Practical
examples – Asylum seekers
Facing the Challenge
"Before EQUAL there was nothing!" Louiza
Papaloizou, Project Manager for the EQUAL Partnership Equality and Solidarity
for Asylum Seekers – Guarantee for Employment and Freedom, explains. In Cyprus,
the concept of developing measures to assist non-Cypriots integrating into the
society, either these are asylum seekers, political refugees or migrant workers,
is quite recent. The possibility for non-Cypriots to stay and work in the
country was opened up in the beginning of the 1990s, when restrictive
immigration policies were abandoned in order to meet labour shortages, but only
on a temporary basis for a maximum period of four years. Then they would return
to their home country. At least this was the thought. Because short-term work
and temporary stay became the guiding principle for immigration policy, no
measures to assist the integration of non-Cypriots were ever set up. However,
those who came made friends, started families, and their employers wanted them
to stay longer. The initial period of four years was extended to a maximum of
six years, but still the idea was that these people would return to their
country of origin. Why was there such a strong focus on 'temporary' one might
ask. Louiza Papaloizou explains: "The still unresolved problem, with the
division of the country into a Greek-Cypriot part and a Turkish-Cypriot part
since 1974, is one very important factor for this policy. Demographic change is
still a very sensitive subject".
Towards the end of the 1990s the first
asylum application was lodged. At first there were only rather low annual
numbers of applications, but when it became clear that Cyprus would be able to
join the European Union (EU), the numbers increased drastically: from around 300
to 3,000 applications per year. But the legal framework and administrative
structure to process these applications did not exist. In fact, Cyprus did not
pass its first Refuge Law until 2000, which since then has been amended several
times, and the asylum structure established by the Cypriot government only
started processing applications in 2002. This led to a huge backlog of
applications to process, which in turn resulted in that Cyprus in 2006 had an
estimated number of 12,000 pending asylum applications. This was the highest
proportional rate of the total population of a country in the entire EU.
Louiza Papaloizou explains: "Asylum seekers in Cyprus are, in theory, allowed to
work and get welfare benefits. This may sound very good, but in practice the
government has restricted the access of asylum seekers to employment only in two
sectors, namely agriculture and farming. Asylum seekers have access to welfare
only if no job in these sectors is available. The limited number of jobs in the
eligible sectors, combined with unfavourable working conditions usually
prevailing in such environments and restrictive policies regarding welfare
provisions, often force asylum seekers to live in unacceptable conditions,
lacking even the basic means for survival." She continues: "Measures to help
their integration have yet to be set up – not even Greek language courses, which
is the basic means to be able to integrate on equal terms into our society, are
provided. Also, since asylum seeking is such a recent phenomenon here, many
Cypriots do not even know what an asylum seeker is. It is important for us to
show a face, a human being behind this concept and make people aware of why they
are here – which is not to exploit the system. Many have in fact fled from their
home country with extremely traumatic experiences behind them and have come here
to get a better future – or rather a future."
Equal Opportunities For All
"The interest from employers was huge", Kyriakos Angelides from Cyprus
Employers and Industrialist Federation (OEB), the main Cypriot employers'
organisation, explains enthusiastically. "I just sent a fax to our members, and
within days we had almost 80 placements available – for the 50 asylum seekers we
had asked trainee places for."
Two to four month internships are available to asylum seekers in the third
phase of the comprehensive programme the Cypriot EQUAL Partnership 'Equality and
Solidarity for Asylum Seekers – Guarantee for Employment and Freedom' has
developed. First the asylum seekers participate in a Greek language course and a
course on Cypriot and European culture and society (phase 1). This is followed
by vocational training (phase 2), before they finally get some much wanted
practical experience of working in a company (phase 3). Three different paths of
vocational training and internships are provided: as chef assistant, air
conditioning and refrigeration assistant technician; or secretarial assistant.
In particular the first two professions lack staff in Cyprus, which was a major
impetus to train asylum seekers in these fields.
"As no Greek language courses, or any other courses or training for that
matter, was available to asylum seekers before this EQUAL project, we wanted to
develop an as comprehensive programme as possible – there was really nothing to
build on," Louiza Papaloizou, Project Manager, explains. Unavailability of
integration support to asylum seekers, however, also created another problem –
how to select 50 persons who would be able to participate in the programme out
of 12,000? Just pick 50 people! you might say. For one of the main partners in
particular, fairness and equal opportunities are not just words to be taken
easily. The chairman, who was also one of the founders of KISA (Action for
Equality, Support and Antiracism), Doros Polykarpou, clarifies: "KISA was the
first organisation in Cyprus that worked with immigrants and asylum seekers. We
started in 1998 and our plan was to act as a lobbying and campaigning
organisation, but we soon realised that there was actually no responsible State
authority to try to impact on and inform, but that there was instead a massive
need for direct support and assistance to asylum seekers and immigrants. We
therefore changed our approach and started out with legal aid and social advice
under the European Refugee Fund. For us, EQUAL was an excellent opportunity to
also be able to help asylum seekers into the labour market and facilitate their
social integration."
