Refugee Rights and Responsibilities in the UK

Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry Kim Ward

The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees (ICAR) is an independent information and research organisation based in the School of Social Science at City University, London.

Address: School of Social Science City University Northampton Square London, EC1V 0HB

Tel: 020 7040 4596 Fax: 020 7040 8580 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.icar.org.uk

Acknowledgements The interviews for this research report were conducted by Kim Ward, Sophie Wainwright, Gareth Morrell and Jonathan Price. The ‘About Coventry’ section of this report was written by Sophie Wainwright. Dr Christopher McDowell provided academic oversight for the development of the research project and drafting of the final report.

A number of individuals and organisations assisted with the recruitment of respondents and the provision of space to conduct the interviews. ICAR would like to thank the following for their assistance:

Tony Milsopp, John O’Sullivan & Wendy Flynn The Workshop

Jamila Quereshi Muslim Resource Centre

Cavelle Lynch Osaba Women’s Centre

Moira Pendlebury & Jenny Cosser Age Concern Coventry

Mark Stanyer Coventry CAB

John Shannon WATCH (Working Actively to Change Hillfields Ltd)

Barbara Hall Welcome Project, Coventry Refugee Centre

Fraser Murray Coventry City Council

Simon Batten The Hope Centre

Amazon initiatives

Polish Community Centre

SOLCOM (Somali Coventry and Warwickshire Community)

Bell Green Library

Willenhall Library

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Table of Contents

Introduction ...... 6 Background, aims and objectives ...... 8 About Coventry ...... 9 Coventry’s neighbourhoods ...... 14 Method ...... 15 Terminology ...... 18 The sample ...... 19 Attitudes ...... 21 Information needs ...... 40 Improving community relations...... 45 Conclusions and recommendations ...... 5151 Bibliography ...... 554

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Content

Introduction

Coventry has a long history of immigration beginning with the settlement of the Irish in the nineteenth century through to the arrival of migrants from South Asia from the 1940s onwards and the post-war migration of Poles and Afro-Caribbeans. Ongoing migration from these regions throughout the latter half of the twentieth century has resulted in a well- established black and minority ethnic population in the city. However, the nature of migration to the city has changed in recent years; a change that is due in part to the sharp increase in the number of asylum seekers in the UK towards the end of the 1990s and the arrival of accession state migrant workers as a result of EU expansion in 2004.

In response to the growing number of asylum applications, which peaked at 84,130 in 2002, and the resource pressures that this put on housing and social services departments in the South East of England, the UK government established the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) in 1999 to co-ordinate and fund the dispersal of asylum seekers around the UK. Coventry was one of the cities to enter into a contract with NASS and the first asylum seekers to be dispersed to Coventry arrived in 2000. Although the council supported some asylum seekers before the introduction of dispersal, since 2000 the asylum seeker and refugee population in the city has grown significantly. Along with other urban centres such as Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and Leeds, Coventry now hosts one of largest asylum seeker populations outside of London. Over the last three years significant numbers of migrant workers have also arrived in Coventry; mainly from Poland and the Czech Republic.

The impact of these new forms of migration on local neighbourhoods and community relations is an under-researched topic and an area of work that the Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees (ICAR) has focused on as part of our ‘Understanding the Stranger’ programme of work. In 2004 ICAR published a piece of research which found that local people in areas of asylum dispersal are frustrated about the lack of consultation and information about the arrival of asylum seekers. Local residents also expressed fears that the arrival of asylum seekers will place an additional strain on already over-stretched resources (D’Onofrio and Munk 2004). The main aim of this current work is to develop our knowledge and understanding of the impacts of migration at a local level by researching the experiences and opinions of established residents and new arrivals in Coventry. Attention will also be paid to the types of approaches that are most likely to have a positive impact on community relations in the city.

Government engagement with the overlapping issues of migration and community relations has resulted in the development of a ‘community cohesion agenda’. The concept of community cohesion was adopted by the government as a result of the Cantle Report into the 2001 summer disturbances which occurred in a number of northern towns and cities and in 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government launched a Commission on Integration and Cohesion to consider the reasons for, and solutions to divided communities in the UK. The main focus of government policy has been on relations within and between established white and ethnic minority communities, and especially Muslim communities, rather than more recent migrants. This is despite the finding in the Cantle report that alienation was felt to be greater amongst refugees and asylum seekers than amongst established minority ethnic communities. 6

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

The 2005 Refugee Integration Strategy argues that integration strategies can assist the process of building cohesive communities by helping refugees become ‘full and active members’ of their communities and by demonstrating to local communities that refugees have a contribution to make. However, this recognition of the link between refugee integration and community cohesion and the increasing policy interest in Britain’s ‘new communities’, has not resulted in a targeted strategy for promoting positive relations between migrants and established groups. Approaches to the settlement of refugees and asylum seekers have focused more on how the migrant ‘integrates’ into the ‘host community’, mainly through accessing housing, health and employment, rather than on how the host community responds and adapts to newcomers.

Structure This report begins with a description of the background, aims and objectives of the research and is followed by a section providing some contextual information on Coventry and the settlement of refugees and asylum seekers in the region. Information is also provided on the key neighbourhoods referred to throughout the report. Details of the research method and sample are then given before the key findings of the research are presented and discussed in four sections. The first looks at the attitudes of the host population towards refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants and the attitudes that these newcomers believe are held by the host population towards them. The following section explores the day-to-day reported experiences of refugees, asylum seekers, new migrants and the host population. Particular emphasis is placed on the nature and frequency of the contact between the different groups. Section three highlights the information needs of all three groups included in the research and the final section explores current approaches to improving community relations and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. The report concludes with an overview of the key findings of the research and provides recommendations on issues that should be borne in mind when embarking upon community relations work in asylum dispersal areas and the type of initiatives that are most likely to improve community cohesion in such areas.

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Background, aims and objectives

The Welcome project This research was commissioned by the Welcome Project which was a partnership between Coventry Refugee Centre and Coventry City Council and ran for a year from April 2005. The overall aim of the Welcome Project was to facilitate the integration of newcomers into the neighbourhoods of Coventry and to learn lessons that can be applied to other parts of the country. The main objective of the Welcome Project was to work in partnership with agencies already working on integration activities by helping with planning and evaluation. The Welcome Project team was involved with multi-cultural events, awareness-raising and training on refugee and asylum issues. The main focus of the Welcome Project was refugees but it was felt by the project team that the lessons learnt from their work could be applied to the situation of other newcomers such as EU nationals. A further objective of the Welcome Project was to consult the host community and refugees on integration issues so that their views and experiences can be used to inform integration strategies at the neighbourhood and city level.

Aims The brief for the community consultation was broad. ICAR was commissioned to interview refugees in order to identify their needs, perspectives and experiences and local residents in order to identify their concerns, perspectives and information needs.

Objectives From this overall aim ICAR identified nine objectives:

• to explore how respondents perceive Coventry and their local neighbourhood • to explore whether, and how, respondents perceive change in their local neighbourhood • to explore with respondents how well people get on in their neighbourhood • to explore the quantity and quality of contact that the host population has with refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants and vice versa • to explore with the host population the perceived impacts of newcomers on Coventry and their neighbourhood • to explore with refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants their perceptions of the host population • to identify ways in which respondents felt that their neighbourhood can be improved • to identify ways in which respondents felt that community relations can be improved • to explore the information needs of the host population, refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

About Coventry

Situated in the West Midlands, Coventry is the twentieth most populous urban area in the UK (Pointer 2005) and is famous for its association with the British motor industry. The city is divided into three neighbourhood management areas (North East, North West and South) which are separated into eighteen wards and also serve as political boundaries. Each neighbourhood management area is responsible for delivering services across several wards.

Population According to the mid-2005 population estimates there were 304,200 people residing in Coventry, of whom 50.2 per cent were male and 49.8 per cent were female. Between 1982 and 2002, the population of Coventry declined by 3.9 per cent, compared with an increase of 2.4 per cent for the West Midlands region as a whole.1

Ethnicity and religion Census data from 2001 showed that the largest ethnic groups were: White (83.98%) and Asian or Asian British (11.27%), of which those of Indian ethnicity are the largest group. The last census also found that of those that ascribed to a religion: 65.26% were Christian, 4.64% were Sikh and 3.88% were Muslim. 15.06% stated that they did not belong to a religion (National Statistics 2001). According to census data, the West Midlands ranked fourth in terms of populations of non-British Isles born people since 1971, compared to ninth position from 1981- 1991 (Kyambi 2005).

Deprivation and regeneration The Indices of Multiple Deprivation combine information relating to income, employment, education, health, skills and training, barriers to housing and services and crime into an overall measure of deprivation. A score is calculated for each area; a low score indicates greater deprivation - the most deprived local authority is indicated by a rank of one.

According to the 2004 Indices of Multiple Deprivation (ODPM 2004), Coventry has an overall rank of 64 out of 354 local authorities. It has a rank of 25 on the income measure. This means it can be considered quite a deprived area in comparison to the rest of the UK.

Regeneration programmes for Coventry include the New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme in the Wood End, Henley Green, Manor Farm and Deedmore areas; European- funded Action Plans in both Hillfields and the NDC area; The Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) programme for Young People and Neighbourhood Renewal Funding which is tackling disadvantage across the city.

The Coventry Partnership is the local strategic partnership (LSP). It aims to work together to provide better local and citywide services, particularly focusing on more deprived areas of the city. The Partnership’s theme group 'Equalities and Communities' aims to promote equal opportunities for all, eliminating racism, hate crime, bullying and all other forms of intolerance. The Partnership’s theme group 'Coventry Community Safety Partnership' aims to reduce crime, the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Employment Of the people in Coventry who were of working age the employment rate was 75.8% in 2005, compared will an average for Great Britain of 78.4%. According to the 2001 Census, of the people in Coventry who were unemployed, 15.52 per cent were aged 50 and over, 12.48

9 1 See National Statistics: http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

per cent had never worked and 29.57 per cent were long-term unemployed (National Statistics 2001).

Housing Coventry City Council no longer owns any housing stock. All former Council Housing was transferred to Whitefriars Housing Group. As a result the Council no longer owns or manages any houses nor does it run neighbourhood offices for housing. The Council still nominate people to these properties through the Common Housing Register. This list provides access to properties managed by a large number of Housing Associations in Coventry. In addition to the Common Housing Register, the Council has retained responsibility for homelessness in Coventry.

The Council has recently taken areas in Hillfields, Holbrooks, Longford and Foleshill off the Common Housing Register. Properties in these areas are now allocated by Coventry Homechoice. This is a new Choice Based Lettings scheme offering people greater control over the property they live in.

Crime The crime rate in Coventry has been falling consistently for several years; however it is still higher than the average for England and Wales. 2 Coventry has a higher than national average in relation to violent crime, burglary, vehicle theft and criminal damage (Home Office 2005/6).

Asylum seekers, refugees and new migrants in Coventry

Asylum seekers The majority of asylum seekers in Coventry are supported by the Home Office. Prior to dispersal, there were a number of asylum seekers living in the city, some were supported by social services but most had been placed in the city by London borough councils.

The Home Office envisaged that the number of Home Office supported asylum seekers would never exceed the 1 (asylum seeker) to 200 (members of local population) ratio. For Coventry this meant around 1,500 asylum seekers being housed by the Home Office. The majority of Home Office supported asylum seekers are housed by privately contracted accommodation companies. In mid-2003 the 1:200 ratio was exceeded and the Home Office imposed a limit on dispersal to Coventry. In August 2004 the cap was lifted and the Home Office reinstated dispersal to the city (Coventry City Council 2004).

Figures from the Home Office state that at the end of September 2007, 5,665 asylum seekers were supported in accommodation funded by the Home Office in the West Midlands and 490 were receiving subsistence only. In Coventry, 820 asylum seekers were supported in accommodation and 95 were receiving subsistence support (Home Office 2006).

According to a recent report by the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS), Coventry’s asylum seeking population spreads across all 18 wards with the largest populations living in St Michaels’s, (which includes the Hillfields area), (525) and Foleshill (253). In total, the report found that in 2005, 1,225 asylum seekers were living in Coventry (Phillimore 2005).

2 See Coventry City Council Crime Prevention: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/policing-and-public- 10 safety/crime-and-law-enforcement/crime-prevention/

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Another report by the same centre states that ‘the main countries of origin of asylum seekers in Coventry and Warwickshire are Iraq (12.8%), Iran (11.8%), Afghanistan (8.8%), Turkey (4.9%), Czechoslovakia (4.5%), Zimbabwe (3.1%), Congo Democratic Republic (2.4%) and Albania (2.2%)’ (Phillimore et al 2003).

Refugees There are no exact figures of the numbers of refugees living in the West Midlands. Estimates from several organisations suggest that there are between 13,000 and 76,530 refugees in the region (ibid.). This disparity is partly because there are no available central records of the numbers of asylum seekers who have received a positive decision from the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA).

A small number of areas in Coventry (St. Michaels, Binley, Willenhall, Henley, Foleshill and Lower Stoke) have the largest concentrations of refugees. According to the CURS report, there are approximately 705 refugees living in Coventry across 16 wards with concentrations in Henley (224) and Binley and Willenhall (104) (ibid.).

Coventry City Council’s strategy for asylum seekers and refugees states there are approximately 3,000 to 4,000 refugees residing in the city. This has been estimated by the number of refugees who have made enquiries at the Refugee Centre; the number of refugees who have presented themselves to the Council's Housing Centre; and a calculation based on the number of dispersed asylum seekers and the national amount of positive decisions granted by the Home Office (Coventry City Council 2004).

