That Curry

Well, our colleagues in the Community Arts North West office really know how to kick us when we’re down. We rocked up to work today with our measly portions of soup while they feasted on Indian takeout together. We then had to put up with the rich smell of spices lingering in the office for the rest of the day. We’ll let them off though – they have been really supportive all week.

As it is International Women’s Day, here’s an interesting article by the Guardian about refugee women working at grassroots level:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/mar/08/international-womens-day-migrant-refugee-women?newsfeed=true

And some facts about female destitute asylum seekers:

1/3 of female destitute asylum seekers in the UK indicated that they had been raped in their country of origin before they sought asylum.

1/3 of female destitute asylum seekers have a university degree or equivalent.

78% of female destitute asylum seekers are aged 21-40.

Source: The Destitution Trap: Asylum’s Untold Story (Refugee Action, 2006)