To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we spoke to many of the people who are an important part of our history. Joe has been with the organisation for over fifteen years, and told us what working for Rainbow Migration means to him.
I first heard about Rainbow Migration in May 2007, after I started transitioning and began to support other trans men. I had a passion for human rights issues and was attending a trans support group, eventually joining their committee. I helped out by answering enquiry emails. One email was from a trans man who wanted help with their transition, but who also needed to claim asylum. I was unsure how to help someone in the asylum system, so I sought advice elsewhere. I contacted Stephen Whittle, an LGBTQI+ activist and trans man, and he suggested the Rainbow Migration legal advice meetings, so I accompanied the service user to one of these meetings. It was in a big room, with many other LGBTQI+ people claiming asylum present. Volunteer lawyers explained the process, and afterwards we had a private conversation with a solicitor. Thanks to their advice, I helped him start the application process.
The meeting was a real eye-opener for me. I was blown away by how awful and dehumanising the process is for LGBTQI+ people. I was dismayed by how much evidence people needed to provide to “prove” they are LGBTQI+. It was a wake-up call and convinced me to get more involved with supporting LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum, so I began volunteering with Rainbow Migration. I went along to the meetings to help Sebastian Rocca, Erin Power, and Jill Power. They were all great to work with. I eventually began to support a few more trans men who were claiming asylum. It took a long time, but they all got granted refugee status.
“I am particularly proud of our work influencing the new ruling in 2009 that meant LGBTQI+ people who come here seeking safety couldn’t just be told to “go home and hide”. That decision had a huge impact on the people we support.”
In 2013 I was made redundant; at the same time Erin decided to leave Rainbow Migration. With more time on my hands, I took on more voluntary duties. Erin trained me in bookkeeping, admin, and organising meetings. At the time everything was being run by the trustees, especially Tim Barndon, Jackie Peirce, and Bojana Asanovic. They were very proactive and a great source of support. Eventually they hired a new Executive Director, Paul Dillane, and he secured the funding to offer me paid employment.
Working at Rainbow Migration means a lot to me. There’s something about being a refugee that touches me on a very deep level. For people to lose everything they know and love, to not have a home, and yet still have the will to come and start again and build a future in a completely new place and go through a difficult system, says so much about the strength refugees possess. Supporting refugees alongside such a great team really gives me something to feel good about.
I am particularly proud of our work influencing the new ruling in 2009 that meant LGBTQI+ people who come here seeking safety couldn’t just be told to “go home and hide”. That decision had a huge impact on the people we support.
“I love working for Rainbow Migration. It’s very emotional work for me, and I’m so happy to see the organisation continue to grow. Leila and the trustees have done an amazing job attracting a fantastic group of professionals who know how to do their job so well. I love being part of it and am so grateful to be here.”
I am also so proud of how much we’ve grown in recent years, especially since Leila Zadeh was made Executive Director in 2017, and Dane became our Support Services Manager. They’ve built a stronger support structure, and made it safer for everyone, services users and staff alike. They have improved our services, which are more organised and supportive for our service users. Moving offices, to a more private space, has also improved safeguarding. Securing new roles, such as a Legal Officer, has made a tremendous difference as well. I was also so impressed with the way the organisation moved to an online space for remote working during the COVID lockdown. We worked together as a team to maintain support for our service users during a particularly difficult time.
While we have so much to be proud of from the last 30 years, there are many things I hope we can celebrate in the future. I really wish for a safe route for people coming here. We need the government to realise that we are not a fortress. People have the right to live in a place that isn’t going to harm them for being who they are. We need to make space for people. We need to care about each other more.
I love working for Rainbow Migration. It’s very emotional work for me, and I’m so happy to see the organisation continue to grow. The new policies, safeguarding measures, and the wellbeing activities have all been such welcome, positive developments in the last few years. Leila and the trustees have done an amazing job attracting a fantastic group of professionals who know how to do their job so well. I love being part of it and am so grateful to be here.