The strategy indicates there is strong evidence of secondary migration in Coventry; refugees who have received status elsewhere in the UK and have subsequently moved to the city. According to the strategy, this movement is due to family, friendship, connections, established communities and employment opportunities as opposed to social housing (ibid.).

In 2004/5 there were 993 refugees on the housing list of Coventry City Council Housing Nominations and Advice. Of this, only 8 people were housed (ibid.). The council strategy states that the social housing sector in Coventry is unable to accommodate all refugees. Unless refugees can demonstrate a priority need, they are not eligible for housing through the Council's Housing Centre. As a result, the private sector is playing a significant role in meeting the housing needs of refugees. Increasingly, refugees are being offered social housing in other areas of the city, as alternatives to Hillfields and Foleshill.

The West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership has produced a regional strategy for the social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers in the West Midlands for 2006-09 (West Midlands Local Government Association 2006). Several Coventry based projects and initiatives are highlighted, including the Coventry Refugee Centre and the Welcome Project.

EU accession states The number of new EU accession state workers who have come to Coventry since May 2004 is growing significantly. The majority are coming from Poland and the Czech Republic. It is impossible to ascertain the precise number of EU accession state workers in Coventry, because the Home Office do not provide local authorities with this data. On a national scale, between 1st May 2004 and 30th September 2005, 58% of the 293,000 applicants to the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) were Polish. The WRS is a Home Office administered system to which workers from the accession countries are obliged to register if they are employed in the UK for a month or more.

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

This scheme provides the government with an important source of information about migrant workers from the accession countries, with recent government data showing that approximately 8% of people registered on the scheme were living in the West Midlands (Gilpin et al 2006). The 2001 Census recorded 4,574 Polish-born residents living in the West Midlands; however since the EU expansion in 2004, this number is expected to have increased considerably.3

Refugee EU nationals Over the last couple of years there has been a marked increase in EU nationals of Somali origin moving to Coventry, according to the Council’s asylum and refugee strategy. There is evidence of secondary migration from Birmingham and Leicester, as well as families coming directly from Europe, predominantly from Holland, Scandinavia and Belgium (Coventry City Council).

Key areas

Additional information on some of the key areas referred to in this report is given below. Unless otherwise stated the data is taken from the Coventry City Council Census Profile 2001:

Foleshill This ward is situated to the north of the city centre and has a population of 17,968. The majority of residents in Foleshill are from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities; 48.3% are Asian and/or Asian British and 3.2% are Black or Black British. Twenty seven per cent of residents are Muslim and 12% are Sikh. Foleshill is one of the most deprived areas in Coventry and has been subject to several regeneration projects, including the Foleshill Drug Education Project, which is a peer-led drugs awareness initiative for BME communities.

St Michael’s and Hillfields Situated in St Michael’s ward, Hillfields is located towards the north-east of the city centre. Census data from 2001 showed that St Michael’s has a population of 15,413 and is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Coventry with White British residents making up 56.3% of the population and Asian and/or Asian British 13% (National Statistics 2001). A high proportion of the city’s asylum seekers are accommodated in Hillfields. Unemployment is higher in St Michael’s than the average for Coventry; 6.5% compared to 4% for the city (ibid.). According to the 2004 ODPM English Indices of deprivation Hillfields was the most deprived area in Coventry (ODPM 2004). Crime levels are relatively high and the area has been known for high levels of prostitution, drug-dealing and substance misuse. Since 1998 a considerable amount of regeneration and community projects have been established in Hillfields including the ‘Hillfields Action Plan’, ‘Objective 2’ and the ‘Hillfields Neighbourhood Plan’.

Stoke Aldermoor Stoke Aldermoor is an area to the south-east of the city, situated in the Lower Stoke ward. The ward has a population of 15,778 and 86.5% of the residents are ethnically white. According to the ODPM English Indices of deprivation, Stoke Aldermoor ranked the third most deprived area in Coventry in 2004 (ODPM 2004). The ward is currently subject to several regeneration and renewal initiatives, such as the Master Planning and Stoke Aldermoor Renewal Project. A pilot 'One Stop Shop' scheme was established in November 2005, which aims to improve access to council services for all residents.

Willenhall

3 See BBC ‘Born Abroad - Overview of Poland’, 12 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/born_abroad/countries/html/poland.stm

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Willenhall is situated south of the city centre, within the ward of Binley and Willenhall. The ward has a population of 18,296 and consists predominantly of ethnically white residents (92.4 %), with 4.4% being Asian and/or Asian British. Willenhall North and Willenhall South ranked as the fourth and fifth most deprived areas in Coventry in the ODPM English Indices of deprivation in 2004 (ODPM 2004). Willenhall has benefited from being chosen as one of the areas to receive funding for projects from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF). The NRF is a government initiative set up to regenerate priority neighbourhoods. A wide range of projects received funding, including sports activities, mental health support groups and community centres.

Wood End, Henley Green, Manor Farm and Bell Green All of these areas are in the north east of the city and lie within the wards of Henley and Longford. There is much less diversity than Hillfields in this part of the city. There is however a well-established Asian community in the Longford Ward, making up about 12% of the population (this compares to around 3% of the population in the Henley Ward). Wood End ranked as the second most deprived area in Coventry in the ODPM English Indices of deprivation in 2004 (ODPM 2004). In 2001 the Coventry New Deals for Communities (NDC) partnership (which covers the areas of Wood End, Henley Green, Manor Farm and Deedmore) was awarded £54 million of NDC funding in order to regenerate and transform these areas. NDC is a government-led strategy to tackle multiple deprivation in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. NDC partnerships aim to tackle five main issues which include: poor job prospects; high levels of crime; educational under-achievement; poor health; and problems with housing and the physical environment.4

13 4 See Communities and Local Government ‘New Deal for Communities’

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Coventry’s neighbourhoods

Source: The Coventry Development Plan 2001, www.coventry.gov.uk , adapted by ICAR 2008.

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Method

Scope of research ICAR’s initial brief was to conduct research among two groups of people: local residents or the ‘host community’ and refugees resident in Coventry. However, in consultation with the Welcome project the scope of the research was extended in two ways. It was decided that the views and experiences of asylum seekers should also be sought. The rationale for this was because most refugees seek asylum before they obtain refugee status, so the inclusion of asylum seekers would afford a more holistic picture of the situation of newcomers in Coventry. Additionally, research into public attitudes has demonstrated that local residents and the media often confuse immigration categories and do not fully understand the legal and other differences between asylum seekers, refugees and other types of migrants. Once the ICAR project team began interviews with the host community and refugees and asylum seekers, ‘new migration’ to Coventry emerged as an issue of concern both to the host community and among refugees and asylum seekers with Polish migrants being mentioned in many of the interviews. For the purposes of this research ‘new migrants’ are those migrants who arrived in the UK in the last ten years but who have not claimed asylum or been awarded refugee status. Additional interviews were arranged with so called new migrants which included recent migrants from Poland and migrants from Africa.

This study was carried out in two phases, during the first a literature review was completed, and during the second phase a qualitative study was undertaken on the experiences and attitudes of refugees, asylum seekers, new migrants and the host community towards their local neighbourhood.

Literature review A literature search was carried out on the main themes and topics raised in the research brief. Two key areas were identified, public attitudes and the improvement of community relations. Relevant literature was located using academic databases, bibliographies from key texts, government websites, general internet searches and ICAR’s resource library. Academics were also consulted in this process. A range of material was identified including journal articles, books, policy papers and research reports.

Qualitative research The initial aim of the study was to carry out a mixture of focus groups and individual semi- structured interviews. However, difficulties were encountered in securing support from local stakeholders in the recruitment of participants for scheduled focus groups. It was also felt by the research team that the commitment involved in attending a pre-arranged focus group would mean that certain groups of potential respondents would be excluded from the sample. There developed a consensus that individual interviews would allow people to express views and relay experiences that they may otherwise not feel comfortable expressing in a group situation. The decision was therefore taken to conduct individual interviews instead of focus groups, using a flexible and varied method of recruitment so that a diverse range of people could be included in the research.

As four researchers carried out the interviews it was necessary to develop a detailed topic schedule with a number of prompts and probes in order to ensure greater inter-interviewer consistency. Depending on the responses of interviewees, varying themes were explored by the interviewers in addition to the questions detailed in the schedule. Topic schedules were developed in accordance with the objectives detailed above.

Sampling and recruitment The aim of the study was to obtain a maximum variation sample. This technique enabled the 15 researchers to purposefully select a set of individuals that exhibited maximal differences in

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

terms of area of residence, age and gender. With asylum seekers, refugees and new migrants there was also a conscious effort to ensure that a range of nationalities were included in the research. To avoid over-dependence on one network in the recruitment of refugees and asylum seekers and therefore the danger of interviewing people with similar experiences a number of different agencies working with refugees and asylum seekers were used (Bloch 1999). Particularly helpful were contacts with employment agencies providing services that are accessed by a range of local people, as it was felt that contact was provided with refugees who may not have any involvement with other types of community groups. A snowball technique was also used to recruit friends and acquaintances of individuals that had already been interviewed. Finally, a couple of refugees were interviewed as a result of spontaneous recruitment.

For the host population, efforts were made to increase the likelihood that a range of backgrounds and social classes were included in the research. To this end, different recruitment techniques were used. A diverse range of organisations acted as gatekeepers and referred clients, volunteers or co-workers to be included in the research. Agencies ranged from local community groups working on regeneration and involved in advice work, to a Citizens Advice Bureau, Age Concern and the Muslim Resource Centre. In addition, a total of sixteen people were spontaneously recruited from the street for interviews in libraries at three different locations, (Bell Green, Willenhall and the city centre). This technique ensured that the research included individuals that may not have been willing to attend a pre-arranged meeting but who were happy to give an interview over their lunch- break or while they were shopping. Efforts were made to ensure that individuals living in areas with a high or growing refugee or asylum seeker population were well-represented and for at least half the respondents this was the case.

Whilst a maximum variation sampling technique does not allow an in-depth exploration of individual narratives it does serve to identify important common patterns that cut across variations. It was acknowledged that the size of the host community sample (30 people) would not be large enough to allow comparisons on the basis of age or social class for example. However, it was felt that the efforts made to ensure a diverse range of interviewees were included in the research meant that a snap-shot of attitudes towards asylum seekers in Coventry could be achieved.

The research team encountered difficulties recruiting asylum seekers. It was felt that one of the reasons for this was that asylum seekers were more likely to feel vulnerable due to their insecure status. When recruiting potential participants the team was advised by the ‘gatekeepers’ of some organisations that asylum seekers were more sceptical about the purposes of the interview and were worried about the impact of being interviewed on their claim. Whilst we were keen to emphasise that the identity of the asylum seekers and any information they gave us would remain confidential, the team were also conscious of not placing undue pressure on potential respondents to participate in the research. It was also felt that the ‘asylum experience’ could be explored with refugees in the interviews.

The research team also faced problems recruiting local residents that were in the 18-24 age bracket. This was because the organisations we worked in partnership with did not manage to secure any interest from potential participants in this age bracket and spontaneous recruitment strategies were equally unsuccessful. Consequently, the views of younger people are not reflected in the sample proportionately.

The profile of the final sample is given overleaf.

Data collection Interviews were carried out confidentially in either a private room at a library or in a room provided by one of the local agencies. The interviews were semi-structured and lasted 16

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

between 25 minutes and an hour. Interviewees were given a £10 gift voucher in recognition of their time. The interviews were carried out between December 2005 and September 2006.

All interviewees were given the option of being interviewed in their first language with the use of an interpreter and five made use of this offer. Some interviewees felt more comfortable being interviewed with a friend, this was particularly the case for refugees and new migrants. A total of five new migrant and six refugee interviews were conducted in this way. All interviews were tape-recorded with informed-consent.

Data analysis Interviews were transcribed and the author charted the data for thematic analysis according to the principles of the Framework method (Spencer and Ritchie 1993). Data arising from the interviews with the host population, refugees and asylum seekers and new migrants were analysed separately, though the resultant frameworks developed for charting and interpreting data were compared. Codes and frameworks were rooted in the aims of the project and guided by the nature of the interview data generated.

Limitations Given the size of this sample this research can only be read as illustrative of experiences and needs of the host population, refugees and asylum seekers and new migrants in Coventry. However, the report provides rich material and raises a number of themes which need to be taken into consideration when developing a city-wide strategy for refugees and asylum seekers.

Ethical considerations City University ethical guidelines and those of the relevant professional associations were followed in this research project. All individuals approached to participate received a study information sheet, detailing parameters of participation, confidentiality and anonymisation, allowing individuals to make an informed decision about participation. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all interviewees, and with explicit, specific consent, interviews were tape-recorded. All data will be stored in a locked cabinet at ICAR’s offices and will not be shared with others.

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Terminology

A number of terms are used in this report to refer to different categories of migrants. The term asylum seeker refers to someone who has lodged an application for asylum that is still outstanding. A refugee refers to someone who has received a positive decision on their application and has been awarded either indefinite leave to remain or five years limited leave. In some contexts refugees and asylum seekers are subsumed within the category of new migrants. However, for the purposes of this research a distinction is made and the term new migrant refers to individuals who have migrated to the UK in the last ten years but have not lodged an application for asylum. Such individuals may be registered under the EU workers registration scheme, have status in another EU country or have settled in the country as a result of family reunion. The terms host population and local residents are used interchangeably to refer to individuals or populations that were either born in the UK or have resided in the country for a substantial period of time. This includes established first generation migrants as well as black and minority ethnic groups. The term ‘new arrivals’ is used to refer to new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

The sample

A total of 72 people were interviewed for this research project of which 28 were refugees or asylum seekers. Twenty four of the respondents were refugees and four were asylum seekers. Respondents in the refugee and asylum seeker sample are from eleven different countries.

