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Abstract

Female Sudanese asylum seekers and refugees in Belfast were instrumental in establishing a women’s collective, Anaka. The original goal was provision of a safe space where the founders could help women confronting the harshness of the asylum system alone and afraid, as they had been. The endeavour to mitigate the hard realities of a challenging system in a hostile environment led to the collective becoming an advocacy and campaigning group. The ethos was one of participation and empowerment, deploying skills, creative capacities and political insights forged in the fight for Sudanese democracy. The key issues confronting female refugees -- housing, health and education -- were equally those of the working-class communities in which they were placed. While politicians and mainstream media scapegoated new arrivals for societal deficiencies, through sharing and supporting the struggles of their neighbours, Anaka women established alliances with the potential to transcend racism and promote integration.

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