SECTION 4
SECTION 4 is a community media gathering exhibition and installation on Section 4, which is the legal situation people find themselves in when their asylum application fails and they await deportation.
This situation, until recently was not widespread, but due to changes in immigration laws and procedures, hundreds of people at a time find themselves in this situation in Bristol and the amount is escalating quickly. There are many different aspects to this problem, such as increasing destitution as people are deprived of the right to medical aid, transport and housing, as well as evidence of harassment during deportation. This is what the project aims to do: provide and allow for the gathering of community centred evidence of this condition.
SECTION 4 will seek to gather opinions via this website, printed material, and through video and audio interviews gathered while the event is running. Recorded interviews will be displayed and played. Food will be provided freely to asylum seekers during the easton arts trail, whilst in the Pierian Centre, a symbolic jumble sale of left behind items from a deportation, and donated items will be gathered for the week running up to the exhibition at the Pierian Centre, to be sold on the day with proceeds going towards Bristol based charitable organisations directly supporting failed asylum seekers. The jumble sale forms the first stage of a planned reconstruction of living spaces and deportation.
The event is taking place at the Pierian Centre, Bristol during Refugee Week 2007 on Saturday 23rd June and during the Easton Arts Trail, Bristol on the 31st June and 1st July at the Kebele Co-op, Robertson Road, Bristol. More information can be found on the event’s flyer.
During the event you will be able to add testimonies or opinions on Section 4, failed asylum and deportation. Once an appropriate page is ready, this will be able to happen, but for now you are welcome to submit contributions to Ale’s email address.
I made friends with a family from Bolivia,who were seeking asylum herein Bristol. They became like family, and over 3 years,our children grew up together. Even going to the same school. One day, at4pm, just after all the children were home from school, they police came with helicopters and an armoured van. They took me friend and her 4 children away. We did not get to say good bye. I could not explain enough, to my children, were there friends were and why and no one could explain it to me. I am sad and angry, this is not what I vote for. I am ashamed of this countries lack of compation and global responsibility.
Comment by KRISHINDAPOWERS-DUFF — 23 June 2007 @ 12:22 pm
So here we are in 2007 and we still don’t know how to treat each other with dignity and respect that every body has the right to.
Yet within this unanimous ‘we’, there is still the sound of people comming together to find out about each other, and creating a ‘we’ that does treat each other with dignity.
So here we are in Easton and I dont know who my neighbours are.
So here we are in Easton and I am in gratitude to the art/ work/ life project of Section 4, bringing people together.
The poject reminds me that art is part of the age old communication process of being human.
I see you, and you see me. What are you, who are you? Where are you?
And after all that pain and worry, asking- what makes you happy in this place? And we have a place to start. Building and rebuilding our lives.
Comment by Tasha — 30 June 2007 @ 6:03 pm
Day 2 of the Section 4 exhibition is about to start, I should open the doors. It’s been interesting so far, not enough gathering of comment but lots of ideas about how to take it further, to plymouth, to the input of Iranian visual artists who could really influence it, to arts council funding for visual side - I really want to put things out clearly: what happens the day you fail in your asylum claim, how do people’s temporary and non existent beds look, how does it look after people are deported, how do they survive after deportation in their home countries. And the link up with people like BID and the IOM, ways to get a video pool going so as to grow the content in some unmanaged way, all towards next year’s Refugee Week - it’s getting much more space and time then at the lovely Pierian Centre next year…
Comment by Ale Fernandez — 1 July 2007 @ 11:07 am