KISA has since the beginning spent years on building up a trustful
relationship with asylum seekers. "This is the place where we go to get help
with anything," Akua Arhin , an asylum seeker from Ghana, says. "It is a very
important organisation to us." To be able to maintain the trust between KISA and
asylum seekers, and to ensure a fair and transparent selection of participants,
a Working Group for the selection of participants was set up, involving KISA
staff, volunteers and asylum seekers. It was decided that this group would not
be responsible for selecting participants, but for agreeing on the framework for
the selection process. This included dealing with issues such as how to best
inform asylum seekers about the project, how to reach them (not all speak
English) and criteria for selecting participants. A number of selection criteria
were agreed on, including gender, fair representation between different
countries of origin, at least some knowledge of English, different age groups,
people with different levels of education, those with and without family
members, and asylum seekers living in different cities in Cyprus. It was also
agreed that people from countries with severe human rights violations would be
prioritised.
3,000 leaflets about the project were distributed amongst asylum seekers, and
ten information meetings were organised. Five meetings, each in a different
language, took place in each of the two main cities Nicosia and Limassol. 50
asylum seekers were able to participate in each of the meetings. The interest
was massive. Finally, a list of 50 asylum seekers was compiled, which was agreed
with the Ministry of Interior, another of the partners in the EQUAL project.
At the beginning of November 2005 Greek language courses had been organised
for 25 participants in each of the two cities Nicosia and Limassol. "For us this
was really a golden opportunity," Akua Arhin says. "70 hours of Greek is not
much, but it is so much better than nothing. I have tried to continue on my
own," Fahima Mahwash1 from Pakistan says. "I get books and read. I do not want
to forget what I have learnt." Changeez Fardis1, Iran, agrees. "I tried to find
courses on my own before, but they are all so expensive – it simply is not
possible to participate. In our language course, the participants had waited for
a decision for very different time periods; from three months to eight years. A
man who had waited for eight years had learnt some Greek on his own, but had not
learnt how to write and was really eager to participate. We were all very eager
to participate", Fahima Mahwash adds. "For example, there was a mother who came
from a town 40 kilometres away with her child, just because she so keen to
learn."
What lies ahead for these participants are the second and third phases of the
programme, which means first vocational training and then practical work
experience in one of the companies Kyriakos Angelides, OEB, contacted. However,
for four of the participants, there will also be a great opportunity to help
other asylum seekers. These four participants will receive additional training
on the Cypriot legal system, and mediation and counselling techniques to become
employment mediators. Not only will they provide active support to asylum
seekers in work or trainee positions, but they will also provide a link towards
authorities and help out in case of difficulties. These mediators, who will be
placed at the "Mechanism of Mediation and Employment Support" which will be
supported by KISA and one of the trade unions, the Pancyprian Federation of
Labour (PEO), which also participates in the programme, will not only help
asylum seekers who participate in the EQUAL project, but also those outside the
scope of the programme who need assistance with different employment issues. The
aim is that by the end of EQUAL they will have helped 500 people.
United For Good
The EQUAL Partnership 'Equality and Solidarity for Asylum Seekers – Guarantee
for Employment and Freedom' has brought together the six main actors working in
the asylum seekers field in Cyprus. The project is managed by Intercollege,
which is the academic member of the network. The other members are the
employers' organisation OEB, the trade union organisation PEO, KISA (active
support to asylum seekers and immigrants), the Ministry of Interior, and G & D
Social Lab (a private research and consulting company). A Management Board has
been established, where each of these organisations is represented. This Board
not only provides overall guidance for the project, but also allows the partners
to discuss specific challenges and agree on the more general direction of work.
"Normally we would never work together with a trade union organisation,"
Kyriakos Angelides from OEB, the employers' organisation says. "This is the
first time ever we collaborate on a project – to help asylum seekers in their
contacts with and trainee placements in Cypriot companies."
