REFUGEES ASYLUM-SEEKERS & MEDIA (RAM) PROJECT
Promoting best practice in media representation of refugee and asylum issues

The MediaWise Trust, University of the West of England, Canon Kitson, Oldbury Court Road, Bristol BS16 2JP, Tel: +44 (0) 845 002 0167 Fax: +44 (0) 117 902 9916

RAM Bulletin

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1. GOODBYE RAM BULLETIN...HELLO EJN NEWS
This is the last edition of the RAM Bulletin, launched by MediaWise five years ago. But that does not mean the task of monitoring inaccurate coverage of asylum and refugee issues is over.
2. RAM PROJECT BACK THE SUN - SHOCK!
The RAM Project supports the call in a Sun editorial (?Visa Vice?, Tues 3 Jan) for the sacking and prosecution of immigration officers who coerce sexual favours from visa applicants. Home Office Minister Tony McNulty promised an immediate investigation after The Sun published the ?Passports for sex? allegations of whistleblower Anthony Pamnani, but as with so many Sun stories, the jury must stay out until hard evidence is produced.
3. MAIL STILL BREACHING PRESS WATCHDOG'S RULES ON ASYLUM
More than two years after the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) published its guidance on coverage of refugees and asylum-seekers, the Daily Mail is still using a term highlighted by the watchdog as misleading and inaccurate. Columnist Stephen Glover wrote about ?illegal asylum-seekers? on Dec 20, (?Don?t court the liberals too much, David?).The PCC guidance pointed out that ?as an ?asylum seeker? is someone currently seeking refugee status or humanitarian protection, there can be no such thing in law as an ?illegal asylum seeker?.? The Daily Telegraph, Express and Nottingham Evening Post all used the equally spurious term ?bogus asylum-seeker? in December.
4. EDITORIAL - WHY IT'S TIME FOR US TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL?
?An asylum-seeker is a suicide bomber? ? that?s the chilling answer I got recently when I asked a 300-strong morning assembly at a Liverpool secondary school to define an asylum-seeker. Poisonous ideas like this, in a city with a long history of immigration, show the extent to which sections of the media and some politicians have warped the minds of our young people.
5. BRITISH ARE POSITIVE ABOUT IMMIGRATION, SAYS SURVEY
The British are more tolerant and positive about immigrants and immigration than many other Europeans, according to new research from Readers? Digest.
6. RAM PROJECT TRAINS UKRANIAN JOURNALISTS ON ASYLUM ISSUES
RAM Advisory Panel member and President of the NUJ Tim Lezard delivered training to Ukrainian journalists in Kyiv about media coverage of asylum and refugee issues in December.
7. BBC WORLD SERVICE JOURNOS BACK EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND
The National Union of Journalists? Branch at BBC World Service is the first group to donate to the EJN?s Emergency Relief Fund, set up to help members who are destitute.
8. RAM WORK FEATURED IN THE GUARDIAN
An analysis of the UK media coverage of refugee issues published in the Media Guardian (Mon 9 Jan) highlighted the effectivesness of the RAM project.
9. ON THE RECEIVING END
A 15-minute DVD about exiled journalists? experiences of seeking asylum
10. NUJ JOURNALISTS STAGE MANCHESTER ASYLUM DEMO
The Manchester branch of the NUJ staged a Christmas demonstration outside Dallas Court, a Home Office centre in Salford, on Fri 23 Dec.
11. PAIH DESERVE SUPPORT
Writing letters, producing online petitions and featuring stories in the media are the key strategies used by Positive Action in Housing (PAIH) a Scottish wide minority-ethnic led charity to bolst its campaign in support of Scottish asylum families affected by immigration dawn raids or those faced with homelessness and racial harassment. GrSimilar strategies could be used to challenge inaccurate media coverage of refugee issues.
12. GIVE THIS FAMILY ASYLUM, LOCAL PAPER TELLS MINISTER
The Bolton Evening News has submitted a dossier of evidence to the Immigration Minister and publicly called for a family from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo to be granted asylum in the UK.
13. WHY IS NO-ONE BEING HELD TO ACCOUNT FOR DEATHS IN ASYLUM DETENTION CENTRES
Suicides in asylum detention centres are at record levels, but companies running the centres are not being punished for failings. By RICH COOKSON

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