Afghan Burundi Congolese Iranian Kenyan Rwandan 2 2 7 1 1 7

Somali Sudanese Syrian Tanzanian Zimbabwean 4 1 1 1 1

Seventeen of the respondents were male and 11 female. There were a range of ages in the sample although there were fewer interviewees in the lowest age category and none over 55.

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 4 16 5 3

The refugees and asylum seekers live in a variety of areas in the city.

Henley Manor Barr’s Hill Canley Foleshill Hillfields Longford Green farm 1 1 4 2 5 1 1

Stoke Stoke Stoke Heath Tile Hill Willenhall Wood end Aldermoor 3 2 1 2 3 2

Fourteen new migrants were interviewed for this study. Six are from Cote d’Ivoire, one was Tanzanian and another seven were Polish. Nine are male and five are female.

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 5 3 4 2

The new migrant interviewees lived in a variety of areas in the city:

Henley Foleshill Holbrooks Stivichall Stoke Tile Hill Willenhall Green 4 3 1 1 3 1 1

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

A total of 30 local residents were interviewed and exactly half are female and half male. Respondents are from sixteen different areas in the city:

Central Cannon Chapel Chelysm Earlsdo Henley Bell Green Coventr Foleshill Park fields -ore n Green y 5 1 2 1 2 1 1 1

Park Potters Stok Tile Whorble Willenha Hillfields Holbrooks Radford Hill Green e Hill y ll 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5

Respondents from the host population sample were of the following ages:

25-34 35-44 45-54 55 - 64 65 and over 6 7 5 8 4

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Attitudes

An aim of this research was to obtain a sense of the 'local attitudinal culture' in relation to asylum issues (Finney and Peach 2004). This involved exploring three sets of related attitudes: first the attitudes of the host population towards refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants; second the attitudes that newcomers believed were held by the host population; and finally, the research sought to understand in a general way the attitudes of newcomers towards the local host population in all its diversity.

Host population In a bid to better understand the local attitudinal culture, attitudes expressed by the host population towards refugees and asylum seekers were categorised into one of four types: ‘positive’, ‘negative’, ‘ambivalent’ and ‘passively tolerant’.5 This typology has been developed from the one designed by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) (EUMC 2001). The EUMC typology identifies four categories of people according to their attitudes towards minority groups: 'actively tolerant', 'intolerant', 'passively tolerant' and 'ambivalent'.

The typology used in this report has been modified because the main focus of the host population attitudes was more often about the negative or positive associations that they had with asylum seekers and refugees and less about whether or not they were prepared to tolerate them. For example, individuals with positive attitudes associate certain qualities with asylum seekers and refugees, see them as contributing something to society or feel that society has an obligation towards them. These types of attitudes are more engaged than the term tolerance would suggest.

Similarly, it was not felt appropriate to classify negative attitudes as intolerant as this not only encompasses a diverse range of concerns but involves pre-judging all concerns as intolerant. Some individuals focused on what was believed to be unacceptable behaviour by asylum seekers and refugees while others commented on the perception that they benefited from preferential treatment or observed that they were having a detrimental impact on society. In addition to focusing on the perceived characteristics of a social group (in this case asylum seekers) negative attitudes were also expressed in terms of frustration with the immigration system and a perception that it is ineffective and unfair.

An understanding of negative attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees is also complicated by the literature that establishes a link between race and asylum (Joppke 1998; Schuster and Solomos 1999; Schuster 2003). One of the central themes of this literature is that notions of race and identity became bound up in the immigration discourse in Britain and that the exclusionary dynamics of this discourse were then played out in the asylum discourse when asylum became politically salient. However, the presentation of race in the public realm is now much less overtly negative, (Sibley 1995). The more traditional associations of racism with prejudice on the basis of colour have been developed in order to take into account the new and more complex forms of exclusion.

Academics have observed that asylum seekers have become the new target for exclusionary notions of belonging and identity which are made up of complex and shifting intersections between immigration status, race, class and gender, (Schuster 2003). Lewis has observed that whilst outright racism is now unacceptable in today's society 'there appears to be very

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little social sanction against negative remarks about asylum seekers', (Lewis 2005 and 2006). When arguments for exclusion are framed in 'common sense' terms, such as the need to protect the resources of a beleaguered Welfare State, then attention is diverted from the other dynamics that may be at play. It can be argued that asylum seekers have become scapegoats for a whole host of concerns related to the impact of immigration on the UK, not least the impact on identity and belonging. Now that it has become unacceptable to express these fears in terms of race they are being expressed as hostility towards a social group: asylum seekers, (even though there is often confusion over the difference between asylum seekers and other types of migrants).

The attitudes of the respondents were divided up into the four types identified above so that an overall impression of the sample could be obtained. However, it is important to acknowledge that attitudes comprise dynamic and complex interactions with experience and knowledge and are not two-dimensional, unchanging or fixed formulations. Research on the formation of attitudes towards asylum seekers has identified a lack of cohesion in people's attitudes. It has been noted that individuals can articulate very different responses to the same issue when it is tackled from different angles. In other words, there is not a single scheme or 'master attitude' that encapsulates all of the standpoints that an individual may express, (Blommaert et al 2003). For example, some individuals gave a very positive response that contained a reservation, or question, and others demonstrated attitudes that were overwhelmingly negative but gave the clarification that there is 'good and bad in everyone'.

When questioned individually about their attitudes, and about the perceived attitudes of their neighbours, respondents from the host population sample often did not distinguish between asylum seeker, refugee and other types of migrants. This is in line with other research that has been carried out on public attitudes towards asylum seekers (Finney and Peach 2006; Lewis 2006 and 2005).

Most respondents, 73%, conveyed an understanding that asylum migration was only a form of economic migration to the UK and imparted very general comments about migration and foreigners in the interview:

Interviewer: What are your feelings about the arrival of refugees and asylum seekers in the area? Respondent: It is a common sense that the people don't like them because they are a burden on us. If they come legally as professionals it's okay... Its foreigners who come over to work and earned some money and work very hard that sort of people we will invite. Not just professionals. We need labour in building and farming and our youngsters don't like this. I'm not in favour that they should be banned totally but they should be given proper visa and then come over here. (Male local resident, 55-64, Central Coventry)

Twenty seven per cent of respondents expressed an awareness of the concept of asylum and the difference between an asylum seeker and other types of migrants. However, such knowledge did not automatically lead to a positive attitude towards asylum seekers; of the eight interviewees that displayed knowledge about the asylum system only half of them had positive attitudes towards asylum seekers. Conversely, one respondent with a positive attitude towards asylum seekers expressed this is terms of her appreciation of diversity and willingness to engage with people who are Muslim (but did not explicitly refer to asylum seekers in her response):

Interviewer: Are you aware of any asylum seekers or refugees living in your area? Respondent: We have a very nice Muslim family more or less opposite me; our houses are set in a square. Very nice people, they all say hello to me and wave to me and 22

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what have you. She tries very hard; you know she gives me a hug when she sees me. The lady next door to her has not moved in very long but I've started saying hello to her, asking how she is. I'm not sure what nationality she is. (Female local resident, 55- 64, Henley Green)

Where respondents had knowledge about the concept of asylum, but displayed negative attitudes towards asylum seekers, they were firm in their belief that a significant percentage of asylum applicants are not genuine:

Who is genuine asylum seeker and who aint? This is where the problem is because the government we've got at the moment has just left an open door. You know, you've got all sorts coming in. Some people who have probably fleed (sic) for their lives but also the criminal types. You know, Eastern Europe and all over. (Male local resident, 35-44, Bell Green)

Despite common misunderstandings about the legal concept of asylum and the differences between asylum seekers, refugees and other forms of migrants in terms of legal status and motivations for flight and migration, 70% of the respondents gave examples of nationalities, (or continents), that are likely to fit the profile of the asylum seeker and refugee population in Coventry. The origin of asylum seekers and refugees most commonly identified was Africa (11). The following ‘nationalities’ were also highlighted: Kosovan (or ‘Eastern European’ as shorthand for Kosovan) (10), Iraqi (8), Somali (6), Bosnian (4), Afghan (3), Iranian (2) and Kurdish (2). It is of note that in 2005 Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Nigeria all featured in the top ten applicant nationalities, that Bosnia has produced a significant numbers of refugees and Kurdish asylum applicants are subsumed within the relevant nationality. It would therefore appear that a majority of respondents could identify the origin of asylum seekers and refugees in Coventry.

Thirty per cent of respondents identified countries of origin which are not currently producing any (or very few) asylum seekers and nationalities that do not have a contemporary refugee flows to Coventry. Examples include Polish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, and Chinese (in relation to Chinese students), ‘EU migrants' and Indian or Asian migrants (in the context of referring to established ethnic minorities).

One sixth of the sample mentioned Polish migrants in their interviews and this was always done so in a positive manner. Polish immigrants seemed to be associated with being hard- working and skilled.

The Poles come in as well. I don’t mind the Poles, because they’re workers. (Male local resident, 55-64, Chapel fields)

Using the typology described above it was found that 17% of respondents displayed a proactively positive attitude towards refugees and asylum seekers. The observation of someone who volunteers at a community group can be taken as an example:

They're great. We've got a lot of refugees from the Middle East who volunteer at ___. I think that the people who have left their countries are the best ones as they have stood up to bad things and left' (Male local resident, over 65, Hillfields)

Other reasons given for positive attitudes include a recognition that refugees and asylum seekers are in need, a feeling that there is something positive to learn from other cultures, the willingness of refugees to work despite their difficult experiences and the feeling that everyone should be shown respect despite differences in culture. 23

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Ten per cent of interviewees gave responses that demonstrate a passive tolerance of asylum seekers and refugees based on the expressed belief that everyone should be free to get on with their lives as they see fit. Responses in this category did not contain overtly negative or positive associations and are characterised by a more disengaged approach.

I think that I’m quite tolerant anyway. I just treat people how I find them. I try to be helpful (Female local resident, 35-44, Willenhall)

A further 27% of respondents were best characterised as having ambivalent attitudes which means that they expressed a roughly equal amount of both negative and positive associations with refugees and asylum seekers. The following respondent expresses both resentment and empathy:

They get free housing and they seem to be quite well off for clothing and wear designer clothing, with no form of visible income and I think that this causes tensions… we have people coming and going all the time. People who have no means of support of who are claiming asylum or who are being repressed in their own country with no form of support. I know how hard it is, I was contemplating immigration to Australia at one point but it’s extremely hard. (Male local resident, 35-44, Tile Hill).

One interviewee gave an ambivalent response from quite a unique perspective. He is originally from Somalia and has a refugee background but has been in the country from a young age and is now a citizen. He identified strongly as a member of the host population during the interview:

The tension is due to the foreigners. They don't speak English. The problem is that people don't understand each other, that is a big problem.... It's not racism from people in Coventry. There may be a few people but most are not. It's just individuals. It's like fish and chips, having two colours together, they go together. It's not colour that is the problem. They may call you foreigner but they don't mean it. (Male local resident, 25-34, Bell Green)

Almost half the respondents, when prompted, expressed attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees that were mainly negative. Reasons for negative attitudes were explored with all respondents (including those with an overall ambivalent attitude) and a range of responses were given. These reasons can be grouped together under two main underlying beliefs or value systems that provide the framework to attitudes, (it should be noted that respondents would often express both types of beliefs in an interview depending on the issue under discussion). The first set of opinions or beliefs are that 'charity begins at home' and that UK resources should go to those who are 'deserving'. The deserving are identified by looking at who has contributed to the country, (usually in the form of taxes), or through perceived membership of the British nation-state.

Get 'em out and let us have our country back and just keep the British here whether they are white, Indian, Black, pink, green. If they are born here then they're British. Keep 'em here and get the rest out and our life would be a lot more easier. (Female local resident, 35-44, Foleshill)

For this respondent it is individuals who have citizenship or who are born in the UK that ‘qualify’ for membership. For others it may be particular social, racial and ethnic groups that do not belong. Immigration policies and practices are one of the more concrete sites where belonging is mediated and identities are contested (Doty 1996; Stasiulis and Yuval-Davis 1995). Wherever the membership line is dawn, those who are beyond its parameters are not entitled to the benefits that membership entails. 24

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Four of the respondents expressed the idea that Britain should be looking after 'it's own' before helping others.

Interviewer: What do you think about your local area and how people get along? Respondent: As I say, it used to be a nice place to live and I'm sure it still would be if they looked after the people who were born and bred here and not the people coming in from the other side of the world. That's my view. (Male local resident, 55-64, Bell Green)

Huysmans has noted that “…immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees are increasingly seen as having no legitimate right (which is different from their legal rights) to social assistance and welfare provisions” (Huysmans 2000). Two of the respondents expressed a feeling of injustice that they had paid taxes but were not benefiting from the welfare system when asylum seekers and refugees were and had not paid taxes. There was a strong sense of competition for resources expressed in the interviews which builds upon the notions of entitlement discussed above.

Housing is a primary concern for interviewees with 33% of people feeling that refugees and asylum seekers were fairing better than local residents in accessing social housing, and obtaining better quality housing.

There was a case recently where a couple of very established families that were very involved in the local community and had done a lot of work with lower income families, were lower income families themselves and there was an instance where a certain amount of local authority housing was made available to asylum seekers and not people from the local community and they perhaps felt that they should have been prioritised for making those tangible contributions. There was a sense that an agenda had been put in play and their contribution had not been acknowledged by the local authority (Male local resident, 25-34, Chelysmore)

The same respondent felt that funding for services such as libraries and community projects had been diverted away from the host population:

It is right that people have access to books in their own language but this shouldn’t be at the expense of English language materials in the library…the library is no longer fulfilling their role and they are over-compensating for the charge that they are serving only English-language speakers. (Male local resident, 25-34, Chelysmore)

This sense of resentment at perceived favouritism or discretionary treatment runs through 37% of the interviews. Access to benefits is also resented (30%), as was the feeling that asylum seekers and refugees had preferential treatment in relation to health care (10%). Interviewees felt that refugees and asylum seekers were not contributing to the country through paid work (13%) but that their presence also meant that the competition for jobs had increased (23%).

