjective

37. What is participatory action research? [Can we] recognise the depth of our own kinship with those we study … reflexive sociology… a method or approach that “attends rigour with mercy”. In the last analysis if a man(sic!) wants to change what [s/]he knows [s/]he must change how [s/]he lives; [s/]he must change [her] his praxis in the world. (Gouldner 1970: 467-8) THE COMING CRISIS OF WESTERN SOCIOLOGY, by Alvin W.Gouldner. New York: Basic Books, 1970.

38. What is participatory action research? Of necessity, it involves Intersubjectivity …the dynamic interactional process through which people exchange subjective perceptions to create shared meanings. Therefore: the interpretive approach that focuses on the researcher’s subjective experience does not fit PAR. But neither does the approach that privileges experience over knowledge or learning.

39. WHAT IS Participatory Action Research: Research that captures what is going on in the world and understands what is happening to the selves involved in the research as minute points in the intersections of their biography and history within society. (Building on from Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, 1959) Research conducted by a mutually respectful collective interested in ‘the practical application of ideas to material reality so that incomplete and inexact knowledge becomes more complete and more exact’. (Building on from Lenin, 1972:111) "What is To Be Done." Lenin Collected Works. Vol. 5. Moscow: Progress Publishers,1972.)

40. Current refle-x-ions • PAR is predicated on the democratic notion that oppressed and marginalized people can transform their social realities through education, research and action, while forwarding their own value system. People can empower themselves through examining their own situations… • Praxis as defined by Friere is a combination of action and reflection: Praxis without action is verbalism; while praxis without reflection is activism (Udas, 1998:603) • Can WE make - praxis ?