NCADC Campaigning Toolkit
One of the major decisions you will need to make if you decide to campaign for the right to stay in the UK is whether you want a public or a non-public campaign. You may decide at first you do not want a public campaign, and change your mind along the way. If you do have a public campaign and ‘go public’ with information about your case, it is not possible to get back all of the information if you decide you no longer want the campaign to be public.
This decision is therefore very important, and we begin the Toolkit with an explanation of what public campaigning might involve, the risks and the benefits.
In a public campaign, your story will be shared with the general public rather than just friends, family and close supporters. If you decide this is not for you, you can run a non-public campaign, and the Toolkit gives advice about doing this.
The sections on ‘Understanding your Legal Case’ (and the second part of the Toolkit explaining the asylum and immigration systems), ‘Political Campaigning’ and ‘Emotional support’ explain how you can campaign without going public.
If you do make your campaign public, you may need to draw up campaign materials to explain your story, and then use the internet and possibly the media to share your story with the public. For this reason, ‘Producing Campaign Materials’, ‘Internet Campaigning’ and ‘Using the Media’ follow immediately from this section.
Building communities is vital for both non-public and public campaigning: if you decide you want a non-public campaign, you will need a community you trust to support your campaign actions. The most successful public campaigns are those carried out by a community into the general public. Many community campaigning/grassroots campaigning actions have a public aspect to them.
This campaigning part of the Toolkit then goes on to consider campaigning that does not need to be public (though it could form part of a public campaign also). ‘Political Campaigning’ is the first strategy explored, followed by ‘Emotional Support’, and then ‘Understanding Your Legal Case’. This last section can be read alongside part two of the Toolkit, which explains the legal procedures and background to the asylum and immigration systems.
Remember: Start thinking about public campaigning as soon as possible. Do not wait for a refusal or removal directions.
Thinking about and planning for a public campaign can be done very early on. This does not mean you are committed to going public – just that you are prepared in case you do. It is better to have a plan and have materials prepared and not to use them, than to decide you want a public campaign too late.
TESTIMONY
Lucy Fairley, anti-deportation campaigner:
Communities – or groups of people who support each other and learn from each other - are essential in fighting both the legal processes involved in deportation and a sense of powerlessness when people seeking asylum are faced with such huge and terrifying forces.
I volunteer for Crossings, a cross cultural music project where people from different cultures come together to share their music. On a personal basis, we also help each other in practical ways by sharing what we know about campaigning, resources, services and contacts and we try to offer each other a shoulder to lean on.
Some people may be happy to campaign publicly; others are concerned about the safety of their loved ones back home. The benefits of public campaigns and media coverage, for those who are happy to publicise their plight, can be new contacts who, when they hear about the campaign, step in to offer publicity, advocacy and support. It is essential to have partnership working with organisations such as NCADC, Unity, human rights and refugee agencies, supportive Members of Parliament, trade unions and faith bodies who can all lend their voice to seek justice and ensure that the human rights of those seeking asylum are protected.
Under the time pressures of anti-deportation campaigning, the ethics of campaigning can often get forgotten. But they are vitally important: considering the risks of campaigning is especially important if campaigning on behalf of a vulnerable person, or someone with a high political profile.
Carry on reading to find out more.