I'm out of work again at the moment through no fault of my own and now there are other people getting jobs that I think that I should be entitled to because I've lived my life in this country. I should have that job before that person who comes from Africa. (Male local resident, 55-64, Bell Green)

Some interviewees felt that refugees and asylum seekers visibly displayed their money through trainers, expensive clothes and mobile phones (17%) and that this was unacceptable when there are some local residents that are unable to afford such luxuries.

There is a sense that double standards are in play (13%) inasmuch as 'they come over here 25

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and don't abide by our rules but we have to abide by their rules when we go to their county' (Local resident, Bell Green). It was felt that Coventry and the UK in general was a 'soft touch', had a more generous welfare system than other countries and took more that its fair share of asylum seekers and refugees (20%). One respondent stated; 'they assume that we owe them something but I don't think that we do.' (Female local resident, over 65, Potters Green)

The involvement of relatives in the Second World War on the side of the British was referenced by two interviewees, maybe because this is perceived to be one of the biggest sacrifices and investments that an individual can make for their nation. In a recent study it was observed that historically the Welfare State was understood as a reward for the participation of the working classes in the war effort and that allowing migrants access to the welfare state on an equal footing has resulted in resentment because there is a perception that they are benefiting from a system to which they have not contributed (Dench et al 2006).

My Dad's been fighting in the second world war to keep the German's out only to let everyone else in and now we are being taken over without a fight. You can't just throw it away like that. (Male local resident, 35-44, Bell Green)

The second set of opinions and beliefs that would seem to guide negative attitudes to asylum seekers is the feeling that different cultures are a threat to British values and way of life. With this belief comes the concomitant assumption that asylum seekers bring with them a range of undesirable characteristics that will disrupt accepted norms and behaviour. Some respondents felt that asylum seekers and refugees were insular and 'stick to their own’. It was argued that they should make more effort to mix and integrate into British society and make more effort to learn English. A few respondents were suspicious or uncomfortable when they felt that asylum seekers or refugees were speaking their own language in front of them:

Well they say 'what's he saying in that other language', what's he saying about me and you know, it all kicks off. I'd say 90% of the population get pissed off about it, because, you know, it's Britain, you don't speak another language especially to an English person. So if it's different language people always think that it is about them (Male local resident, 25-34, Willenhall)

Other interviewees did not like the way asylum seekers and refugees dressed (7%), their different habits (7%) and their manners (7%). The behaviour of men was given as a reason for disliking asylum seekers and refugees by a number of respondents. People felt intimidated by men hanging around in groups (17%), especially the town centre and observed that these men give local female residents unwanted sexual attention (13%). Some respondents also questioned why there are so many single men and felt that it was improper for them to have left their wives and children behind (13%).

I've got to say this and I don't care. Where are all their women? You see them walking around in broad daylight and they are all males. I'm thinking where all your women and children are. They’ve left their country and they've left their women and children behind. What sort of men are they? (Male local resident, 35-44, Bell Green)

Research has found that young, single male asylum seekers are more likely than families to come across as threatening, devious or ‘bogus’ (Finney and Peach 2006). Asylum seekers and refugees were also associated with a variety of crime including; drugs (3%), rape (10%), theft (7%) and violence (17%). Kosovans were particularly singled out in relation to crime by four of the respondents.

The term 'Eastern European' had different meanings for different respondents but was 26

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usually employed as a synonym for Kosovans (although it was used to refer to Albanians and Bosnians by three of the respondents). In general, Kosovans were highlighted as causing the most problems by interviewees but Albanians, Bosnians and Iraqis were also identified as trouble-makers.

The worst thing is all these Bosnians, Kosovans and Iraqis. They are trying to get into everything. They’re claiming dole and working also. They all live in Hillfields area and that's like the red light district and they are trying to muscle in on that. And there have been lots of attacks on girls by these Eastern Europeans, like Iraqis. I mean if you look on the crime watch you can see how many people are wanted from places like Iraq, Kosovans, Bosnians (sic). (Male local resident (Indian migrant), 45-54, Whorbley)

The fear of terrorism (10%) and AIDS (3%) were also associated with refugees and asylum seekers. It was felt by some that they had made Coventry a dirtier place (10%) and others did not like it when they begged for money in the centre of Coventry (13%).

The reasons given for positive attitudes (which have already been detailed above) were far less diverse than those for negative attitudes. Respondents were much more likely to express a general value than they were to give specific examples for their tolerance. However, underpinning beliefs and values provide a framework through which information and knowledge is filtered. Such values may be a commitment to diversity and multiculturalism and the feeling that British people should be welcoming to foreigners. Passively tolerant attitudes would appear to be guided by values such as 'not judging a book by its cover', 'giving everyone a fair chance' and 'taking people as you find them'.

Some interviewees were frustrated because they felt that they were not able to express their opinions and experiences openly because of political correctness and for fear of being labelled a racist (17%). It is interesting that this dynamic was identified by one of the asylum seekers in an interview:

Interviewer: What do you think local residents think of newcomers? Respondent: People don't like talking about this because the teachings of the telly, they say that you're not supposed to be racist, you're not supposed to talk negative about anybody. But people have got fear about people coming too much and they don't know how they are. Whether they are bringing good things. Are they good people or bad people? This is normal. (Female Kenyan asylum seeker, 35-44, Barr's Hill)

Individuals with some of the more negative views would still offer the clarification that they were not being racist.

Possibly a lot of people think like me but they won't say anything because they don't like being labelled a racist. I find with this country that if you speak out against what is going on then you get labelled a racist. And people are frightened of that word but I'm not frightened of that word. If it's not right, it's not right and I believe in calling a spade a spade. (Male local resident, 35-44, Bell Green)

Some literature predicts that personal experience of migration can generate attitudes that are more positive towards asylum seekers and refugees (Finney 2004; Hollands 2001). However, of the fourteen respondents with negative attitudes six of them were first generation Asian immigrants, (both Indian and Pakistani) one was a first generation Irish immigrant and another a second generation Irish immigrant. The only other immigrant in the sample was another Asian women who demonstrated ambivalent attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees. Although the sample is small, and most of the respondents are in the older age brackets, it is still noteworthy that nearly all of the people who had gone through 27

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the experience of migration, or who were familiar with it, displayed negative associations with asylum seekers and refugees.

Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) on public attitudes to asylum seekers in England found that in the five towns and cities that they carried out focus groups minority ethnic participants were more likely to be positive about the social contributions made by asylum seekers and refugees. However, in Birmingham the Pakistani group felt that increasing numbers of Somalis had undermined the historically good relationships between minority ethnic groups in the city (Lewis 2005). As a result of research conducted in Glasgow IPPR observed that the Black and minority ethnic sample felt that the debate about asylum seekers increased racism and undermined the status quo. However, it was also noted that most participants displayed empathy with asylum seekers and identified with the migratory experience (Lewis 2006). In reference to the Scottish research Lewis concludes that 'where concerns were expressed they tended to focus on upon economic concerns, rather than issues about cultural change or race' (ibid.).

The findings from this research stand in contrast to the findings from IPPR. Not only did the Asian respondents express negative views towards asylum seekers but their concerns focused on cultural change in addition to resource competition (this included the concerns of the Asian respondent who had an ambivalent attitude towards asylum seekers). Specific concerns related to begging, crime, different habits and lack of cleanliness. Irish respondents also expressed concerns in relation to the threat to UK identity, the economic impact of migration and resource competition.

Most of them coming in are Muslims and we will lose the identity of our country if we are not very careful (Local resident (Irish migrant), 55-64, Chapel fields)

Some people spoil the reputation of our city because they are begging in the street and they were carrying the child and they didn't look after the child properly. For the sake of the child, they were saying 'my child is hungry'. It's a very big impact for all of the city even when the government is supporting them they are still begging'. (Male local resident (Pakistani migrant), 55-64, Stoke)

One of the reasons for these negative attitudes may be the fear that asylum seekers will detract from the gains that established minority ethnic groups feel that they have made over the last decades. The findings of a study carried out in Birmingham on the interlocking issues of housing, integration and social capital are illuminating. Beider examines the conflict that exists between the 'old communities' and 'new communities' in the 'eastern corridor' of Birmingham. Old communities are defined as those migrants who arrived in the UK following 1945 to 1975. They are generally from the Indian sub-continent and the Caribbean. New communities are made up of individuals who have migrated from countries were there has been significant conflict such as Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans. They arrived in the UK from the 1990s onwards (Beider 2005).

Beider observes that many of the 'old communities' have established strong communities and political infrastructure. 'They have vested power in these formal networks that theoretically influence the public policy agenda on key issues such as housing investment and community regeneration' (ibid.). In the Birmingham study old communities expressed concern that new communities were being prioritised in the competition for scarce resources such as housing, support and funding. There was also concern that the new communities were responsible for increased crime and anti-social behaviour.

There is therefore an argument to be made that established minority ethnic groups feel threatened by the arrival of new communities for a number of reasons. Old communities may feel that they have invested huge resources in achieving socio-economic and political 28

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gains in the last sixty years and therefore feel that they have contributed to the system in a way that new migrants have not. This can create a sense of entitlement and unfairness amongst the old communities when they are placed in direct competition with new communities for local resources. Three of the Asian respondents described in detail the difficulties that they had when they first arrived in the country and the time it took them to make achievements. An Irish migrant made a direct comparison between the situation of asylum seekers and refugees and his own situation when he immigrated to the UK.

They get everything they want. Mobile phones, the lot. When I came here from Ireland I didn't get anything (Male local resident (Irish migrant), 55-64, Chapelfields)

It is interesting that a Polish new migrant commented on the tendency amongst established Polish immigrants (that arrived after the Second World War) to resent the situation of new migrants. An Ivorian new migrant also talked about the perceived negative attitudes of the Black British population towards African new migrants and a Sudanese refugee talked about the attitudes of established migrants towards more recent arrivals.

And the migrants, like the Pakistanis, the Indians and the Caribbeans, they feel like refugees are spoilt. They don't trust them and they don't like them. It is like when you have a guest in our home and the first guest had been there for one day and a new guest arrives. You know that guests might not like each other. They don't like refugees. I've got a lot of abuse from Indians and Caribbeans... its immigration status more than race. You have a lot of categories. It is race for the British people and it is immigration status for these other migrant people... They think that we are spoiling our country name, but they don't know anything about our country. When they go back there they go to visit only, they don't live day to day life. They don't suffer or have any problems. They think that we are spoiling our name and it's really hurtful to me (Female Sudanese refugee, 25-34, Stoke)

There may be a fear amongst established minority ethnic communities that the gains of the anti-racist agenda are being undermined by the 'new racism' or hostility directed towards asylum seekers. On this count it would seem that the response from some members of the old communities is to express hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers and resentment that they are giving all migrant communities a bad reputation. This is why it is not just resource competition that is of concern but the perceived habits and behaviour of refugees and asylum seekers. It would seem that this fear would not be entirely unfounded given the tendency for many of the respondents in the 'host population' sample to confuse refugees, asylum seekers, new migrants and established minority ethnic groups.

New migrants The new migrants from Cote d'Ivoire and Tanzania (7) had mixed perceptions in relation to the attitudes of the host population. Two had never heard of any complaints about new migrants or refugees and asylum seekers and did not feel that there was a problem. Three respondents felt that on the whole attitudes were positive and welcoming. Another respondent felt that attitudes towards refugees were more negative than migrants in general:

It is not easy to be a refugee, they see you as a beggar, someone who has nothing and someone who is taking away benefits. They don't see you as a human being who can contribute something. (Male Ivorian new migrant, 45-54, Foleshill)

Only one respondent felt that, on the whole, most people had negative attitudes towards migrants. Interestingly, one of the migrants who felt that in general the host population held positive attitudes towards migrants described the attitudes of the Afro-Caribbean population in Coventry differently: 29

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They are British, we are African. It's a bit different because culturally we are different. We have different values so it makes it difficult as we don't always understand each other. They have been here longer so they see Africans as inferior, but Africans see them as not mature enough, not ambitious enough' (Male Ivorian new migrant, 25-34, Foleshill)

All of the new migrants from Poland felt that 'the English' had positive attitudes towards them, or at the very least, were not hostile or negative towards them (7). Four respondents indicated that the Polish had a reputation for being hard working. One respondent had heard somewhere that there may be some tensions between the Polish and the locals over jobs but this was a one-off comment and he has never come across it himself.

One recent Polish migrant stated that although she was not aware of any negativity in the attitudes amongst 'the English' she had felt some hostility from Polish immigrants that had settled in Coventry after the Second World War.

I have had nothing negative from the English but I have had more negativity from the Poles that moved here... the first Polish in Coventry. They think that us new immigrants have got it easy because there are jobs and houses to come to. The older generation are jealous because of what they had to go through and they take it out on us. (Female Polish new migrant, 45-54, Foleshill)

Refugees and asylum seekers The refugee and asylum seeker sample gave a variety of responses, and some gave more than one, when questioned on the attitudes of the host population. Only 14% of respondents felt that, on the whole, the host population had a positive and welcoming attitude towards refugees, asylum seekers and other new arrivals. Reasons for the perception that the host population are welcoming were 'because you never see local people complain about refugees' (Rwandan refugee, Stoke Aldermoor) and 'they are pleased that many people are moving in because there were many houses that were empty and this was causing problems' (Somali refugee, Henley Green). Another two respondents felt that there were some 'bad people' or areas where they don't like 'new people' but that local residents were generally welcoming.

