A new series of films uncover the stories of asylum seekers in Wales
Look on your mantelpiece, what do you see? A book? Family photos? A clock? Often items that define home, identity and belonging. But what if you have travelled a long way and could not bring any belongings with you, how would you then define your identity? There is no doubt that the items placed on mantelpieces reveal intimate truths and personal histories, which is why a new series of short films uncovered the stories of asylum seekers in Cardiff, by asking them the simple question: What do you keep on your mantelpiece?
The leader of the project Dr Rachel Hurdley is an honoury research fellow in the school of social sciences at Cardiff University. Her PhD focused on how objects displayed on mantelpieces, and the stories people tell about them, are connected with identity, family, home and memory. She said:
‘The idea of ‘home’ for people seeking asylum seems very different from ‘ordinary’ Welsh people. While ‘home’, ‘family’ and memory’ are often put together as commonly understood roots of identity, the experience of many people is complicated.’
'We worked with asylum seekers to make filmed stories of their everyday home life, asking them how they imagine their future in Wales, looking at 21st century Welsh identity from their perspective, and looking at their processes of making Wales home.’
The purpose of the project was to challenge established assumptions and prejudices about asylum seekers and refugees, allowing audiences to hear the voices of a rarely heard minority. By focusing on the familiar idea of the mantelpiece as a symbol of ‘home’, people were able to empathise with asylum seeker’s situations, rather than seeing them as separate and strange.
The way in which asylum seekers and refugees make Wales their home, whilst remembering their roots is the main question driving Dr Hurdley’s research. She said:
‘Some asylum seekers already have children in school who celebrate St David’s day, and have a welsh accent. In hoping to ‘become’ British, I want to know how the participants understand ‘Welshness’. Do they display Welsh objects at home? As ‘seekers’, what ‘Welsh’ future do they hope for? As ‘refugees’, what past are they leaving behind, and what do they want to treasure?’
The films were shown to members of the wider public, members of political establishments and charities, and academics.
