Neil Amas and Beth Crosland
Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees
2006

£10.00 + p&p, 96 pp
B/w illus
ISBN 978 1 903080 06 1
Buy from Central Books

The Handbook profiles 21 initiatives across the UK that aim to mediate tension and build bridges between local host communities and asylum seekers and refugees. The case studies are drawn from statutory and non-statutory sectors, including very small-scale grassroots projects. In their introduction the authors explore the common messages revealed by these initiatives as well as by other relevant research.

The Handbook provides an invaluable resource of ideas, guidance, and contacts for practitioners to assist them in their work and to make lessons learnt in one neighbourhood available to others. The messages it offers will also be of key interest to policymakers and funders when making decisions about strategy and the kinds of initiatives that should be supported in the future.

“Building workers from one particular company had preconceived ideas about asylum seekers being scroungers and claiming benefits. Working with individual asylum seekers on placement they were surprised to find that asylum seekers are not allowed to work and faced other hardships. Personal contact made them change their views.” Maggie Lennon, The Bridges Project

“There was a lack of preparation for people moving into the area, which caused a lot of misunderstanding.” Vera Walker, Victoria Estate Action Group

Neil Amas is a consultant for ICAR. He has worked in the refugee sector in the uk and overseas for 15 years, most recently for Praxis where he first developed a programme of social care for asylum seekers and refugees in London and later led the policy and research programme. During the 1990s he worked in South East Asian refugee camps and for a Vietnamese migration programme based in Bangkok. He has an MSC in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and has also worked in the media, including as producer of a radio news programme.

Beth Crosland worked at ICAR from 2001 to 2006, where she was manager of its Understanding the Stranger programme, which advises on the promotion of understanding between refugees and asylum seekers and their host communities at a local level. Prior to this she had completed an MA in Human Rights from the University of London, co-authored a United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) working paper on human smuggling and trafficking, and worked for a number of refugee and human rights NGOs.