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Report on "WELCOME" @ GFT Sat 19
June
Over 250 people came to the GFT for the Camcorder Guerilla refugee
event. We screened both 'Welcome' and 'Voice-Seekers'. Many of the
audience were moved to tears.
After the screenings, the debate went on for over an hour, with
passionate calls for action (including Poll-Tax-style direct action
to stop Sherrif's Officers from carrying out evictions of refugees).
Two MSPs were in the audience (Rosie Kane SSP & Sandra White SNP)
and promised to lobby the Scottish Exec. They stressed how effective
letters to MSPs are in getting them to take action.
A team of volunteer Stewards distributed Action Packs to the audience
with a 'toolkit' on:
How to offer a room to an evicted refugee How to donate to the Destitute
Refugee Fund
How to lobby your MSPs, MP, and the Home Secretary
Campaigns to join
Information so you can put the arguments for fair and humane treatment
of refugees
Stewards also collected e-mail addresses to keep people informed
of the refugee campaign; and handed out VHS copies of 'WELCOME'
for audience members to show to family, friends, and neighbours
- at meetings in their community centre, mosque, church, trade union,
school or college. [We'll report how many copies were distributed
when we count our boxes of tapes.] Previous orders of 'solidarity
rate' copies of the video (from supporting organisations like the
NUJ and Amnesty International) financed us to be able to give out
VHS's for only £1 or free to anyone who didn't have £1. Audience
donations after the film raised over a thousand quid (£1,023.98)
for Positive Action in Housing's Destitute Refugee Fund, and some
folk from the audience have already offered rooms in their own homes
to homeless refugees through PAIH's emergency accommodation list.
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