Zrinka bralo biography definition

Migrants Organise came to life through gatherings in North Kensington living rooms, where migrant and refugee leaders would provide advice and support to their communities. In , these leaders found each other and formed the Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum (MRCF).

MRCF grew to encompass several community groups supporting migrants and refugees during a difficult period when both Conservative and Labour governments sought to appear tough on the perceived threat of migration.

Zrinka bralo biography definition Zrinka is a refugee from Sarajevo, where she was a journalist during the siege in the 90s. See it in action Book a live demo with a PolicyMogul expert Book a demo. In the aftermath of the bombings, Bralo is busy monitoring possible ethnic attacks in London through her position at MRCF , a non-profit umbrella organization that works with more than 40 community groups serving the immigrant and refugee communities in North West London. Learn more.

Continued anti-migrant backlash after the September 11 attacks in the United States prompted the MRCF to pivot strategically. In , under new leadership by CEO Zrinka Bralo, we transformed from a small West-London hub into an operation that advocated for migrants’ rights at national level—while maintaining the relational, people-first values that built trust in MRCF from the first days of meeting in community leaders’ homes.

In order to meet the challenges of the political environment, we knew we needed to move away from the traditional charitable advocacy model of social change.

Instead, we started organising for justice, focusing on structural challenges that migrants and refugees face. To better reflect our work, in the MRCF became Migrants Organise.

Zrinka bralo biography definition wikipedia During that first decade in London, Bralo spent time campaigning for refugee rights and watched with each passing year as the British Parliament passed laws that increasingly restricted the interpretations of the Geneva Conventions. Great, you are all signed up! Close Explore features. She also expects the tightened security to have lasting effects on immigrants and asylum-seekers, people who will face more difficulties in a system already riddled with suspicion and red tape.

The name change reflected a full transition into our current approach: listening and releasing (rather than “developing”) the capacity of migrants to act. Our unique approach combines the provision of community support and casework with ongoing movement-building work for structural change. Migrants and refugees in the UK need support and community to survive, and it is their needs that must inform the bold organising work of pursuing long-term change.

Our campaign issues are often identified through the casework and advice provided to our members.

We have successfully organised across the UK, with priorities emerging organically from our members’ needs. Our projects incorporate multi-level, international stakeholders and have ranged from migrant mentoring programmes, supporting migrant doctors’ ability to practise in the UK, cataloguing oral histories, conducting activism trainings, and beyond.

When the UK government introduced the “Hostile Environment” immigration policy in , our approach allowed us to respond rapidly to build resistance. In solidarity with migrant communities, Migrants Organise has celebrated the achievements of migrant women, registered migrant voters, campaigned for the right to healthcare for all, and mobilised in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy and Windrush scandal.

Biography examples Zrinka is a refugee from Sarajevo, where she was a journalist during the siege in the 90s. This experience has helped me to persevere through challenging and uncertain times and stay focused on the issues that matter and the people in need of support and organising. Bralo fears those most vulnerable are likely to be excluded, and as the system continues to tighten, the situation will only serve to increase trafficking to London: more and more immigrants will be denied asylum, including those from the most violent and war-torn regions of the world, and they will be pushed to seek desperate measures. Fresh anti-terror measures have been announced by the government, including a declaration of three new criminal offenses that target freedom of speech issues such as incitement to murder—the punishment of which could be deportation.

In July , as COVID devastated the most vulnerable members of our communities, we launched the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) Charter. The FIRM Charter unites efforts to address the Hostile Environment policy into a common struggle. In the Charter, we call for the Hostile Environment to be replaced with policies based on respect for human rights and the principles of dignity, justice, welcome, and action.