{"id":8449,"date":"2021-12-08T15:57:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T15:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cov19chronicles.com\/?p=8449"},"modified":"2023-04-26T16:12:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T15:12:21","slug":"refugees-welcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cov19chronicles.com\/refugees-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Refugees Welcome!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speech delivered by Loraine Masiya Mponela to the Scrap the Anti-Refugee Bill Day of Action, 20\/10\/21, Coventry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loraine Mponela is originally from Malawi and has lived in UK since 2008. She now lives in Coventry where she is an active member and chair of the Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action group (CARAG). She is also a board member for several refugee\/migrants charities in the UK, including the Sisters not Strangers Coalition. She is a community organiser, a migrants rights campaigner with frequent media appearances, and a poet. Loraine has a lovely son, Comfort.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n
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Loraine reciting one of her poems<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Escaping persecution is never going to be an orderly process where you leave your country with all your papers and book in at check in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you think the people chasing you are going to be fine with that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at the chaos with the evacuation of a handful of Afghan refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People have this thing embedded in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People want a better life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free from persecution, war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must stop the Borders Bill which is an attempt to criminalise asylum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how an asylum seeker finds themselves here in UK everyone <\/strong>should be treated with compassion. This is why we are here to protest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And- I’m going to be very controversial here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poverty…\u201dPoverty is the worst form of violence\u201d as Mahatma Gandhi rightly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new borders bill will not only ignore suffering it’s going to criminalise it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I repeat <\/strong>suffering will be a crime. And not in a good way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people who suffer will be criminals and the people who inflict suffering will be rewarded<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well I say no
We’ve been criminalised for years<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loraine reciting one of her poems<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been called illegal
How on earth can a human being be illegal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not
I’m here
And I’m going nowhere
This is my land
This is my home
my existence here is resistance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And mark my words
<\/strong>This borders bill will not work
Here\u2019s why
They haven’t factored in one important thing: The human spirit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human spirit to work and feed your family where you or they are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the people who have not come yet -I say solidarity To the people who are here now \u2013 I say solidarity and to hell with the borders bill
We are all humans. Thank you<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speech delivered to the Scrap the Anti-Refugee Bill Day of Action, 20\/10\/21, Coventry<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Loraine Masiya Mponela<\/a> <\/strong>is originally from Malawi and now lives in Coventry, UK. Loraine has lived in UK since 2008. Loraine is part and chair of the active Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action group<\/a> (CARAG) and board member for several refugee\/migrants charities in the UK, including the Sisters not Strangers Coalition<\/a>. She is a community organiser, a migrants rights campaigner with frequent media appearances, and a poet. Loraine has a lovely son, Comfort.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photograph supplied by Loraine Mponela<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speech delivered by Loraine Masiya Mponela to the Scrap the Anti-Refugee Bill Day of Action, 20\/10\/21, Coventry Loraine Mponela is originally from Malawi and has lived in UK since 2008. She now lives in Coventry where she is an active member and chair of the Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action group (CARAG). 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