The partners have divided the responsibilities for carrying out the project
according to each partner's specific experience and opportunities, but through
the Management Board they also get an important overview of what the others are
doing. This ensures that the partners are not working in isolation, but are
committed to working together on the project and building on each others'
experiences. In terms of getting the most out of each partner's possibilities,
Intercollege has taken on the responsibility to organise the Greek language and
vocational training courses, , KISA is responsible for the Cypriot and European
culture education as well as the mediation training, the employers' organisation
for contacts with employers and the trade union for ensuring that equal
opportunities are respected at the work placements and discrimination is
prevented. In this important work, the trade union will be supported by the four
trained asylum seeker mediators, who also will provide direct assistance to the
asylum seekers.
"For us it is extremely important that we have been able to form such a broad
network with various organisations to assist asylum seekers with their
integration into Cypriot society," Louiza Papaloizou, Project Manager
(Intercollege) says. "It is invaluable to have the main employers' organisation
on board. I am sure that the fact that Kyriakos Angelides from OEB was the one
who asked companies to provide trainee placements to asylum seekers made this
process incredibly smoother than what could otherwise have been the case. Also,
it is extremely important to have KISA on board, which the asylum seekers know
and already have built a relationship of trust with.The Ministry of Interior
also provides credibility to the project in contacts with other important actors
and policy makers."
"For me it is important to make sure that the asylum seekers are not exploited
and taken advantage of," Kyriakos Angelides from OEB explains. "Those companies
I have contacted are ones which I know have a sound equal opportunities policy
and can take good care of the asylum seekers during their trainee period in
their company." Before they start their trainee placements, a representative at
OEB will visit each of the companies where they will work and inform employees
about what is meant by 'asylum seeker' and the legal context in Cyprus. The OEB
will also function as a contact point for employers throughout the internship
period. "The prompt and massive interest from employers to provide trainee
places for asylum seekers shows that there is definitely a possibility for
asylum seekers to get into the labour market, also in sectors other than
agriculture," Kyriakos Angelides says. After all the trainee placements have
been finalised, a meeting will be organised, to which all employers who have
provided trainee places will be invited. This meeting will serve as a follow-up
and will provide an excellent opportunity for the different parties to discuss
what worked well and what were the main challenges.
To Be Continued...?
Work on creating an impact on policy makers and opening up this possibility of
dialogue has been integrated in the Cypriot EQUAL Asylum Seekers project's
approach from the start. "It is very important that the Ministry of Interior is
one of our partners," Louiza Papaloizou says. "That way we have at least one
direct channel to which we can communicate ongoing developments and success
stories. We are, though, prepared for some very difficult work ahead of us. We
are certain that the programme we have developed is an excellent way for asylum
seekers to integrate faster in Cypriot society, but it is only a pilot program
with temporary measures and interventions. Our aim is that ultimately, through
this programme, we will impact on government policy with some long lasting
effects. If more sectors were open to asylum seekers to work in and more asylum
seekers were able to make their own living, less people would be dependent on
welfare support. By adopting our approach, it is evident that costs can be
saved."
To already spread the message at an early stage, a big launch event
will be organised at the same time as asylum seekers start their trainee
placements. Journalists, policy makers, employers, relevant organisations and
the general public will be invited to the event. "This event will be a great
opportunity for us to show who asylum seekers are and the amazing individuals
who are grouped behind this concept," Louiza Papaloizou explains.
Part of the
project has been targeted at increasing awareness and decreasing discrimination
and xenophobia as the arrival of asylum seekers is very recent in Cyprus and few
people seem to be aware of what they go through. Therefore, several different
actions at the launch event will focus on informing different actors of what
being an asylum seeker really means. A video where asylum seekers explain why
they came to Cyprus and their background will be one of the products that will
be made especially for the launch event, but which can also be used on other
occasions. As part of the material that will be produced to increase public
awareness, a photographer will travel around Cyprus in summer 2006 and visit
asylum seekers at their work places in the agricultural sector. The photographs
will be accompanied by short presentations made by asylum seekers and will be
published in a book.
"Temporary stay and work has for very long been the
guiding principle behind the actions – or rather lack of actions – from the
Cypriot government," Doros Polykarpou (KISA) says. "This makes our work very
difficult, but if we do not try to make a change – who will?"
Contact details
EQUAL DP Equality and Solidarity for Asylum Seekers – Guarantee for Employment and Freedom
Louiza Papaloizou
46 Makedonitissas Ave.
P.O.Box 24005
1700 Nicosia
Cyprus
Tel: +357 22 841 720
Fax: + 357 22 352 057
Email: papaloizou.l@intercollege.ac.cy
Link to EQUAL database description
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