By The Ripple Effect Team, Sam Dixon
The Ripple Effect was invited to speak with members of the Ladies BAG group and have a conversation about how people feel about the flags; how safe they feel being residents in Dinnington and we spoke about the divides that exist within the community itself.
“It seemed like a big thing locally when the flags went up. What did you think?” Members of the group had an awareness of both of the “reasons” behind the flags; however, they felt that locally there was more of a negative focus on immigration as being people’s reason. Not only did flags go up in Dinnington there was a lot of vandalism, individuals painting red crosses on white mini roundabouts and on many white spaces. The general consensus was that its okay to be patriotic but there’s a right way to do it. One resident spoke about the world cup coming up and historically as a family they have always displayed the St Georges Flag. Now they are rethinking what they are going to do as they are afraid of the racist perception that may be reflected onto them.
“I also wouldn’t give the flag to a charity shop or anything because I’m not sure how people would then see me… or how somebody could use that flag in the future”
It was recognised that not everyone understands all of the facts and figures surrounding immigration and the impact that it has on the borough as a whole. People see and hear things from social media and by word of mouth that doesn’t always show the real picture.
“I’ve been on the waiting list for a house for 12 years for a house around here. Whenever I bid on a property It looks like I’m at the top of the list then all of a sudden, I get pushed right down the list. I know when people get status, they are homeless and they need somewhere to live…… But it feels unfair. The system is wrong”
What is it like around here after dark? Are there any areas that you feel more comfortable in than others?” Most members of the group agreed that they don’t go out after dark
“Its’s full of louts”
When we discussed this further as a group and asked questions about the perceptions of the “louts” it was accepted that the problem was probably more down to the fact that young people have a lack of spaces to go. Locally there is little to no youth provision, something that is recognised across the community and partnered organisations.
The conversation moved on to how young people develop their opinions and where their influences come from. It was discussed how much influence has over young people and how people find it easier to hide behind a screen “keyboard warriors” rather than learning how to express themselves effectively.
The feedback from the session was really positive. The group said they found the session
“Interesting”
“Informative”
“(I am) frustrated at the government and social media”
“The session has got me wondering why people are more willing to believe the lies rather than the truth”
“I feel better about understanding immigration”
“It would be interesting to ask these questions. Are you proud to be British?, Were you ever?, Are you ashamed?
The conversation carried on a little afterwards talking about “Racial Bias”, where it comes from and someone’s personal perspective/experience can affect whether their view is positive or negative. It was agreed however that with this bias there is no hate attached to it.
The learning we’re taking away from this is a suggestion from one of the groups that a fact sheet with sources would be a useful tool for people to be able to take away after a session like this. As a project we have already discussed in what form this is going to be produced, and what sources we are going to use that will be recognised by our communities.
We also were very free in the direction the conversation was going which went off topic too however it gave an informal approach from us which they felt comfortable with, and we enjoyed discussing other topics with them to build rapport. After discussing other topics, we would gently redirect everyone to what we were originally discussing. This approach worked well with this group as they are very talkative and enjoy discussing various things.
We are hoping to continue having conversations with this group and will hopefully set up another session with different questions. We are hoping to continue building rapport with this group and as they get more comfortable with us, we can ask more interesting questions and see if people do have particular issues with certain aspects of migration policy. We can then answer questions from reliable sources and guide them to better understanding than they already have.
The group were also open to attending the Eid/Easter party.