Paragon Posted November 27, 2009 Michael Palin's hand of friendship gives asylum seekers a human faceFormer Python star has shown us the world beyond our shores but after forging a bond with a 26-year-old Somali refugee he hopes to open our eyes to problems much closer to home Jamie Doward The Observer, Sunday 22 November 2009 They make for an odd couple. One is an epoch-defining comedian, not to mention a popular explorer and best-selling author who is fast approaching heritage-listed status. The other is a near-anonymous Somali refugee who fled his war-ravaged country and arrived in Britain knowing no one and barely able to speak English. And yet since they were first introduced, Michael Palin and Musa Ibrahim have formed a friendship that spans continents, cultures and generations. It is a friendship that might have remained in the shadows, of quiet satisfaction to the two men alone. But they hope that, by talking about how they met and how their understanding of each other has grown, they will challenge the way society sees its least known but most controversial member: the asylum seeker. Last week Palin, 66, interviewed 26-year-old Ibrahim in front of an audience comprised of leading luminaries from the Royal Geographical Society. Palin assumed the role of a Phileas Fogg for the 21st century, reporting back not from his exotic experiences abroad but from the hinterland of Britain's inner cities, the council estates where many asylum seekers are to be found. The way Palin sees it, the conversation was merely an extension of his travel series, another form of ethnography that fascinates the British psyche. "Once you reduce things to an individual story, it's something we can all respond to," Palin said. "That's what I felt was important about talking to Musa, to carry on what I have done on my travels, to find an individual and talk to them about anything." Anything? Yes, says Palin, who, drawing on his experiences of making friends when circumnavigating the globe, believes it is the small talk that is important when trying to connect with others. "You don't ask people about the immigration policies of the UK or their country's agricultural policy," he said. "Instead you talk to them about the meal they're eating or their family and from that you get the sense of another human being, someone we can all relate to." It was this idea of forging common bonds between strangers that saw the two men meet. As an asylum seeker, Ibrahim was prevented from working. But, with time on his hands, he volunteered to help at a Refugee Action awareness project in Bristol, visiting community groups and schools, to share his experiences of the asylum system. The charity hooked him up with Palin, a supporter, during its Simple Acts campaign which inspires individuals to use small, everyday actions to help change society's perceptions of refugees. The refugee taught the Python to say a few words in Somali and Swahili. Palin was, according to his teacher, a good learner. "I used to like him because of the travel programmes," Ibrahim said. "He's a funny, outspoken guy and I felt very comfortable talking to him." Palin says he gained an insight from the experience. "It was interesting to hear Musa talk about the differences in saying hello to people," Palin recalls. "In England some people he said hello to would say 'hello' back and then move on; in some cases people looked at him askance and moved on, which is very sad. But in an African country, Musa said, people will say hello and ask 'how is your father, how is your daughter-in law, how is your donkey?' I've seen that when travelling; it's an important ritual and to suddenly find that ritual cut off must add to the feeling of alienation he felt when he first came here." It is, Ibrahim concedes, difficult for many indigenous people to understand this sense of alienation that confronts the asylum seeker or indeed the motivations and deprivations that drive them to enter a foreign country seeking refuge. In Ibrahim's case, his family paid an agent to get him out of a refugee camp in Kenya. But once in the UK he was on his own. Life was grim. His support was withdrawn while he was awaiting his appeal and he lived on vouchers. With no money, little emotional support and stuck in legal limbo, simple things like forging relationships and making conversation with others became huge challenges. The practice of moving asylum seekers around the country does not help them build lasting relationships. "I was moved around by the Home Office a lot," Ibrahim said. "I used to live in London, then I was passed to Birmingham and then to Bristol. It's terribly difficult, because the only people I came to know were my fellow asylum seekers." Palin was startled to learn about the process refugees have to go through to apply for asylum. "There was this Pythonic situation where he was sent to Cardiff one night and told to report to the Home Office the next day, except the interview was in Croydon," Palin said. "So he comes back to London and all of his allowance has been spent on a train ticket and he doesn't know anything about Croydon. But then a Somali guy saw him on the platform and saw that he was in trouble and helped him." Palin argues it is these small acts of kindness that can make a real difference. "You learn so much about prejudice from individual cases and you realise that individually we are not hostile to each other, it's systems that get in the way." Last December, Ibrahim was granted asylum after the government accepted that he was a Somalian. He is about to move into a council flat in Bristol where there is a large Somali community with whom he can connect. For a man who fled his native country aged seven it is the opening of a new chapter. "He came here because he probably would have died, as his father did, in the wars," Palin said. "The camp he was in in Kenya was overcrowded and pretty horrible. The Somalis were disliked by the Kenyans, who thought they were bringing more trouble into Kenya. He got away from that and he comes to the UK, a place he doesn't really know anything about and gets into a situation where he just feels lost and gets very depressed." It is a familiar narrative, but Ibrahim's story is unusual because it contains hope. Through his volunteer work, he gained a sense of self-esteem. "It was the only way I could get experience," Ibrahim said. "Volunteering opened my eyes, it really helped me." Palin argues Ibrahim's story "could happen to anybody in any country". As a human