Eighty six per cent of respondents felt that local residents were more likely to have negative attitudes to asylum seekers and refugees although two of these stated that some people had positive attitudes. The most common reason given for the negative attitudes was that local residents did not like foreigners or strangers and that they were racist (36%).

I can say that maybe people who are born here don't want any kind of different people. Maybe they don't like foreigners. (Male Somali refugee, 20-24, Foleshill)

One respondent expressed this dislike of foreigners in terms of fear:

There was a general consensus amongst the respondents that it was not just asylum seekers and refugees that were disliked by the local residents. 30

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I know that some don't like new people, its not just asylum seekers. When people find out we're asylum seekers their attitude doesn't change much. Some are more sympathetic and ask about your claim, but most people don't know the difference and don't know much about asylum. (Iranian asylum seeker, Hillfields)

One respondent highlighted the hostility that she felt from more established migrants and minority ethnic groups because of her immigration status rather than her race.

A common response from the sample was that local residents felt that asylum seekers and refugees were trying to take money or benefits from them (32%).

I think that they see things on the TV, on the news and they think that we are not working. They want to know why we are being given money. They ask 'for what?' But most of the people working in this country are refugees. The people who was born here don't like to work. (Female Congolese refugee, 25-34, Wood End)

Four of the responses highlighted a lack of knowledge and need for education in the host population about the situation of asylum seekers and refugees.

It's a lack of knowledge. They think that we just want to come here not that we have to come here. This country is doing nothing for Africa. Tony Blair talks about giving aid but nothing really happens. In Africa if you are rich you are really rich and if you are poor you are really poor. In this country even if you are poor you can still get milk. So people born here they don't know. There's a lack of education and maybe they get angry because they pay tax and to be fair they don't know anything else. Sometimes I don't blame them. Let them find out. (Female Congolese refugee, 35-44, Henley Green)

Some respondents (11%) felt that local residents were resentful because new arrivals were taking the employment opportunities from them:

I think that it is very hard for them (local residents) because if you are born here and your parents are here and your whole life is here it is painful because if there is no work and you don't have money. It is painful because the new people are coming in and taking the work. This is what is happening. This is a problem. (Male Zimbabwean asylum seeker, 20-24, Stoke)

Two respondents observed the impact of the London bombings and the current media and public concern with security issues.

People talk about the fear of terrorism, they mistake people, they blaming everybody, they see a certain group that could be terrorists. (Female Kenyan asylum seeker, 35- 44, Barr's Hill)

It is of note that that such a high proportion of respondents from the refugee and asylum seeker sample predict negative attitudes amongst the host population (86%), much higher than the new migrant sample where only one person felt that the attitudes of the host population towards new migrants were, on the whole, negative. It is also interesting that only 47% of the host population displayed overtly negative attitudes (although a further 27% had ambivalent attitudes). In order to provide some context to these findings it is necessary to give thought to the circumstances and experiences of refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants in Coventry. 31

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Experiences

This section explores the reported day-to-day experiences of refugees, asylum seekers, new migrants and the host population. Particular emphasis is placed on the nature and frequency of contact between the different groups.

Refugees and asylum seekers Fifty-seven per cent of refugees and asylum seekers reported that they had either experienced racial harassment or racial violence first-hand, or knew a friend or family member that had. On the whole the experiences consisted of racial abuse or property damage (including arson) and in the majority of cases (79%) the respondent cited the behaviour of young people in their local area.

I'm not happy because I have complained too many times to my landlord and to the police. Last year some kids came to my house and they broke my car. I spoke to the police and complained. The kids came back again and broke into my house and stole my radio and computer. I called the police again and they gave me a reference. I asked my landlord to see if I could leave, he said no. My children are scared. Another time I asked the police for a letter to give my landlord. The policewoman said she'd write a letter but I'm not sure if it happened. The kids attack all the black people. (Male Rwandan refugee, 25-34, Stoke Aldermoor)

They (the children) call bad names like 'fucking black', 'dirty black', 'monkey'. They make monkey noises. Sometimes we ignore them but we hear them. We don't say nothing because if we open our mouth then the parents will tell us not to speak to their kids like that; they just let them carry on. Sometimes the parents say something as well. We didn't come here for trouble. We came here for peace, just to have a better life. (Female Congolese refugee, 25-34, Wood End)

The areas in which the problems were experienced included Wood End, Willenhall, Manor Farm, Henley Green, Stoke Aldermoor and Canley. The individuals that reported suffering racial harassment and racial violence were mainly black Africans from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Somali and Sudan. One respondent was from Afghanistan.

Interviewer: How do you find Willenhall? Respondent: It depends on the area that you are in. The area that I am in at the moment I am the only black person again and they do underground racism. They put their rubbish in my garden. But I feel like I don't want to fight with the people, I believe in forgiveness I am a god-fearing person so I don't want to say anything but it is hard for me as they keep doing it and it is like I am not a human being. If you ask them there will be a big fight so you'd rather keep your mouth shut and just keep cleaning your garden. If it was us, the black people, making the noises and throwing the rubbish then they would call the police. (Female Rwandan refugee, 25-34, Willenhall)

In a couple of instances the description of racist behaviour was subtle and implicit:

When I first moved to Canley there were a few problems; my car was damaged and a window smashed. But this was in an area of only whites, now they are used to me (Male Afghan refugee, 25-34, Canley)

Of the 14 respondents describing racist abuse, harassment or damage to property half indicated that they felt the police were either not taking their complaints seriously or that they were actively ignoring them because they are black. 32

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Interviewer: What do the people you know do when they experience these kinds of things? Respondent: They will never complain because they are scared and they think nothing will happen. Some people don't trust the police because normally when you go to complain to the police they say it don't have anything to do with them. And they say 'we need evidence'. What kind of evidence do they need? I think that they need somebody to be killed to get some evidence. It's just ridiculous because if anyone else, white people, who are in the same position, they would not deal with the problem in the same way. (Female Sudanese refugee, 25-34, Stoke)

The perception of police inaction was often accompanied by an expression of vulnerability:

We need protection from society. We rely on the police. We don't have mums, we don't have dads here all we got are the police. If you call the police and there is nothing that they can do then we feel let down. (Female Congolese refugee, 25-34, Wood End)

Two respondents indicated that they felt that it was not just the colour of skin but that overt religious affiliation also attracted negative attention. One of them described an experience relayed to her by a friend:

Interviewer: How do you think that local residents feel about refugees and asylum seekers moving into the area? Respondent: In my friend's area it is a problem. People don't want you there. My friend's neighbour moved out because she moved in. I don't think that they like refugees. They harass people and destroy cars, they destroy windows. That’s hate. That's hate crime. I think that it is racial harassment. I think that it's skin colour, its hijab. They see these things. My friend was wearing a hijab and a car went past, stopped and came driving back and they screamed out the window 'you're a fucking Muslim'. It was a mother and her daughter in the car. They hate it; they don't understand what it is for. I think that it is skin colour and religion. (Female Tanzanian refugee, 35-44, Wood End)

A few respondents from the refugee and asylum seeker sample (11%) felt that racist incidents had declined in frequency over the last few years in areas such as Wood End and Willenhall. However, for some the prospect of racial abuse and property damage remained a concern (14%).

The experiences described above stop short of physical attacks but include some fairly extreme descriptions of harassment, abuse and property damage that are perceived to be on racial or religious grounds. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the refugees and asylum seekers interviewed held the view that members of the host population harboured attitudes that were more negative than the host population sample actually demonstrated.

It is important to note that the incidents of harassment abuse and property damage described by the refugee respondents seem to be confined to the more deprived areas of Coventry such as Wood End, Willenhall and Manor Farm and perpetrated by local teenagers. In Coventry most of the Home Office accommodation for asylum seekers is in Hillfields, which is a very diverse and multicultural area near to the city centre. When refugees are given status they are no longer entitled to Home Office accommodation and have to apply for social housing in the same way as the host population. As social housing is more readily available in deprived areas such as Wood End, Manor Farm and Willenhall more refugees are moving to these areas, which were until recent years, historically populated by white, working class or low-income residents. Research has shown that tensions are more likely to arise in deprived neighbourhoods with little history of minority ethnic settlement (Robinson 33

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

and Reeve 2006) and the arrival of immigrants in such areas, whatever their status, can increase competition for resources and create resentment and hostility amongst existing residents (Amin 2002).

Hewitt has looked at the dynamics of racial harassment and violence and concluded that deprivation and youth inactivity can combine to produce racist responses in individuals who are frustrated with their socio-economic position and physical neighbourhood. These responses can also be a reaction to the perception that black and minority ethnic communities are being treated more favourably (Hewitt 1996). Sibbitt (1997) observes that perpetrators of racial harassment and violence do not operate in a social vacuum but are usually active in local areas where the local community share common attitudes to ethnic minorities and where they have their 'own entrenched problems of socio-economic deprivation and crime'. In this situation a 'mutually supportive relationship' exists between the individual perpetrators and the wider community. On the one hand the perpetrators are taking the community's views to their logical conclusion and on the other hand the more extreme actions of the perpetrators act as a benchmark for other members of the community to judge their own abusive or intimidating actions as relatively harmless. However, these very general observations should not be taken as an insinuation that attitudes and experiences are inevitable, universally held and uniformly negative in deprived areas; examples of positive attitudes and contact can be found both in this and the previous section.

Two of the respondents talked about other types of racism that they felt that they had experienced whilst living in Coventry. One felt that he was discriminated against by the police and another that he was discriminated against by employers:

Interviewer: What do you think can be done to improve Coventry? Respondent: The problem is that when you get the work permits you cannot always get the jobs. The Polish people have priority now, even if they don't speak English they are ahead of the black people now. They don't stay here as long as us. They can go home, we cannot.... but it is also race, race is a barrier (Male Congolese refugee, 25- 34, Hillfields)

This issue of competition for employment with Polish migrants was raised by a significant number of refugees (29%).

These workers from Europe, from Poland, they come in and they get the agency jobs. We become discriminated against for finding jobs. When we arrived, the agency had tests for English; you had to pass to get a job. Now they don't. The Polish don't need to speak English. In a warehouse I was working at, everything came over the speakers in two languages, in English and Polish. This leaves Rwandans without jobs, as the Polish get them first, and this puts us into benefits, we have no jobs so we need benefits. Then people say 'ah, asylum seekers all on benefits'. Well they work for so little; they send all their money home and live six in a room. They will not be here for long, but while they are, they are cheaper than us. I could not pay for things on what they work for. (Male Rwandan refugee, 35-44, Stoke)

In some cases the perceived preference of employers for Polish workers had resulted in tensions between employees at work:

I know two people that have fought with Polish people at work. It was in the ____ and they were fighting over misunderstandings, not working as a team, but they are the favourites of the line manager, so this causes problems. He will tell you what to do, because they know the line manager won't say anything, and he thinks that you are inferior. But both my two friends were sacked form their jobs. (Male Congolese 34

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refugee, 25-34, Hillfields)

New migrants Of the seven African new migrants that were interviewed three had experienced racial harassment when they first moved to their area but felt that things had improved. Most of problems had been from young people but one had experienced negative comments from Asian neighbours. Another had heard from his friends about the difficulties that immigrants faced in Wood End.

When I first got there it was difficult, people would knock on my door and shout at me because there are not many black people there. But now, after I complained, it has stopped. (Female Ivorian new migrant, 35-44, Willenhall)

In Wood End, sometimes immigrant people who live down there, there are arguments and cars can be burned. My friend left his cars there and they took his four tyres, (Male Ivorian new migrant, 35-44, Henley Green)

It appears that black African new migrants have had similar experiences to black African refugees and asylum seekers living in deprived areas of Coventry although only one felt that this was a current problem.

In contrast to the African new migrants none of the Polish new migrants described any negative experiences with local residents. Two of the respondents had the impression that the UK was much more accepting and open than Poland.

In general I like being in England because it is more democratic than Poland. It doesn't matter if you are black or white everyone gets treated the same. In Poland I had a Nigerian boyfriend which wasn't easy. There were a lot of insults. (Female Polish new migrant, 20-24, Holbrooks)

It is no coincidence that amongst the host population sample those that mentioned the Polish did so by means of contrast with other migrants and to praise them as hard-working. It is also of note that Polish new migrants are more likely to be in private accommodation and therefore have more control over where they live unlike many of the refugees who had been placed in social housing in some of the most deprived and least diverse areas of Coventry.

Contact

Refugees and asylum seekers When respondents were questioned about the contact they had with other groups the interviewers were keen to explore the nature and frequency of that contact. A distinction was made between 'casual contact' which may involve meeting someone in a shop from 'true acquaintance' which could involve going for dinner at someone's house for example (Lewis, 2006). Seventy per cent of the refugee and asylum seeker respondents had no contact or only very superficial and brief contact with local residents. On the whole they socialised with other members of their community (people from the same country or region) or with other refugees, asylum seekers and new arrivals. For the purposes of the interviews the term local residents was described to interviewees as people who are British or who have lived in Coventry for a number of years.

I don't have any friends in Stoke, I have lived there for one year, but I don't have any friends. In Hillfields I have a lot of friends because a lot of the people there are refugees (Female Sudanese refugee, 25-34, Stoke) 35

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I live in a closed area with a lot of old people, but they are very nice. They are welcoming, but not that friendly, just 'hello, hello'. (Female Syrian refugee, 25-34, Hillfields)

Some individuals worked with local British people (18%) and three of them had made friends in this way but the other two respondents did not feel that this contact was meaningful.

