People of many faiths, backgrounds and nations gathered on 26 February 2005 at Liverpool Hope University to look at issues of healing history, the personal journey of asylum seekers and the process of dialogue.
Opening the conference, Professor Gerald Pillay, Rector and Chief Executive of the University, talked about the power of history and the importance of accepting and coming to terms with our pasts.
A highlight of the morning for many was the Reverend Tee Turner’s speech about history’s impact on all people, and on him personally. Hope in the Cities (HiC) outreach director in Richmond, USA, he had travelled to Liverpool especially for the conference.
Letlapa Mphahlele, a commander of the People’s Liberation Army in South Africa during the apartheid struggle, told briefly his own experience of reconciliation. He had challenging words concerning the need for material reparation as part of the reconciliation process. “You cannot preach spiritual growth when people are hungry,” he said.
The ‘Journey of Newcomers’, with experiences from those working with refugees and asylum-seekers, provided a fresh take on the issue for many.
Nitin Shukla, Equality Officer for Gateshead Council, spoke of the suffering that compels asylum seekers to flee their homeland, while Daoud Zaarora, Director of the North of England Refugee Service, drew attention to the abundance of skills and experience newcomers bring.
Lawrence Fearon of HiC London and Barrie Brazier, Manager of Nottingham Race Equality Council, introduced the concept and process of dialogue. Mr Brazier explained: “It is not a quick fix. It does not create change overnight but lays the foundations for practical work. We don’t back away from facing the real issues and we take on challenges, no matter how hurtful, working through them together.”
In the afternoon the 80 delegates split into three groups for dialogues in a series of workshops. The ‘Journey Ethic of Dialogue’ aimed to give delegates some of the tools to initiate dialogues in their own communities. Specifically, they looked at how to develop a suitable question for discussion, which would be inclusive and meaningful for everyone - often an achievement in itself in such a varied group of people.
Delegate Collet Christie, a diversity consultant in Bradford, provided eloquent and thought-provoking feedback from the ‘Journey of Reconciliation’ workshop. In smaller groups they had considered what reconciliation meant to them and why it could be such a difficult process. Pride and arrogance, they concluded, could prevent people from taking the first step; the “removal of the transference of blame” was essential for reconciliation to take place.
The third workshop, looking at the ‘Journey of Newcomers’, was the best attended, perhaps an indicator of the strong feelings that surround the issue today. It revealed some of the challenges faced by refugees in the UK and the barriers many must overcome to play a useful role in their communities. As well as looking at the problems in providing services, the workshop highlighted the abundance of skills asylum seekers bring and tried to find ways to make more use of these. Some of the media, particularly the tabloid press, were sometimes seen to be creating a barrier through their largely negative portrayal of newcomers.
Delegates told moving and inspiring stories of people coming together in their own communities and a number of positive suggestions were made. As the day drew to a close the feeling was that progress had been made in understanding the issues. Concluding, Gerald Henderson, co-chair, hoped that delegates would keep the momentum of the day going by keeping in touch and working together. “In this spirit we can all be agents of change,” he said. “Through our choices and decisions we become the reasons for hope.”
Sarah Calkin
English