Friday, February 11, 2011
Turning back wrath.
On Monday, I went with a group of church leaders and activists (all involved in the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign) to meet with the regional director of the UKBA about improving the conditions for people on voucher support. This meeting was a long time coming. We did a major campaign around the city (“Shop for Justice”) and launched a report (you can see our original blog about it here).
The UKBA director here was very reluctant to meet with us at first. This probably comes down to bad experiences of groups that often campaign about issues of asylum: their way of interacting with UKBA is generally negative, angry, and trying to deal with such a broad range of issues that there is little focus. In my experience of dealing with the UKBA in Glasgow, this hasn’t proven very effective and puts the UKBA in defensive mode where they are unlikely to concede on any iota of the official line. One Church of Scotland minister at the meeting put it as “the mob with pitchforks and torches” approach to dialogue.
We were able to get over this hurdle and met with the regional director of the UKBA in a local church. The tone of the meeting was very different from other meetings I’ve experienced. I felt that we were listened to and the UKBA admitted that all of our points were “sensible and logical” and “there was no reason why we shouldn’t look at making these changes.” We had four suggestions:
1. Increase the range of shops on the Azure card, including charity shops, ethnic markets, and halal butchers.
2. That the UKBA would better monitor and train “problem stores” where there are persistent issues with the Azure card.
3. Having access to transport with Azure (e.g. being allowed to purchase a bus ticket with the card)
4. Allowing people to save on their Azure card, so they can save up for larger purchases, like a winter coat or boots.
The UKBA said that they would look into this and hope to make changes where possible. The proof is in the pudding, but I was surprised that all of our four points were recognised as valid. Four points, four concessions. An encouraging success!
After the meeting, the proverb “A soft answer turns back wrath, but a sharp word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1) came to mind. Though this passage is often applied to interpersonal relationships, Ronald Murphy’s commentary points to a political dimension in the text:
How is one to deal with an angry person? The sages had learned the paradoxical fact that a soft tongue could break a bone (Prov25:15b). Therefore one must handle such people carefully, even gently. This was all the more important in dealing with those of a higher class, such as kings, who had the power to hurt (16:14; 25:15). A tough response will only lead to greater problems (Word Biblical Commentary, Vol 22).
Ancient wisdom for contemporary engagement with power? It’s worth noting that the adjective “gentle” or “soft” modifies the noun “answer”, as opposed to being a characteristic of person speaking. While the Hebrew adjective rōk is used widely and generally for gentle/soft/tender in different contexts, in wisdom literature it is most often applied to the use of speech, and as Hendrik Bosman notes, “The soft/gentle word/answer implies a conciliatory attitude and not appeasement at any cost” (NIDOTTE). Principles worth keeping in mind for Christians, as we seek to engage in public and political spheres.
In the great scheme of things, four improvements to the Azure card seem relatively insignificant. But it will make a big difference for the people on voucher support. This negotiation has also helped us to establish a working relationship with the UKBA. This could form a foundation for critical, yet constructive, engagement on other issues in the future.
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Wow. Great story. And food for thought, and action. Thanks.
Any news on these concessions? I know these things take time, but it'd be good to know there is some concrete action being taken!
Hi Stephen.
There will be a further meeting with Phil Taylor in the next couple of weeks. Public transport has become a sticking point again as the UKBA are now saying it is "not essential" despite many familie and people with physical health problems being on the card and the fact that people were expected to walk several miles through the snow this winter. One local transport provider themselves has given us very positive feedback and would be happy to participate by making their retailers accept the card (however this would require purchase of a weekly pass costing around £13 which is a lot out of £35).
We'll post an update following the next meeting.
There will be a further meeting with Phil Taylor in the next couple of weeks. Public transport has become a sticking point again as the UKBA are now saying it is "not essential" despite many familie and people with physical health problems being on the card and the fact that people were expected to walk several miles through the snow this winter. One local transport provider themselves has given us very positive feedback and would be happy to participate by making their retailers accept the card (however this would require purchase of a weekly pass costing around £13 which is a lot out of £35).
We'll post an update following the next meeting.
