{"id":7178,"date":"2021-06-16T12:35:19","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T12:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=7178"},"modified":"2021-06-17T13:59:09","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T13:59:09","slug":"say-it-loud-say-it-clear-refugees-are-welcome-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/say-it-loud-say-it-clear-refugees-are-welcome-here\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSay it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here!\u201d:"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Barcelona\u2019s pioneering support for asylum seekers and refugees<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Lea este art\u00edculo en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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18.06.2021<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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This testimony is part of our <\/em>Europe Welcomes<\/a><\/em> campaign.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Barcelona was shaken by mass public demonstrations in loud support of refugees and asylum seekers. J\u00falia Trias<\/strong>, from the Barcelona Councillor’s Office for Citizens\u2019 Rights, writes about how the city is developing cutting edge projects to assist those who fall through the gaps in the national refugee programme – and how they cannot do it alone.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Demonstration
Demonstration for open borders June 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Barcelona has a long tradition of\nwelcoming asylum seekers and refugees. We run public services devoted to it.\nOur civil society organisations and citizens are actively committed to\nsupporting refugees in their communities. Proof of this came during the\nso-called \u201crefugee crisis\u201d with the huge demonstrations organized in Barcelona.\nThe resounding cry was: \u201cwe want to\nwelcome you<\/strong>\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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For us at the Barcelona Councillor’s\nOffice for Citizen Rights, it was clear that we had been given a mandate to engage in\nmore proactive policies to welcome asylum seekers and refugees to our city. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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“We went from receiving two thousand asylum seekers in Barcelona in 2016, to almost nine and a half thousand in 2019.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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In 2020, Spain was the EU country\nwith the highest number of asylum applications. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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This allowed us to increase the\nresources devoted to our local service for welcoming migrants and refugees\n(SAIER – Servicio de Atenci\u00f3n a Inmigrantes, Emigrantes y Refugiados). SAIER is\nan example of strong collaboration between local administration and local\nassociations specialized in this matter. It is directly managed by NGOs and\ncivil society organisations specialised in accompanying migrants and refugees.\nWe\u2019ve also created a pioneer local programme for welcoming asylum seekers and\nrefugees, called Nausica<\/em>. This\nprogramme offers shelter, legal, psychological and employment assistance. It is\ngeared towards refugees that have ended or been excluded from the national\nprogramme.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Demonstation
Demonstation Volem Acollir February 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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“These advances are possible thanks to the compassion and determination of the citizens of Barcelona, and their commitment to welcoming asylum seekers and refugees.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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How does\nBarcelona manage the increase in refugees across Spain so well?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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In Spain, services for migrants and\nfor refugees are under the jurisdiction of the state but they\u2019re up to local\nadministrations to implement. Unlike most cities, in Barcelona these services\nare unified. This means we\u2019re able to offer much more holistic support for\npeople accessing the service. For example, when an asylum seeker applies for\nsupport, they will receive help with their asylum application, and will also be\noffered advice on employment, housing, access to a soup kitchen, recognition of\ntheir qualifications, access to Catalan language courses and information for\ntheir children’s schooling. These are the same services that are also offered\nto migrants who are not asylum seekers. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Refugees
Refugees Welcome sign on Barcelona’s city hall balcony<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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This way of working allows us to have\na closer relationship with the state services: we are based in the same\nbuilding and often deal with the same person or family unit (who may need\nservices that fall under both state and local jurisdiction at the same\ntime).  We\u2019re able to collaborate and\nwork together to provide a really thorough foundation of support.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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We\u2019ve also been trying to help\nfurther afield. During the devastating COVID-19 crisis in the Canary Islands,\nwe achieved a bilateral agreement with the national government for the\nrelocation of asylum seekers from the Canary Islands to our city. We made\navailable a local facility that could house up to fifty people. Since the end\nof 2020, nearly a hundred refugees have been welcomed to our city thanks to\nthis agreement. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cThe number of arrivals has increased over the past years and is likely to keep rising. We cannot do it alone.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Barcelona is a welcoming town and a\nrefuge city for thousands of asylum seekers every year. We devote all our\navailable resources and all our political will to supporting as many people as\nwe can. Still, we need the commitment of every institution to ensure that we\nwill be able to face all eventualities in the future. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Barcelona
Barcelona \/ CC0 benjamin-voros<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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The number of arrivals has increased\nover the past years and is likely to keep rising. The political will is there.\nWe have been increasing our resources to be a better welcoming city year after\nyear. But, we cannot do it alone. This challenge needs the full involvement of\nall the EU Member States and the EU institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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*****<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN<\/a> – What you can do to help cities like Barcelona continue to welcome refugees<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Barcelona is a positive example of\nhow citizens can encourage local authorities to support refugees in their\ncommunities and the positive change that these local authorities make. But, this\nstory also shows that local initiatives can only achieve so much. They need\nstate and European policies to reflect the will of citizens and municipalities.\nWe need to put pressure on the EU and Member States to change EU policy for the\nbetter!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Spread the word, join our campaign<\/a> and sign up to our\nnewsletter to stay up to date with updates on #welcomingeurope and on our\nmigration campaign! <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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#refugeeswelcome<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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