For the people who see a piece of paper where I only see gold

As young migrants we face a lot of issues in our lives, which most people don’t know about. We are held back in life because of immigration policies, and because of this many people don’t see us as resourceful or talented. Yet we know our worth, despite all the barriers that are artificially posed in front of us.

We decided to host Words Apart, a public event to challenge the narrow rhetoric on us young migrants, to make sure that as many people as possible could understand our situation, and hear from our own voices that we are phenomenal.

Throughout 2019 we have used poetry and art as tools to speak up about what it means to be a young migrant: after months of preparation, last November we showcased our work to the public, and hosted public discussions about the impact of immigration policies on young people in the UK.

For this occasion we turned the Ecology Pavillion into an art gallery, showcasing our creativity and ambition. We were all wearing our Brighter Futures t-shirts, and as soon as guest arrived they could feel the great vibe of our group and how close we are – like a phenomenal family.

Our aim was to make people understand what it means to be a young migrant in the UK, and we did this in a variety of ways: before the event started we handed the audience a ‘passport’, containing our collection of poems. They would later need it to get into the venue, so they could understand what it means to always have to report and prove one’s rights.

We had prepared an art exhibition, whereby our poems focusing on the impact of Brexit talks, immigration rules and our love for ourselves had been turned into pieces of art, written on mirrors, windows, placards and fences.

When more than 100 people had arrived we started the live part of the event. We performed our poems, hosted Q&A discussions to raise awareness on the injustice of immigration policies and put our personal experiences into perspective, and screened a video featuring one of our poems.

We wanted people to know that we are skilled and resourceful: one member of Brighter Futures is a great musician, and he closed the live part of the event by masterfully playing classic music on the piano.

We then offered our guests a Jamaican dinner, and mingled with them, creating new connections. We made the night an experience for our guests, helping them to understand our situation and what we are going through. It was a good success, we had lots of great feedback – and we inspired new people to think differently about young migrants, and what it means to be held back in life because of immigration policies.

Creativity can reach people in a way that statistics can’t, and through our work we built new bridges.

Words Apart also had a positive impact on us as a group: we feel more connected, closer together, more confident and stronger. Through this project we created a platform where we are all treated equally, where we all feel included and where we can start progressive changes within ourselves and our communities at large.

We already have ideas for the next Words Apart event. We want to showcase more poetry as a performing group, in front of decision makers from the Home Office, MPs and the government. We’d like to replicate this event in parliament so our voices can be heard, record the event and put it on Youtube and social media, to reach even more people. Before our next event we’d like to interview people about their expectations and talk to them again afterwards about what they learned from our event, and if they have changed their minds.

We want to speak up about how young migrants are suffering, and educate more and more people about how phenomenal we are.

---

Brighter Futures is a collaborative project led by Praxis and Kazzum Arts. Words part was funded by Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Equality Trust.