‘At the heart of the unwelcoming western response to contemporary mass migration is a deep fear that an endless torrent of foreigners is about to arrive. This may or may not be realistic. Although global asylum claims are dropping, and have dropped substantially in the UK since a peak in 2002, people from other countries are going to continue to claim asylum in the UK.
There is a blind hypocrisy in our immigration rules that attempt to establish whether an individual has any ‘right’ to be here, to refuge. It is not so long since the era of white man’s major migrations, particularly the massive migrations of settlement to the Americas and Australia, but also the smaller colonial migrations to the rest of the globe, which continue in post-colonial form. White man went by force of arms, uninvited and unwanted, to exploit and displace indigenous societies as he chose. This ‘new’ world became his. Now, all these years later, Britain is experiencing an influx of foreigners, arriving uninvited and unwanted. Of the few that manage to reach the UK, we allow some to stay. But a great many are turned away.
While photographing asylum seekers I heard Scottish people say many things about asylum seekers. That ‘they come to Britain because it’s a soft target’. That ‘they get benefits, flats, mobile phones, tellies, when we get none’. That it’s ‘all very well to want an open borders policy, but who would pay for them?’ That ‘the government should have the guts to send them all home.’ That ‘there is no room left in the UK for anyone else’. That ‘if people want to come, that’s fine, but they should behave like us’. I heard talk of ‘these f*cking seekers.’ Some, like this last person quoted, were openly hostile. Others were more understanding. None were welcoming. And none of the people quoted here had met a single asylum seeker.
I also met a great many Scottish people who have met asylum seekers. Neighbours and teachers, community and health workers, and other people who for one reason or another had come in contact with asylum seekers. These people were concerned and compassionate, and willing to give their time to help and assist these newcomers to Scotland. But they were a minority.
Most people in Britain don’t know who asylum seekers are. Most people in Britain don’t know what asylum seekers look like. Most people in Britain don’t know why asylum seekers have come here. What people in this country think is that ‘they’ are here, that there are lots of ‘them’, that ‘they’ are expensive, and that ‘they’ probably cause trouble. It is easy to think of someone as your enemy if you do not know his face. It is easy to despise someone if you do not know their story. It is hard to be compassionate to someone you only hear about, but never meet. These photographs are an attempt to remedy that in some way.’
Robin Taudevin, December 2005
Independent Photographer
Robin Taudevin, aged 29, drowned while free diving off the coast of East Timor on 14th May 2006.
Robin’s Fund is responsible for his photographic archive. His photographs are an important and unique resource and are available for use. He remains the only person to have footage of a dawn raid. His work is free to non-profit organizations.
Robin’s Fund is an awareness raising trust and has several exhibitions and collaborative projects touring around the UK. If you know of a space or project that would benefit from Robin's photographs, please contact us.
See www.robintaudevin.com for full details or contact robinsfund@peacemail.com
Robin’s Fund receives no formal funding and is dependent upon the generosity of those affected by Robin’s work.
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