Migrant Workers
Migrant workers and their families are now living
throughout Cumbria, although they still form only about 1% of the total
workforce of the county.
Churches Together in Cumbria believes it to be very important that the local
church communities around the county provide a warm welcome and practical
support to these newer residents in our county.
For many migrant workers English is not their first language. Although there are
courses available at some local colleges, libraries and community centres for
learning basic English, courses are not free to all migrant workers and their
families and some cannot afford to pay the fees. Courses will only run if
sufficient numbers are able to attend every week and some courses have ended
because of low attendance on some weeks. This attendance pattern does not
reflect a lack of demand, which is very high, but an inability for some migrant
workers to commit to the same time each week due to shift patterns. Where church
communities have been able to offer free basic English language teaching or
practice this has been enthusiastically taken up.
Migrant workers often welcome advice and practical information about living in
Cumbria, for example regarding health, accommodation and transport systems. In a
series of quality of life interviews with migrant workers, commissioned by
Voluntary Action Cumbria and conducted during 2007, interviewees specifically
identified the Church as somewhere they would like to be able to turn to for
general advice and information support.
Both single migrant workers and families may suffer from isolation, particularly
when language is a barrier and where there are few people from the same country
of origin living and working in that part of Cumbria. Lack of language skills
makes it difficult for some migrant workers to integrate either in the workplace
or in the community. Misunderstanding and a lack of welcome by host communities
can also be an issue.
A number of local Churches Together groups and church communities around the
county have initiated various successful forums through which migrant workers
and their families are supported and cohesion and new friendships thereby
developed within the whole community.
Churches Together in Cumbria would like to see many more local church
communities reach out to migrant workers in this way.
The Migrant Workers church engagement guide provides advice and
contact details to help churches to do this.
Prayer
Our God, parent and creator of all living beings,
Help us to open our hearts and minds to the needs of others.
Especially the strangers living here among us:
The women, men and children from Poland, Portugal,
Lithuania, Latvia and many other countries.
Let us share your bounteous grace with them:
There is enough food and work for everybody.
Let us help them to realise their aspirations for a better life in peace
For themselves, their children and us.
Let us show them the respect they deserve as your children
And help us to protect them from the evils of racism and exploitation.
Help us to see you in them.
AMEN
© Rev David de Verny, Chaplain at the University of Hull and formerly Ecumenical Chaplain with New Arrival Communities in SE Lincolnshire
Further Resources:
Immigrant Workers and their Families:
Advice to Parishes and Faith Groups © Rev David de Verny
Immigrant Workers - Exploited and Ignored: a paper from Lincolnshire © Rev David de Verny