Manchester Community Choir will sing at the launch of RAPAR's asylum campaign for Mary Adenugba, who was trafficked from Nigeria to the UK in 2004. She suffered years of abuse and exploitation before she finally escaped and built a new life for herself.

The UK Border Agency has refused Mary's application for asylum but she is now working with her solicitor and with members of RAPAR to appeal against the decision.

Mary's MP Tony Lloyd supports her campaign and is hoping to speak at the launch. Also speaking will be Unitarian minister Jane Barraclough of Cross Street chapel where Mary is a member of the congregation.

A representative from the trade union UNITE will speak about their anti trafficking work. Speakers also include Mary herself, Zeinab Mohamed and Sandy Broadhurst, who are all members of RAPAR. Friends and supporters will provide food for the event and there will be an African dance display.

Sandy Broadhurst said Mary's campaign launch will publicise her individual case but will also focus on the wider issue of trafficking. “Trafficking people for enslavement and exploitation is on the increase in our society.  It is big business and is flourishing here in Manchester.  It de-humanises people - and needs to be exposed and eradicated from our streets.”

Mary Adenugba says she has been overwhelmed by the friendship she has received from the congregation at Cross Street chapel, her fellow members of Manchester Community Choir, her MP Tony Lloyd, RAPAR, UNITE and the many supporters who are backing her campaign.

“I am terrified that I will be sent back to Nigeria but I know that my friends will do as much as they can to help keep me safe,” she added.

For more information, please contact
Kath Grant, RAPAR Press Officer, 07812471047

To find out more about Mary's campaign and what you can do to help, click here.
Download a PDF version of the leaflet for this event here.

• ASYLUM TRIBUNAL APPEAL DATE NOW SET FOR APRIL 20th – THE SAME DAY AS THE FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THE PLAY IN GREATER MANCHESTER 

Cameroonian playwright Lydia Besong's new work, Down with the Dictator, will be performed for the first time at the COAST International Festival of Community Theatre on Tuesday, March 27th.   

The festival, hosted by acta Community Theatre, takes place in Bristol where there will be two performances of Down with the Dictator.  Greater Manchester audiences can see the play during April - at Bury Met Theatre and the Zion Arts Theatre, Hulme, Manchester.

The performance in Bury – where Lydia lives with her husband Bernard Batey – will be on the evening of Friday, April 20th, the same day their appeal hearing is due to be held at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in Manchester. The play is at the Zion Arts Theatre on April 27th.

Lydia and Bernard, both long standing human rights activists, have fought a high profile campaign for asylum in the UK. They were forced to flee Cameroon more than five years ago after they were imprisoned, tortured and persecuted for their political activities as members of the SCNC, a peaceful organisation which campaigns for the independence of Southern Cameroon. While she was in prison, Lydia was raped by a uniformed guard.

Down with the Dictator explores themes of power, political corruption and censorship. It reminds us of the consequences this can have for people all over the world – and shows why so many people are forced to flee from oppressive regimes.

The play is directed by Magdalen Bartlett, it is produced by Manchester-based Afrocats and supported by Community Arts North West as part of their Exodus Refugee Arts programme.

Community theatre companies from across Europe will take part in the international festival in Bristol. The festival is a celebration of the power of community theatre and provides an opportunity to explore contrasting stories about migration.

Lydia's previous play, How I Became An Asylum Seeker, focused on the experiences of women escaping persecution in their own countries and seeking asylum in the UK. This powerful production toured cities throughout the UK and was acclaimed by actor Juliet Stevenson who took part in an after play discussion at the performance in London.

English PEN, the organisation which campaigns for persecuted writers all over the world, has supported Lydia and Bernard's campaign for the the last three years.

Leading writers, including former Children's Laureate and author of War Horse Michael Morpurgo, sent an Open Letter to The Guardian in support of Lydia - and high profile lawyers, including Baroness Helena Kennedy, sent a similar letter to The Times.  Other supporters include Stockport born writer and broadcaster Joan Bakewell, who now sits in the House of Lords, and the Bishop of Manchester.

For more information, please contact
Kath Grant   07812471047 

• Public meeting issues open letter to Headteacher at Manchester Academy about institutionalised racism (download the signed open letter here - PDF)
• Parents, former pupils and wider community call for public meeting at the school

A lively and moving meeting of approximately 60 people gathered in the city centre  at the launch of new research about young people who end up being NEET (Not in Education Training or Employment) in the Central Collegiate area of Manchester.

The research (available in pdf at http://www.rapar.org.uk/key-steps-for-the-future.html) presented findings about what the city’s statisticians, teachers and Connexions staff and Somali families think about NEET: how the figures for NEET are created, who they relate to, and why there is a gap between what the statistics say and what young Somali people actually experience inside the education system.

The public meeting, called by the newly formed Somali Men’s Forum and facilitated by RAPAR listened as parents and young people themselves discussed the problems being experienced by Somali young people and their families.  Manchester Academy Governor and local Councillor Alistair Cox, and the newly appointed GMP Chief Inspector of Neighbourhoods and Partnerships Arif Nawaz, who has responsibility for Longsight and Moss Side, also addressed the meeting.  After listening to the families and the research presentation, Cllr Cox pledged to ensure that Local Authority workers look at the data about statistics that appear in the report and challenge them if necessary.

