Blog commissioned by PHF Social Justice programme nominated for Amnesty award
A blog commissioned by the PHF Social Justice programme’s Supported Options Initiative has been shortlisted for the Amnesty International UK Media Award 2013.
‘Life without papers’, which tells the stories of undocumented migrant families and young people in the UK, was nominated in the category ‘Digital innovation’. The awards recognise excellence in human rights reporting and acknowledge journalism’s significant contribution to the UK public’s awareness and understanding of human rights issues.
Earlier this year, the blog was awarded a Speaking Together Media Award, which honours outstanding media reporting of issues relating to women and migration. It is presented as part of the Migrant and Refugee Woman of the Year Awards.
The stories in ‘Life without papers’ are written by photographer and writer Len Grant. He follows the lives of Sinan, who was denied his birth certificate because of a politically sensitive name, Ruth, who was brought to the UK as a domestic slave, and Ruth’s daughter Dyanna (the names are changed).
The blog highlights their daily struggles and vulnerabilities, but also their strength and resilience. The subjects have been introduced through agencies and charities that work with destitute migrants.
The PHF Supported Options Initiative aims to provide support and advice to young people and children in the UK who do not have regular immigration status.
Undocumented migrants include those trafficked into the sex trade or for domestic servitude; they include visa overstayers; those whose asylum applications have been refused and others who have been subject to failures in the immigration system.
The Supported Options Initiative is a Special Initiative of the PHF Social Justice programme and US funders Unbound Philanthropy. It builds on research commissioned by the Foundation on the lives of young undocumented migrants, published in the ‘No Right to Dream’ report.
