I am now at the end of my six months stay here in Birmingham and in a hectic stage of ethnographic fieldwork. It is strange to think about the fact that I will be leaving this town in a months time. There are so many amazing people here that I have gotten to know who in many different ways try and undo the wrongdoings of the hostile environment (as Theresa May proudly calls it) undocumented migrants are living in here in the UK. The stories people are sharing with me are heart breaking, devastating and frustrating in every way and the hope for a change in the system is small with a nasty immigration debate happening before the coming election. At the moment, the few strings of hope to be found are in the everyday fights that these brave people put up with the help from brave support workers and activists. And there are still campaigns and initiatives that have some success that we must not forget. One such thing is the Bristol City of Sanctuary – Ending Asylum Destitution Conference on March 6th where I am going, together with some of the fantastic people I have met here in Birmingham.
I am still in the middle of my work here and cannot share yet that much from what I have been involved in but this blog run by photographer and writer Len Grant shares the stories of people who are very similar to the ones I am seeing. It’s a well written blog and it gives a very direct insight into the everyday lives of undocumented migrants here in the UK at the moment.
http://www.lifewithoutpapers.co.uk/
/Jacob Lind, PhD student, University of Malmö