The meeting was an opportunity for the Somali Men’s Forum to enable their communities to articulate their concerns as a collective, and the researchers stressed that the purpose of the research process is not to apportion blame but to uncover what is going wrong educationally for young men from Somali backgrounds and contribute towards making that right.

Ultimately, the meeting decided to activate two areas of work immediately.  Firstly to publish an Open Letter to the Headteacher of the Manchester Academy asking for a public meeting within the next two weeks at the school about the issues raised in the meeting, and to involve the parents from Claremont Road Junior school. Secondly they resolved to organise mentoring and counselling opportunities for young men from Somali backgrounds through the Manchester Somali Men's Forum.

For further information contact:
Ali Younis, Somali men’s Forum Executive Member, 07984274280
Ms Zeinab Mohamed, RAPAR Matron, 07411188555
Dr Rhetta Moran, RAPAR Matron, 07776264646

Public meeting to launch research and discuss the issues it raises – Sunday, March 4th, 5.30pm, Friends' Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester
*Picture shows new members of the Somali Men's Forum

New research, to be launched at a public meeting on Sunday, shows a big gap between NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) statistics relating to young men from Somalia in Manchester and the experiences of families in the Somali community itself.

The meeting will try to understand why such a large gap exists between the official records and the families' own experiences - and will provide a platform for people in the Somali community to discuss their concerns about the education of young Somali men.  It will also publicise the new Manchester Somali Men's Forum which is helping to address many of the issues highlighted in the report.

Dr Rhetta Moran and Ms Zeinab Mohamed will deliver a short presentation on the research they carried out “What's around NEET – and Why? Young men from Somali backgrounds (2012)”.  The research was commissioned by Manchester Central Collegiate in partnership with Focusing First on People and it involved eight schools, Connexions and people from the Somali community.

The meeting will be chaired by Zeinab Mohamed, who is a Matron of RAPAR, the Manchester-based human rights organisation. Speakers will include Somali parents from Manchester schools and a former pupil from Manchester Academy. Having been invited to the meeting, Manchester City Council's Director of Children and Family Services intends to send a  representative and Greater Manchester Police have said that the Divisional Commander with responsibility for Longsight and Moss Side will consider sending a representative. Tony Lloyd MP is keen to join us. Moss Side councillors and teacher trade union representatives have also been invited.

A spokesperson for the Somali Men's Forum said: “We hope to create an education group within the Forum following the discussions at the meeting. This meeting is addressing issues that have not been addressed before and we will show how passionate the Forum is about working with the community. The Forum is providing a resource which is benefiting young people and their families. It is accessible to young people: they can relate to members of the Forum because we have already been through the education system and know what it is like for them.”

An 18 year old who will speak at the meeting added: “The meeting will be a great experience for the Somali community, it shows there are people out there who care and will provide young people with the support they need. The support I received from the Forum has encouraged me to go to college.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Zeinab Mohamed  (Researcher and Matron, RAPAR)  07411188555
Rhetta Moran (Researcher and Matron, RAPAR) 07776264646
Abdul Omar  (Chair, Somali Men’s Forum)  07427659279

For more information about this Public Meeting, click here.
To download and read the full research report 'Who's around NEET? - and Why? Young men from Somali Backgrounds', click here.

_RAPAR
The Manchester-based Human Rights organisation working with displaced people

PRESS RELEASE
January 19th 2012

YOUNG RAPAR REFUGEE TO PLANT ANNE FRANK ROSE AT HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY EVENT

Rose planting will take place at the Jewish Museum, Manchester, on Thursday, January 26, 1.30pm
Premiere of Souvenir d'Anne Frank to be held on Holocaust Memorial Day itself, Friday, January 27th, Zion Arts Centre, Hulme, Manchester


A young RAPAR refugee will plant the first Anne Frank Rose in the UK at a Holocaust Memorial Day event on Thursday, January 26th. 




Nineteen year old Farhad Vahidi, who is from Iran and is seeking asylum in the UK with his family, will plant the rose at the Jewish Museum garden in Manchester. His older brother Farid will read a poem at the event which begins at 1.30pm.

Following a welcome address by Max Dunbar, chief executive of the Jewish Museum, there will be speeches by Manchester city councllor Rabnawaz Akbar, Adam Kirkby from the Anne Frank Trust, and Rhetta Moran of RAPAR.

The premiere of Ensemble Theatre Company's Souvenir d'Anne Frank - a production of music, poetry, performance and song which tells the story of the rose - will be held the following evening on Holocaust Memorial Day itself (January 27th) at the Zion Arts Centre, Hulme, Manchester. The rose, which was grafted from a rose made in the year of Anne's  birth and another made in the year of her death, was created in Europe in 1960.