Interviewer: How much contact do you have with local residents? Respondent: Just in work. They not interested to ask me my telephone number. Not interested in my private life. After work they go. If I have a problem I call my friends. There are no British people in my block, how can I integrate into the British community? To make a relationship with British people where you work, in the school...it is difficult. (Male Rwandan refugee, 25-34, Tile Hill)

Another respondent described the difficulties that he had at work when he first started but noticed an improvement in the situation to the point where he describes his customers as friends.

Interviewer: How much contact do you have with local residents? Respondent: At work... Lots of people work with me and I also have friends at the gym in Foleshill. Apart from the early few things my experiences have been positive. When I worked in the takeaway, there was two girls who would come in and to start with they were rude, but we started joking. Now they are still my friends. (Male Afghan refugee, 25-34, Canley)

Of the 30% of respondents who did socialise in some way with local residents three had a single contact with a mentor, their neighbour or someone they met at the church or at the mosque and further four respondents mixed with a variety of local residents.

Most of my college mates are Pakistani and Indian; from Foleshill. But Hillfields is good as well. Mostly I meet my friends. We go to swimming and we also started going to the gym. We like to go to the city pool because it is nicer, it’s bigger and cleaner. Olympic sized. I don't always like to go behind Asians though. I like to go with other people. I go with British to make as many friends as I can, the more friends you have it is better for you I believe. (Male Afghan refugee, 20-24, Hillfields)

Interviewer: How much contact do you have with local residents? Respondent: I go to church. The contact I have is from church. Interviewer: Who goes to church? Respondent: There is a mix of people; English, Caribbean. We used to have an English pastor. (Female Kenyan asylum seeker, 35-44, Barr's Hill)

It is interesting that the first interviewee does not consider settled Asian migrants to be British or members of the host population. Another (Somali) respondent had made friends with a Pakistani local resident at his local mosque and saw him on a regular basis. Two other respondents commented that Asians 'keep themselves to themselves'.

There does not seem to be a positive correlation between the existence of meaningful contact with local residents and the perception of host population attitudes. Some of the respondents with meaningful contact still felt that host population attitudes were negative and some respondents who did not have meaningful contact perceived the attitudes of the host population to be positive.

New migrants 36

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Three of the African new migrants had meaningful contact with host population but only one of these knew more than one person. Four did not have any contact at all.

I know my neighbour. He is Scottish. He is a good man. He never came to complain about my kids, about the noise. Everywhere in London they complain. Here this family they never do, they are good. Sometimes I invite them to my house. We enjoy some food and drink and have a bit of a celebration (Male Ivorian new migrant, 35-44, Henley Green)

At work I have some contact with English people but it is more with foreigners and other immigrants: Italians, Polish... It is other people who are new like you; they have the same experiences as you and so you talk to them, (Male Ivorian new migrant, 25- 34, Foleshill)

Those Polish new migrants who had meaningful contact with the host population and a mixture of friends from a variety of nationalities, including British, were in their early twenties and could speak English. The four Polish new migrants who did not have any contact with the host population were a variety of ages, had limited English and only mixed with fellow Poles.

I have many English friends. I meet them in pubs, clubs, all round. (Male Polish new migrant, 20-24, Stoke)

I don't have time to socialise because I am working hard. I am here with my husband and I cannot speak English so it is difficult to meet people (Female Polish new migrant, 45-54, Foleshill)

Host population All but one of the local residents with a positive attitude towards asylum seekers and refugees had contact with them as clients through their community work and not in a social capacity. The other respondent had meaningful contact with women that she perceived to be refugees and asylum seekers (Muslim women) because they were her neighbours and through a sewing club.

Of those local residents with a negative attitude towards asylum seekers and refugees (47%) six did not have any contact at all with refugees and asylum seekers. A further 5 had experienced superficial contact with refugees and asylum seekers through work or shopping. In all of these instances this type of contact had either served to confirm the respondent's negative attitudes (3) or the respondent had felt the experience to be positive but that the refugee or asylum seeker in question was the exception that proved the rule (2). In two instances local residents described more meaningful contact with a refugee or asylum seeker (both were through work) but again, these positive experiences were seen as 'one offs' and an exception.

I work with a couple, yes. I knew one guy and he was a Kosovan but he was a nice bloke and I had respect for him because he came over just after the war and he worked. He worked as a cleaner and in a furniture shop as well and I respected him because he did work and he came from Kosovo. You could tell that he was here but that he wanted to go back home really. Not like the rest of them who take advantage of the system. He used to cycle to work on a bike and back and I had respect for him and would want to help because he is trying to do something about things. He's not taking advantage. People are coming over and they aren't genuine asylum seekers and they are basically using that as a cover for coming in and taking advantage of the welfare state system that they don't have and that is wrong. (Male Local resident, 35- 44, Bell Green) 37

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

There was one more instance where the respondents described her past experience of providing advice for refugees and asylum seekers, an experience, which had helped to form her negative attitude:

Well I had a lot of contact with them when I did voluntary work with them a few years ago. I formed my view of them then, which hasn't changed. I was helping them in whatever possible way, I used to guide or help them. There were a lot of Iraqi men deserting their wives and family to come here, which I didn't have very much time for.... the majority of people I saw at that time, they would disagree with me, but they were economic migrants, they were not genuine refugees. (Female local resident, over 65, Potters Green)

Of the local residents who expressed ambivalent or contradictory attitudes five of them did not have any contact with refugees and asylum seekers. A British African of Somali background only had superficial contact with Somali refugees through his work and mainly socialised with white British friends. Another Pakistani respondent saw asylum seeker clients through her community work but did not know any refugees or asylum seekers outside of this context. Another had experienced a one-off meeting with some refugees or asylum seekers through a friend. However, as with the local resident quoted above this respondent immediately qualified the experience by reiterating the point that there are people who come over to 'exploit the system and get as much money i.e. rent or whatever, so it's a two way thing really’. (Male local resident, 35-44, City centre)

The three local residents that displayed, what could be described, as a passively tolerant attitude towards refugees and asylum seekers had either no contact at all with refugees and asylum seekers or only superficial contact in the street. From these findings it is possible to see that the host population sample has very little meaningful contact with refugees and asylum seekers. Only two respondents have had meaningful contact that did not involve a service provider-client relationship and even these were limited to the work environment. It is difficult to draw out any overarching conclusions but it can be observed that generally there appears to be a high degree of social separation between the host population in Coventry (including minority ethnic groups) and new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The only group that demonstrated meaningful contact with the host population were young, English-speaking, Polish new migrants who had managed to bridge these social divisions and make friends with local residents.

Some research has built upon the 'contact theory' of social psychology to argue that individual contact between the host population and newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers in the right conditions has the potential to reduce prejudice and improve relations (D'Onofrio and Munk 2004; Finney 2004). The following encounter between a refugee and a local resident would be an example of this:

Where I am I go to church in Willenhall and my pastor is White British but because he has been with me he has seen me and he has changed his opinion. He prays with me in the church. (Female Rwandan refugee, 25-34, Willenhall)

However, one of the limitations to this approach has been demonstrated by some of the other responses detailed above. Even individuals who do develop a positive personal relationship with an asylum seeker or refugee may regard it as a one-off experience. It has been observed that while negative encounters with individuals tend to be generalised to entire groups, positive encounters do not seem to have the same effect (Valentine and McDonald 2004). Additionally, individuals may value the positive encounter with a refugee or asylum seeker but still have questions about how the whole asylum system works and 38

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anxiety about the impact of immigration in their local area. The limitations of contact theory as an approach to improving community relations will be expanded upon in the last section.

Thus far the report has focused mainly on the tensions between the host population and new arrivals. However, examples of tensions within and between various immigrant populations were alluded to by some of the respondents. Hillfields was identified by some refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants as an area were there was conflict and tension between migrant communities. An Iranian asylum seeker observed that there were small clashes between people within the Iranian community because of differences relating to the political situation in Iran. A Burundian refugee stated that he has observed tensions between Kurdish and African immigrants and two Polish new migrants had been told that there were fights between Kurdish, Pakistani and Iraqi groups. A Polish new migrant and Sudanese refugee also spoke about tensions that exist within their own communities. This information is only anecdotal but does demonstrate that conflict can exist in many different forms and is not confined to dynamics between the host population and new arrivals, (Lemos 2004).

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

Information needs

Another objective of this research was to identify the information needs of refugees, asylum seekers and the host population and the findings are laid out below.

Refugees and asylum seekers A majority of asylum seekers and refugees felt that the provision of more and diverse types of information would have been useful on first arrival in Coventry (82%). The most common requests were in relation to information about employment opportunities, (where to go to find job advertisements and to get advice on obtaining a job) and for information on the availability, type and location of social housing as well as the reputation of different areas. Requests were also made for information on the transport system, education opportunities, legal entitlements, ESOL provision, the location of advice centres, how to open a bank account and advice on how to integrate into British society and meet people.

The council needs to give out more information about jobs. I have a job but I am always hearing about other work, yet I know people without jobs. When I tell them, the jobs are not there anymore. There needs to be more information. (Female Rwandan refugee, 25-34, Stoke)

Interviewer: What would have been useful to know? Respondent: The services. I had to get a job myself, and then it wasn't a good one. I speak seven languages and it wasn't until I spoke to people who worked with other refugees that I realised I could use the languages to get work. (Male Afghan refugee, 25-34, Canley)

Interviewer: What information would have been useful for you to have when you first arrived in Coventry? Respondent: About the accommodation. Housing is a big issue. Yes, information on housing would have been helpful. To get help on arrival from the local authority. (Male Burundian refugee, 25-34, Willenhall)

New migrants Seven of the 14 new migrants felt that the information and advice given to them by friends and family was sufficient and saw no need for additional information to be provided by the City Council or other authorities. However, three respondents stated that information on jobs would have been helpful. Two wanted information on the history of Coventry and the 'laws of the city'. Another interviewee would have liked more information about how the transport worked when they first arrived and where they could find food from their community. One respondent wanted to know where he could go to meet English people.

It is telling that half of the new migrants felt that their information needs had been met by friends or family either before or after they arrived in Coventry. Perhaps this is reflective of the fact that their migration is more likely to be voluntary and therefore based on existing social and information networks whereas many of the asylum seekers and refugees interviewed had been dispersed to Coventry and were therefore more dependent on information from outside sources.

Host population The host population was asked if there was any information relating to asylum seekers and refugees that they felt should have been made available. They were also asked about where they currently obtained information and which sources they trusted. Sixty percent of the 40 sample indicated that they would have benefited from more information about asylum and

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

refugee issues. The most common request for information was in relation to numbers of asylum seekers, refugees and other types of migrants that were settling in Coventry (20%). Many of the respondents were concerned about what they saw as fast-rising levels of migration in Coventry (33%). Comments such as 'there's no space, 'we're a small island' were common as well as the perception that Coventry was taking more then its fair share of asylum seekers, refugees, (and in some cases migrants) (23%).

If we were given information about where they were living and what was going to happening in the future. I think if you had proportions like Manchester has 2% and Birmingham has 5%, then people in Coventry wouldn't think it's just in their area. It would be good to have a broader picture of where they are all going. (Female local resident, 35-44, Willenhall).

Research has shown that there is a tendency for communities to over-estimate numbers when there is a lack of accurate information. For example, one respondent estimated that there were about 50% asylum seekers and refugees and 50% local residents living in Coventry.6 A contributing factor to over-estimates such as this could be the confusion between asylum seekers, refugees, other migrants and minority ethnic populations giving the impression that there are larger numbers than there actually are. National polls have found that the British public has over-estimated the population of immigrants by at least four times and ethnic minorities by more than five times (Finney and Peach 2006). There is therefore a need for better statistical information on the number of refugees, asylum seekers and other types of migrants in Coventry as well as information on the different types of migrant status that exist. However, the challenge will be in communicating such information in a manner that is both accessible and trusted. Rudiger has observed that an asylum information strategy needs to be proactive and that it should ideally take the format of an ‘open information exchange’ based on direct face-to-face contact (Rudiger 2006).

A further need for information highlighted by the host population was in relation to the number of migrants in Coventry who are in the UK illegally, (such as overstayers, illegal entrants that have not made an asylum claim and unsuccessful asylum applicants that are not in touch with the authorities). 17% of respondents from the host population indicated that it was well known that there is a significant population of 'illegal migrants' in Coventry. A few respondents stated that they were aware of migrants working illegally in Coventry and that employers seemed to be prepared to take on illegal migrants in return for low wages.

There's a lot pouring illegally into the country as well and they are getting crap wages and big companies are employing them. It's like the company I work for called _____ and one of the lorry drivers for the suppliers to ___ was about where he worked an' somebody coming round a government inspector and there were all these workers that he suddenly had to shoo off out the way. So yeah, it just shows you that there are a lot of illegals. (Male local resident, 35-44, Bell Green)

Respondents not only wanted to know statistics on the different types of migrants already in Coventry but also projections for future migration (17%). Two interviewees in particular were concerned about how many new migrants there will be once Bulgarians are entitled to work in the UK as result of EU accession.

6 If the estimated refugee and asylum seeker population is taken to be a maximum of 5,225 (a figure that combines the council’s estimated refugee population with the CURS 2005 estimate for asylum seekers) then refugees and asylum seekers are unlikely to make up more than 1.7% of the total population in Coventry. For 41 more statistical information please refer to the ‘About Coventry’ section.