interest story it is apolitical and exists outside the debate over the UK's asylum policies. As Palin puts it, Ibrahim's story "transcends whether you are Somali or not – we can all relate to it". But many people do not want to relate. Fear of others has become a leitmotif for our times. Politicians are vying to outdo each when it comes to sounding tough on immigration. Polls show almost half of white working-class people feel abandoned and many believe migrants are getting favourable treatment. What little is known about asylum seekers and their native countries is often based around stereotypes. As Ibrahim observes wryly: "I want people to know there is more to Somalia than looting and piracy." Esme Peach, an awareness co-ordinator with Refugee Action, said: "People have these views of asylum seekers and when you speak to them they have never met one. That experience of meeting another human, of having things in common, whether it's a love of Coronation Street or Arsenal, breaks down barriers." Printable versionSend to a friendShareClipContact us larger | smaller EmailClose Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note (optional) Your IP address will be logged ShareClose Diggreddit Google Bookmarks Twitter del.icio.us StumbleUpon Newsvine livejournal Facebook Mixx it! Contact usClose Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@observer.co.uk Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@observer.co.uk If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: +44 (0)20 3353 2000 Advertising guide License/buy our content UK newsImmigration and asylum World newsRefugees · Somalia SocietyMore news Related 5 Jun 2008Jeremy Sare: Plight of Somali refugees in Britain 20 Jun 2004Somali refugees flown back to chaos 14 Jun 2004A fair exchange 16 Jun 2002Nick Hardwick: The asylum alternative Printable versionSend to a friendShareClipContact usArticle history EmailClose Recipient's email address Your first name Your surname Add a note (optional) Your IP address will be logged ShareClose Diggreddit Google Bookmarks Twitter del.icio.us StumbleUpon Newsvine livejournal Facebook Mixx it! Contact usClose Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@observer.co.uk Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@observer.co.uk If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: +44 (0)20 3353 2000 Advertising guide License/buy our content About this articleClose Michael Palin's hand of friendship gives asylum seekers a human faceThis article appeared on p24 of the News section of the Observer on Sunday 22 November 2009. It was published on guardian.co.uk at 00.05 GMT on Sunday 22 November 2009. Latest from UK newsMost viewed Latest Most commented Last 24 hours 1. Iraq war build-up 'left us scrabbling for smoking gun' says ex-UK ambassador 2. Iraq invasion was of questionable legitimacy, says British diplomat 3. Fire crews tackle London blaze as families evacuate 4. Teacher, 39, jailed for sex with 15-year-old pupil 5. Student who urinated on war memorial spared jail More top stories Legitimacy of Iraq invasion questionable, says diplomat Brown plays down impact of Dubai crisis Climate emails vulnerable for a month All today's storiesLast 24 hours 1. Iraq invasion was of questionable legitimacy, says British diplomat (99 comments) 2. Should Boris Johnson be first elected police chief? (7) Bestsellers from the Guardian shop Mondaine Swiss Railway Watch - leather strap The design classic. Made from recycled materials and suitable for men or women. From: £89.99 Visit the Guardian reader offers shopGreen & ethical shopping at Guardian ecostoreMost viewed on guardian.co.uk24 hours 7 days 24 hours1. Pretending the climate email leak isn't a crisis won't make it go away | George Monbiot 2. The dark side of the internet 3. The Joy of Six: Great goals from the past decade | John Ashdown 4. Michelle Obama 'racist' picture that is topping Google Images removed 5. Classic El Clásicos, Henrique's handball and the planet's meanest six-year-olds | Classic YouTube More top stories 7 days1. Trapped in his own body for 23 years - the coma victim who screamed unheard 2. Gang 'killed victims to extract their fat' 3. Michelle Obama 'racist' picture that is topping Google Images removed 4. The former British police officer who wants to bring down Barack Obama 5. Climate sceptics claim leaked emails are evidence of collusion among scientists More top stories Free P&P at the Guardian bookshop Men Who Stare at Goats£7.99 with free UK delivery Irrationality£8.99 with free UK deliveryBrowse the bestseller lists Buy books from the Guardian Bookshop Sponsored features Get the best sportingbet tips With our weekly betting round-up Cut your energy bills Win replacement windows worth £10,000 UK USA UK Browse all jobs Biomass Research Officernnfcc. york, yorkshire. circa £28000 with benefits. Media Execlipton fleming. london. £17500 - £18500 per annum. Exhibition Sales Executive - Design Portfoliodragonfly. london. £20000 - £25000 per annum + Bonus. USA Browse all jobs {for result in results} [*] ${result.jobtitle} ${ result.snippet } ${ result.state } {/for} Loading jobs...jobs by Ads by GoogleMP Scandal in the NewsRead About the Expense Scandal? Submit Your Ideas for Reform Here. www.Power2010.org.uk/YourIdeas Liverpool We Buy Any CarFree Web Valuation - As Seen on TV! Cars Bought for Cash in Liverpool www.webuyanycar.com/Liverpool Wheelbase Alloys & WheelsOne of the Biggest UK Suppliers of Discount Alloys. Fast Delivery www.Wheel-Base.co.uk Related informationUK newsImmigration and asylum World newsRefugees · Somalia Society Inside an Eritrean refugee squat in Calais 30 Jul 2009: Eritrean inhabitants of Africa House in Calais squat in squalid conditions, hoping for passage to a better existence More galleries 28 Jan 2002Refugee hunger strikes spread 6 Nov 2001Iran battles invisible crisis alone 17 Jun 2000Home from home 17 Mar 2000Blunder means 800-mile round trip for refugees 'The worst part is having to beg for care' 16 Jun 2009: Video: Refugee Week 2009: Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of the charity Kids Company, explains what the word refuge means to her More video License/buy our content | Privacy policy | Terms & conditions | Advertising guide | Accessibility | A-Z index | Inside guardian.co.uk blog | About guardian.co.uk | Join our dating site today guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/nov/22/michael-palin-asylum-seeker-crisis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