At the planting ceremony, Azusa Ono, from Ensemble, will tell the story of the rose in Japan.  It is grown by schoolchildren throughout the country and in the peace gardens at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The rose in Japan is the result of a bush sent by Anne Frank's father Otto to a young Japanese girl Michiko who had written to him after she had read his daughter's famous Diaries. Michiko's uncle was responsible for the spread of the Anne Frank rose throughout Japan.

A minute's silence will be held after Farhad Vahidi plants the rose in the Jewish Museum's garden and then children from Birchfields Primary School will tie their remembrances on a Remembering Tree. Poems will be read by the children and by members of RAPAR, and Elizabeth Mansfield of Ensemble will sing Anne Frank's “Give”.

The premiere performance of Souvenir d'Anne Frank on Friday, January 27th , is to be followed by a panel discussion which will include Dr Rhetta Moran, of RAPAR. Part of the proceeds from the evening will go to RAPAR.

Elizabeth Mansfield, of Ensemble, said Anne Frank roses sent from Japan will eventually be planted across the UK.

“We hope the roses will leave a legacy of hope and peace in memory of Anne and her longing for a tolerant, conflict-free world,” Elizabeth added.

Rhetta Moran, of RAPAR, said: "Anne Frank was a child killed by adults who created the Holocaust and who justifed their actions through Nazi ideology.  It is fitting that the rose is being planted in the UK for the first time in the North West of England by a young refugee who - unlike Anne - survived to adulthood through a childhood during which his family had to flee from persecution.  This is our symbol of hope alongside the rose itself, as is Farhad's continuing struggle, together with his family, friends and communities, to create a world where we never forget the lessons of that history and we fight for a better future for our children."   


For more information, please contact:
Rhetta Moran 07776264646
Kath Grant 07812471047





www.rapar.org.uk

_•    Lydia and her husband Bernard facing forced removal from UK to Cameroon on Saturday, January 21st.
•    Lawyers working to stop flight as supporters and leading writers lobby Home Secretary
Leading writers in the UK have put their names to an Open Letter in support of Cameroon  playwright Lydia Besong and her husband Bernard Batey – as rehearsals start on her latest work, Down with the Dictator.
Lydia is currently detained in Yarl's Wood, Bedfordshire, and Bernard in Morton Hall, Lincoln. They are facing forced removal from the UK on Saturday, January 21st, following the refusal of Bernard's protection claim. The UK Border Agency has also refused them the right to appeal from within the UK.
The couple are both members of the SCNC, a peaceful organisation campaigning for the independence of Southern Cameroon, and fled their home country just over five years ago after they were persecuted, imprisoned and tortured.
Speaking from Yarl's Wood, Lydia  said she was pleased to hear that rehearsals on her play were going ahead and added: “It is very important that the rehearsals continue because it means my voice is still being heard.”
Down with the Dictator explores themes of power, political corruption and censorship in all its absurdity and shows why so many people around the world are forced to flee from oppressive regimes. The play is produced by Afrocats  and Manchester-based Community Arts North West is supporting as part of Exodus, their Refugee Arts programme. Director is Magdalen Bartlett who also directed Lydia's acclaimed play How I Became An Asylum Seeker.
Magdalen said the actors - who themselves have had experience of oppressive regimes – are all extremely passionate about the play and are working on it voluntarily. They were shocked to hear of Lydia and Bernard's detention but are determined that her latest work will reach audiences in the UK.   The play is due to be performed at COAST International Festival of Community Theatre in Bristol at the end of March, and also at two venues in Greater Manchester which are still to be confirmed.
In July last year, leading writers and actors in the UK sent an Open Letter to The Guardian, drawing attention to Lydia's case.  English PEN, which campaigns for persecuted writers nationally and internationally, has put together a similar Open Letter from high profile writers which has already been sent to Home Secretary Theresa May.  Writers who have signed the letter include War Horse author Michael Morpurgo, Hanif Kureishi and Monica Ali. Leading lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy has also put her name to the Open Letter.
Lydia and Bernard have a large number of supporters throughout the UK and particularly in Greater Manchester.  They lived in Rochdale for three years before being moved to Bury where they are members of the AcaPeelers' Choir.
Campaigners are urging supporters to write to Home Secretary Theresa May and Immigration Minister Damian Green immediately, demanding that the couple remain in the UK. 
Lydia was detained almost a week ago when she reported at Dallas Court in Salford and Bernard was snatched from the street near his home in Bury. They were only told after they were detained that Bernard's protection claim had been refused and that they were also being denied the chance to appeal from within the UK. It was clear from paperwork issued to the couple that the decision had been taken before Christmas.
Last week, their solicitor Gary McIndoe said: “We have been waiting for a decision on Bernard's protection claim since 19th October last year.  Further materials have been sent to the Home Office, including the report of an expert witness. I am surprised that the decision to detain has been made before their legal representatives have been informed in any way.”
ENDS
More details of the campaign can be found at: http://www.rapar.org.uk/lydia-and-bernard-must-stay.html AND AT http://lydiaandbernard.wordpress.com/
For further information contact: Kath Grant, RAPAR, 07812471047 or Dr Rhetta Moran, RAPAR, 07776264646

Playwright Lydia and husband Bernard detained for the 4th time today.  Full Press Release here.