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

I'd like to know what the projected numbers for the next ten or fifteen years are and if there is a policy about that and if not why not. And what sort of spending that this is going to facilitate and where that money is coming from. (Male local resident (Irish background), 25-34, Chelysmore)

It appears that it is not enough to just provide information (in terms of statistics) but that some respondents want the council to provide a clear strategy in relation to the projected number of migrants arriving in Coventry and the impact that this will have on the existing population. In the previous section dealing with attitudes it has been shown that one of the major concerns of respondents from the host population was the distribution of resources including housing and welfare benefits. Many felt that the presence of refugees and asylum seekers meant that the ‘indigenous population’ had become disadvantaged in the increased competition for resources. Some interviewees were also concerned that one of the impacts of asylum seekers and refugees was a perceived increase in competition for jobs with some demonstrating concern that the industrial decline of Coventry is making the situation all the harsher.

You only have to look at what happened to the machine tools industry, how that went. It used to be one of the main businesses in the West Midlands but it's gone. Plenty of companies have gone, Rover went and we were made redundant. Even so, if they start up again they won't build the amount of cars they did. The only jobs these days are warehouse jobs, but they're drying up too. I really don't know what the future holds. (Male local resident, 55-64, Bell Green)

The provision of information will only go so far in addressing the concerns expressed by these respondents as they raise significant questions about economic and industrial policy, investment, regeneration and arguably it is the task of politicians and central government to explain these policies and the significance of economic change to affected populations.

Forty per cent of the sample stated that they did not need any more information on refugees and asylum seekers. A variety of reasons were given with some people feeling sufficiently educated and others uninterested in finding out more about the issue because they had already made their minds up. Some stated that they did not need any information on asylum seekers and just wanted them removed from the country. Others wanted to know more about the countries that they had come from, why they had left their countries, why they were still in the UK, what types of people are coming into the country and whether they were dangerous.

The host population appeared to receive information on refugee and asylum seekers from a range of sources. Those respondents with a positive attitude tended to obtain information on the issue through the work that they did with refugees and asylum seekers or through personal contact. One respondent stated that she trusted the news on the television another three trusted Coventry Refugee Centre for information and one person trusted the council. A lack of trust in 'local talk' and newspapers were expressed by two respondents.

For other respondents the main sources of information tended to be the media (53%) and family, friends or acquaintances (47%). Local papers were the most common sources followed by national papers and television with the BBC singled out as a particularly reliable source of information by two respondents. Four respondents stated that they obtained their information from the BBC Asian network.

Twenty per cent of the host population interviewed indicated that they relied upon their own observations in order to formulate their opinions, which is much less than the number of people who relied on the media in order to obtain information about asylum seekers and refugees. Research by IPPR into public attitudes found that in England it was more common 42

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for participants to say that they obtained information on asylum issues 'from what they see around them' and that it was more common in Scotland for people to obtain information from the media (Lewis 2006). In this instance it would seem that the Coventry findings are more in line with the Scottish research given that 53% of the Coventry respondents stated that the media was an important source of information for them.

Research has demonstrated that the types of information that individuals are given in asylum and refugee issues may not determine, but certainly influences attitudes (Finney and Peach 2006). Most attention has been paid to the impact of the media on public attitudes towards asylum although it is not always easy to decipher the complex and multi-directional relationship between media messages and their audiences (ibid.). For example, individuals are often guided by the political and social ethos of newspapers when deciding which publication to buy (Greenslade 2005). As a result, it is likely that the newspapers not only influence the opinions of individuals but reflect and reinforce existing standpoints on issues such as asylum.

It has been observed that ‘the media sets the terms within which the public debate occurs and can provide the stories and material to justify prejudices’ (Lewis 2005). ICAR has found that unbalanced and inaccurate media images of asylum have the potential to increase community tension. Tensions are mitigated by a sceptical reading of the reports on asylum seekers in particular, but amplified by an uncritical reading of newspapers more generally, a sense of resentment and injustice rooted in deprivation, and by low appreciation of diversity (ICAR 2004).7 Hostile attitudes to asylum seekers and refugees and attacks on them are most likely to occur when hostile media images coincide with local experiences of deprivation and competition for services in short supply locally such as health and housing (Smart et al 2006).

There can be a marked difference between the way asylum issues are reported in the national and local press and it has been found that local press can be more balanced and imaginative in their approach (Finney and Peach 2006). It was not within the remit of this study, but it would be enlightening to monitor the local Coventry newspaper; the ‘Coventry Telegraph’ to see how asylum is reported and to then compare this with the media monitoring findings for national papers.8 It is of note that the IPPR research conducted in Glasgow found that the participants were more trusting of the local media than they were of the national press. In this study, when correspondents indicated which sources they trusted the local press was also highlighted.

ICAR’s research has found that politicians are the most commonly cited sources in newspaper articles on asylum seekers and refugees. As a result it is important to recognise the way in which political messages contribute to, and overlap with, media messages (ICAR 2004). The literature observes that the political debate has tended to focus on the negative aspects of the asylum issue such as how ‘abuses’ can be prevented and the number of asylum seekers reduced rather than the causes of forced migration and how those in need of protection are protected (Lewis 2005). It would be interesting to look at how political debate is reported in the local press in Coventry and whether or not the views of local politicians have been quoted by the press.

Although the media plays an important role in information provision, and therefore attitudinal formation, the role of other information sources should not be discounted. Many of the host population interviewees (47%) obtained information on asylum seekers and refugees from family, friends and acquaintances.

7 It should be noted that ICAR has found unbalanced and inaccurate media reporting to be less common in 2005 than it was in 2003 (Smart et al 2006). 8 ICAR has conducted large scale monitoring of reporting on asylum issues by the London, local and national press in the months leading up to the 2005 General Election. 43

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Respondents sometimes referred to incidents that had been conveyed to them by friends:

This guy I know in Coudon sold a flat and made £200,000 after this guy from Iraq was given the chance to buy it from the council. He'd only been in the country for a few years and made all that money. It'd last forever out there. Someone that I know says that we've been waiting for housing for years and then something Iike that comes along (Male local resident (Indian migrant), 45-54, Whorbley)

There has been little research on the effects of these 'word of mouth' information networks. However, a study which looked at the attitudes towards the establishment of refugee centres in Belgium concluded that the same stories and quotes tend to be repeated in local areas which indicated the existence of a small 'speech network' that involved the intense exchange of anecdotes and views. Sometimes anecdotal information is presented as direct experience as some individuals tend to speak for the collective once they discover that their views are shared by others (Blommaert et al 2003).

It has been observed that myth and misinformation on asylum issues is conveyed in a variety of ways and can support prejudice but is not the main reason for it (Lewis, 2006). It is important to look at the way in which attitudes are formed. People filter the information according to their existing values and beliefs as much as their values and beliefs are altered by the information that they come into contact with. Accordingly, when looking at the provision of information to the host population with the intention of improving community relations between the host population and refugees and asylum seekers it is also necessary to consider how that information will be received by the target audience. This issue will be considered in more depth in the next section.

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Improving community relations

This section examines current approaches to improving community relations and identifies strengths and limitations. Suggestions are made for ways in which strengths can be built upon and limitations overcome in the context of this research. A number of approaches have been taken to improving community relations between migrants, (including refugees and asylum seekers), and the host population. Rudiger has provided a useful overview and discussion of current approaches which range from initiatives that aim to ensure newcomers’ personal safety, to activities that focus on the settlement needs of individual refugees or the capacity building of refugee community organisations, (Rudiger 2006). There is a general recognition that addressing the (practical) settlement needs of refugees and asylum seekers and equipping organisations and individuals with the appropriate skills and knowledge may be the necessary ‘groundwork’ to the promotion of ‘cross-community activities’ and therefore an important part of community relations work (Navarro 2006; Rudiger 2006). However, for the purposes of this report attention will be paid to those initiatives and activities that aim to engage directly with the concerns and attitudes of the host population.

A recent piece of research by ICAR entitled ‘Understanding the stranger - Building bridges community handbook’ showcases and examines 21 different projects and initiatives that aim to mediate tensions and build bridges between local host populations and refugees and asylum seekers (Amas and Crosland 2006). It found that the two most common approaches to the improvement of community relations involved the use of information provision and awareness-raising activities, (in order to inform and educate the host population), and the promotion of contact between the host population and refugees and asylum seekers. It is these approaches that will therefore be examined below.

Information provision and awareness-raising activities The provision of information about new arrivals (including asylum seekers and refugees) for established residents and the use of awareness-raising activities have been most frequently used to prepare local communities for the arrival of asylum seekers in dispersal areas. Most commonly, emphasis is placed on 'myth-busting' literature and the development of positive images of refugees that aim to raise their profile, set out facts about the asylum system and celebrate refugees’ contributions to society.

Local media strategies have been developed in some regions of the country with the aim of encouraging more positive coverage of refugees and asylum seekers (Rudiger 2006). Projects have focused on delivering awareness-raising sessions to a range of community groups and information has been disseminated in public spaces such as shopping centres and public meetings (Amas and Crosland 2006). School-based education about new arrivals has also been identified as an important site of information provision and researchers have identified scope to expand work in schools to include the whole family (Bach et al 1993).

Nevertheless, the issue of information provision is challenging as it raises questions about how information is selected as being relevant, how it is determined to be objective or neutral, who is the perceived audience, and what is the purpose of such campaigns? If the underlying premise is that information provision and awareness-raising helps to improve public attitudes, and therefore community relations, then there are some difficult questions to be asked about what counts as positive or good as opposed to bad attitudes. For example, an individual may have a positive commitment to diversity and multiculturalism but continue to have concerns about competition for resources in the local community and rising unemployment levels, both of which they associate with migration. 45

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A recent guide for working with refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers in neighbourhood renewal areas suggests that resentment amongst the host population in relation to the perceived prioritisation of new arrivals should be addressed by fostering ‘an understanding of cultural differences between communities’ by developing sports, arts or music projects (Communities and Local Government 2007). However, this would seem to be a misguided approach as an improved awareness of other cultures and concerns in relation to resource competition are not mutually exclusive. In other words, learning about the art and music of other cultures is unlikely to allay fears that the needs of newcomers are being prioritised over and above those of long-term local residents.

Preliminary findings from recent research by IPPR indicate that a ‘myth-busting’ approach9 to educating the public is unlikely to be effective unless applied in very specific circumstances and that it can even have an unintended negative impact on attitudes. This is because the use of the myth-busting framework encourages individuals to focus on the myth rather than the alternative evidence presented which means that it can encourage a negative social norm. The overall approach can also be construed by the target audience as patronising (IPPR 2007).

An important finding of this research is that there was a strong sense of powerlessness expressed by at least half of the host population respondents throughout their interviews and a feeling that they were expected to tolerate the perceived impact that new arrivals were having on local neighbourhoods. The sense of frustration and an inability to air these grievances openly may have contributed to what were at times harsh and uncomfortable expressions of anger given by respondents during interviews. The following quotations are not necessarily representative but illustrate a commonly voiced sense of alienation and powerlessness to influence rapid and imposed change:

The thing is they were mainly bringing bus loads of them, which is okay, but you cannot, it's like me driving to you and then outside your house just dumping a load of rubbish because to me that's all it was, it was like well look, this is surplus, let's dump it on your doorstep. (Male local resident, 45-55, City centre)

I think that most of us don't really like them being in the area, but they know you've just got to tolerate it, they're there and there's nothing you can do about it.’ You can't go and knock on their door and say 'eh, go back to you country' like. You just have to tolerate it. (Male local resident, 55-64, Bell Green)

Considerable distrust and resentment was expressed by a third of respondents towards the way in which central government is handling migration issues and some felt that the asylum system was in chaos and beyond the control of the government.

Interviewer: Would you like to be given more information about refugees and asylum seekers?

Respondent: Well then again and this goes across political parties, you can’t believe them, because the thing is I have no faith in the government…we will never get the truth, no, because it is propaganda. They feed us what they want us to know, the masses, just keep them happy, so the truth is very hard to come by. (Male local resident, 45-55, City centre)

These perceptions added to a general sense of powerlessness in relation to the perceived negative impacts of immigration and asylum, particularly when coupled with the feeling

9 For the purposes of the IPPR research the term ‘myth-busting’ refers to an approach that presents a myth which is followed by a fact that contradicts the myth. It does not refer to alternative approaches of combating myths 46 about asylum.

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expressed by some individuals that they were unable to speak out for fear of being labelled a racist the frustration intensified. Given this context of mistrust and a sense of powerlessness it is easy to see how information campaigns and awareness-raising activities need to be thought through very carefully if they are not to be dismissed as propaganda or only impact audiences that are already likely to be receptive to the messages disseminated. In this context the following quote from a local resident is telling:

I think that there is a tendency for central and local government to see this as a problem of presentation. That people have these fears and perceptions and that if contrary evidence is supplied then these fears and perceptions will evaporate and that they will become positive and inclusive. I think that is wrong-headed because I think that while there is an element of that there is real, material, objective change as to how people live their lives as a result of this and I think existing cultures at a micro- level are being displaced and I don’t think that you can really put a positive spin on that. This isn’t a question of subjective perception but objective material change. It is concrete and real and no number of informational leaflets are going to change the fact that you no longer know anyone on your street. (Male local resident, 25-34, Chelysmore )

A report by the Audit Commission (2000) cites examples where tensions in communities have been reduced as a result of public meetings where local residents were able to air their concerns at the same time as asylum seekers being able to put forward their case. It would seem that an open debate and genuine mediated exchange on some of the more challenging aspects of the impact of asylum and immigration on all involved in the process of change is one possible way to address tensions that are linked to these processes. In such an environment it is possible to correct genuine factual misunderstandings by presenting best available statistics in relation to numbers both nationally and locally, different types of immigration, residency and asylum status and some insights into the workings of the asylum system such as application procedures and reasons for positive decisions on cases. It may also be possible to explore some of the more difficult questions that have been raised by respondents in this research such as the reliability of the asylum system, the way in which the local council prioritises and allocates funding for various services and the number of migrants in Coventry that are without status.

