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IRISH JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL STUDIES
ISSN 1393-7022
Volume 7, Number 2, Winter 2006
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Table of Contents and
Abstracts
Editorial: Community and Social Services
Responses to Asylum Seekers
Kenneth Burns & Alastair Christie /
6
Separated Young People Seeking Asylum - Standing
Alone?
Separated Young People's Group, Brigette Mintern and Lyn Dorney /
18
Seeking Asylum in Ireland
Nogugu Mafu / 27
Abstract: The aim of this paper is
to relate in brief the story of my life as a refugee in Ireland. It
will focus on my reasons for leaving Zimbabwe, my home country, and
some general reasons why people find themselves in a position where
they should make the very crucial decision to either continue to live
in their own country and deal with whatever hardship or persecution,
give up and stare death in the face, or move to another place and
contend with the challenges of trying to fit in and survive. Writing
from a personal point of view, these challenges will obviously be
based on my own experiences, which in my opinion reflect to a
reasonable extent the experiences of most refugees, while at the same
time not assuming that there are no exceptions. The challenges will
include my life as an asylum seeker in direct provision (accommodation
centres designated for people seeking asylum), as a single mother away
from the support of family and friends, and as a refugee trying to
start a new life in a foreign country. Another aim of this document is
to clarify the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee,
terms that to some people very often have the same meaning. The paper
will also give a brief overview of the general treatment of refugees
worldwide not only in Ireland or the western world. Finally, I wish to
use this article to give words of encouragement to all the displaced
persons of this world who may get a chance to read this article, to
help them realise that it is possible to have a "home away from home"
and to rise above the dehumanising experiences of being a refugee. It
is my heartfelt wish, too, to extend my humble gratitude through this
article to different statutory and voluntary organisations and people
who have devoted their lives to the worthy cause of helping asylum
seekers and refugees in this country and indeed in other parts of the
world.
From Racial State to Racist State:
Questions for Social Professionals Working with Asylum Seekers
Alastair Christie / 35
Addressing the Special Needs of Survivors of
Torture
Patrick O'Sullivan / 52
Students and Refugees Together (START):
Inter-professional Learning and Service Innovation
Avril Butler, Rowena Cerrino, Correia Conceicao and Kally Finch /
62
Abstract: This paper presents four perspectives
of an innovative organisation which was set up in 2001 to respond to
the unmet needs of refugees and asylum seekers in the far south west
of England. Social Work students were supported to undertake one of
their assessed practice placements working with families referred by
the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) teacher and the local
Social Services referral co-ordinator. The organisation has grown from
a small 'virtual' organisation, staffed only by students, to a
registered charity employing health and social care staff who
supervise students from increasingly diverse professions to learn
through service provision. The perspectives of a service user, a
student and the manager are presented to illustrate the philosophy,
principles and practice of the agency. Consideration is given to the
relationship of academic institutions to health and social care
provision and practice. The intention here is to promote debate about
the potential of academic institutions to stimulate change through
action as well as teaching and research.
Supporting Asylum Seekers: Practice and Ethical
Issues for Health and Welfare Professionals
Beth Humphries / 76
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