These types of questions are challenging and organisations working towards the improvement of community relations may be reticent to engage with them for fear of perpetuating negative attitudes. However, the absence of sufficient, reliable knowledge on these topics, or a genuine debate will encourage the tendency that has been observed for certain sections of the host population to exaggerate numbers and rely on myth and misinformation (Lewis 2006; Finney and Peach 2006).

Promoting contact A further approach which seeks to improve community relations in the UK involves facilitating contact between members of the host population and refugees and asylum seekers. This approach is based upon 'contact theory' which has emerged from social psychology as a way of explaining how interaction between people can change their attitudes towards each other. The rationale behind this approach is that tension between different groups, prejudice and stereotyping can be reduced by encouraging them to come together through joint activities to promote interaction and understanding. Contact theory has examined in detail the necessary conditions to increase the likelihood that such meaningful contact will take place.

It has been suggested that positive change is most likely to occur where people from different backgrounds are encouraged to step out of their everyday routine and are instead brought together in a new setting (Amin, 2002). Other key conditions that are required if 47

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contact between different groups is to result in improved understanding have been identified as the existence of equal status between the different groups, ‘inter-group co- operation’ and the support of authorities, law or custom (Pettigrew 1998; Wagner et al 2003). Pettigrew has stated that contact is most effective at reducing prejudice when there is the potential for the participants to develop friendships (Pettigrew 1998). It has also been observed that contact which is ‘intimate, co-operative and oriented towards the achievement of a shared goal’ is more likely to have a lasting positive effect because it introduces a sense of ‘common fate’ amongst participants (Dixon and Durheim 2003; Allen and Cars 2001).

However, there are limitations to the application of contact theory as a way of improving community relations. Firstly, the fact that groups are brought into contact with one another does not guarantee that opinions and experiences are exchanged or attitudes modified, and in some instances habitual contact can actually reinforce group animosities (Amin 2000). This dynamic is illustrated by the following quote: Interviewer: Have you had any direct contact with refugees or asylum seekers?

Respondent: Well I’ve had a lot of contact with them when I did voluntary work with them a few years ago. I formed my view of them then, which hasn’t changed. I was helping them in whatever possible way, I used to guide or help them. There were a lot of Iraqi men deserting their wives and families to come here, which I didn’t have very much time for…the majority of people that I saw at that time, they would disagree with me, but they were economic migrants, they were not genuine refugees…the majority that I dealt with was here for what they could get and that would upset me. (Female local resident, over 65, Potters Green)

There is also a tendency for individuals to extrapolate negative experiences based on one-off contacts with individuals to entire groups but not to generalise positive experiences in the same way (Valentine and McDonald 2004). Thirdly, this approach is based on the assumption that contact in the right conditions will result in negative attitudes about a certain group being transformed into positive attitudes. However, as discussed above, it is too simplistic to look at attitudes as simply positive and negative. Many of the respondents from the host population sample held contradictory or ambivalent attitudes (both positive and negative). For example, it is possible for an individual to have positive contact with an asylum seeker or refugee but maintain negative opinions about the majority of asylum seekers or critical opinions about the operation of the asylum system and the impact of migration.

A further limitation to this approach is that a hostile attitudinal culture towards a particular group or prejudice between groups can prevent initial contact from taking place (Finney and Peach 2006). In this regard refugee mentoring projects, which may have numerous benefits with regards to integration, are only likely to attract mentors from the host population that have sympathetic attitudes towards refugees.10 And finally, when referring to relations between the host population and refugees and asylum seekers contact theory has always been applied with the intention of improving the attitudes of the host population. However, little attention has been paid to the attitudes of asylum seekers and refugees who, as a result of their experiences in the UK, (or for other reasons), may have prejudicial attitudes towards the host population.

Community development A third set of approaches is grounded in the broad literature and case study evidence related to community development theories which have been applied to community relations in order to try and deal with some of the shortcomings of contact theory-inspired

10 Although mentoring projects are unlikely to promote positive contact between refugees and host population mentors with more hostile attitudes, they do give mentees a positive experience of contact with the host 48 population.

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interventions. Gilchrist (2004) observes that the contact theory approach to community relations can be effective when measures are put in place to reduce anxiety and provide mediation when conflicts arise. However, she also notes that while this approach tends to work well for children and young people it 'may not necessarily tackle real and perceived inequalities in life' and 'in many cases there is a desire for longer-term initiatives that enable communities to work together on common issues and to establish robust mechanisms for resolving conflicts'. These thoughts are echoed by authors of an IPPR study on the impact of public policy on the quality of local social relations in Coventry:

Modest measures to improve the quality of community relations can only do so much: we need them to be accompanied by and integrated with policies to deal with economic polarisation, changing demography and modern work and leisure patterns, discrimination by race, sex and age, regional migration, changing values, educational quality, access to healthcare, housing quality, and crime and the fear of crime. (Nash and Christie 2003)

In other words, community tension cannot be resolved in isolation but involves engaging with some of the community-wide, indeed national concerns, about the major public policy issues such as housing, transport and anti-social behaviour. These concerns were expressed by many of the respondents across the entire sample and can be taken as a starting point of commonality. This is in contrast to the emphasis on difference that happens when interventions aim to bring defined groups together in order to increase understanding. Individuals do not fit into categories easily and there is a risk that people are given labels with which they do not feel comfortable. The British citizen of Somali origin who identified more with the host population than refugees is an example of an individual that defies easy categorisation. Using community development approaches, which aim to develop ‘active and sustainable communities based on social justice and mutual respect’, individuals can be brought together to explore some of the local issues around which they wish to mobilise.11

In an extensive study carried out amongst communities in the United States the authors concluded that ‘where people live, and what brings them together, creates opportunities for new-comers to interact with established residents’ (Bach 1993). The report argues that it is not enough to only try to negotiate group differences but that common projects need to address community conditions such as housing, education and recreation. Often collective recognition of common interests involves the decline of public services and an example is given of a project where immigrants and residents have mobilised around housing issues and have formed tenants associations (Bach 1993). Community development work across communities is only likely to be effective if the mixing of people is not treated as an end itself but instead leads to a common goal that benefits all members of the community. Additionally, this type of work does not necessarily require new initiatives but can link up with regeneration projects already in existence (Rudiger 2006).

An example of a project that has employed community development approaches to working with refugees, asylum seekers and the host population is the Refugee Accommodate based in Leeds. The overall approach taken is one of shared engagement in local regeneration and this is done by bringing together newly arrived refugees and people from the local community to refurbish derelict properties. Canopy housing have indicated that they hope that one of the outcomes of different groups working together on the project is that stereotypes may be broken down but this is not a primary aim of the project, (Amas and Crosland 2006).

11 For a more comprehensive discussion of community development concepts and approaches refer to (Gilchrist 49 2004), (SCCD 2001) and (Community Development Foundation 2002).

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This section has explored some of the limitations to contact theory and information provision approaches to improving community relations and has suggested alternative initiatives. Nevertheless, there is not one over-arching approach to the improvement of community relations, rather, it is argued that a range of approaches are necessary and that there is the possibility for different initiatives to reinforce and expand the work of others. For example, multicultural events are unlikely to have an impact on community relations as one-off events but they can be points of referral for other long-term initiatives and contribute to an overall positive 'tone' of the city which can benefit other projects in a subtle way, (Bach 1993). There is therefore room for a range of initiatives involved in the improvement of community relations but it is only community development approaches and education through open debate that are likely to engage directly with the concerns of both the host population and new arrivals.

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Conclusions and recommendations

The findings of this research have important implications for the improvement of community relations in Coventry and for the development of approaches to community cohesion that take into account the needs and perspectives of both the host population and recent arrivals such as refugees and asylum seekers. The Community Cohesion Strategy produced by Coventry City Council (2006) identifies four objectives that are necessary in the development of a cohesive city at a strategic level and the following section will apply the findings and insights of this research in order to address some of the issues raised by these objectives.

One of the council’s objectives is to appreciate and positively value the diversity of Coventry’s people’s backgrounds and circumstances and a key area of activity is identified as addressing hate crime. One of the most striking findings of this research is the relatively high level of racial harassment and violence, (mainly property damage), reported by black African refugees living in the more deprived areas of Coventry such as Wood End, Willenhall and Manor Farm. The perpetrators were identified by the refugee respondents as local teenagers, with racial harassment and abuse described as a fairly regular feature of daily life for these respondents.

Of the respondents reporting incidents of racist abuse, harassment or damage to property, half indicated that they felt the police were either not taking their complaints seriously or that they were actively ignoring them because they were black. This perception of police inaction, and even racism, needs to be investigated further and in conjunction with the work currently undertaken by the Council’s hate crime reduction officer in order to establish an appropriate response. It is necessary to obtain a clearer picture of reporting levels in these areas and to develop strategies for improving links between the police and local refugee populations.

The more extreme experiences described by respondents are reported to have taken place in areas that are characterised by deprivation and a low level of diversity. However, it is also important to recognise that hostile views towards refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in general could be identified in a majority of the respondents residing across Coventry, with 46% expressing entirely negative attitudes and a further 27% expressing attitudes that are partly negative. It is this generalised climate of hostility that provides support to the more extreme actions of youth living in the deprived areas identified above.

Coventry council’s community cohesion strategy highlights a high perception level of cohesion amongst the population with around 90% of respondents agreeing that people from different backgrounds get on well together. It is also observed that 90% of residents agreed that people respect differences between people from different backgrounds. However, the findings of this research would suggest that there is a possible disjuncture between people’s responses when questioned about their attitude to difference on an abstract level and their attitudes to asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants. As already noted, individuals may display a positive commitment to diversity or multiculturalism at the same time as expressing concerns about the impact of refugees and asylum seekers on their local area; the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. It is therefore necessary to consider separately the impact that hostile attitudes towards particular groups of migrants has on community cohesion in Coventry and to distinguish this from attempts to measure the toleration of difference in an abstract sense.

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This report has underlined the complexity of the host population’s attitudes towards refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in general. Not only are these different categories used interchangeably but some respondents also seemed to confuse them with established black and minority ethnic (BME) groups. It was also noted that BME respondents can display hostile attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees and that this may be because they are regarded as competition for scarce resources or because they are seen to negatively impact the political and socio-economic gains made by the anti-racist agenda.

The difficulty of disentangling the different elements of attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers has been highlighted by this report. Although outright racism has become unacceptable in today’s society, hostility towards asylum seekers is not and it has been argued that asylum seekers have become the new scapegoats for concerns relating to identity and belonging. These concerns can be expressed in ‘common sense language’ that refers to issues of resource distribution. However, it is difficult to distinguish between the use of such language as a proxy for xenophobic, and even racist tendencies, and what really is a concern for how immigration and impacts of migration are managed. Such complexities must be borne in mind when developing strategies and approaches for engaging with the concerns of the host population.

The council has highlighted a need to promote positive communications or positive images in relation to diversity. Whilst these types of campaigns or events may create a more inclusive backdrop to the city they do not engage with any of the concerns that individuals may have in relation to resource allocation. It has been noted in this report that there is a need for more open debates to take place so that issues such as housing provision can be discussed publicly, as there are limits to the efficacy of ‘myth busting’ or information provision approaches that promote alternative facts rather than debating some of the issues relating to migration.

A large majority of refugee and asylum seeker respondents predicted negative or hostile attitudes in the host population; a prediction that was actually more negative than the attitudes demonstrated by the host population sample but understandable given the reports of racial abuse, harassment and property damage. There is a need to engage with the concerns and grievances identified by asylum seekers and refugees as this will impact their willingness to interact with the host population. It is also possible that these negative reports are subject to the same ‘word of mouth’ information networks that operate amongst the host population and are therefore open to exaggeration or distortion resulting in an impression of a hostile environment that is amplified beyond its reality.

Another objective of the council’s strategy for community cohesion is to ensure that people from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities. A number of refugees and new migrants identified a lack of accessible information and advice on job opportunities and the process of obtaining employment and focussing resources in this area would be one way of meeting this objective. There is also a need to obtain a clearer picture of the numbers of refugees and new migrants in Coventry in order to better understand the level of need in relation to service provision. A mapping exercise which looks at numbers of service needs may be useful in this regard.

The development of strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds is also highlighted as an objective. The overall low level of contact between the host population and refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants which is identified by the research is striking.

Local Experiences of Migration: Consulting Coventry

This report explored the methods and strategies most likely to be effective in improving community relations and has highlighted the benefits of using community development approaches that tackle perceived inequalities and issues of social justice, focus on commonality rather than difference and encourage communities to mobilise around issues of local concern. It is argues that although such interventions may be time-consuming and resource-intensive, the potential for a positive impact on community relations is far higher than alternative methods of promoting contact between different groups.

An increase in the number of refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants over the last decade has changed Coventry’s demographic profile resulting in new challenges in relation to community cohesion. A more diverse population requires a recognition of diverse needs in terms of service provision and the complexity of attitudes amongst the host population and all groups needs to be recognised. This report has demonstrated that in order to address community cohesion in a holistic manner it is necessary to not only look at the attitudes of the host population towards asylum seekers and refugees but also towards other migrants, established BME groups as well as the attitudes of all these groups towards each other, not least because individuals have a tendency to confuse these very categories. It is also important to recognise that tensions and conflict can exist within groups and similarities in backgrounds or experiences do not necessarily predict a harmonious co-existence. The perception of competition for scarce resources in the context of visible and perceived changes resulting from migration is likely to continue to fuel social tensions. The challenge is to address these tensions in a manner that is timely, effective and sensitive to the complexity of the attitudes explored in this report.

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