Making change happen through community lawyering
Dear fellow EU citizen,
I am Sarah and I am happy to come on board as your new Community Organiser.
I have recently moved to the UK after an almost two-year wait for a decision on my EUSS Family Permit application. I had to undergo a long and costly appeal process after my application had been initially refused by the Home Office on account of very obvious erroneous grounds. References and guidance from the3million have been very instrumental in helping me and my family through this whole stressful and traumatic process.
I was especially attracted to the3million’s ethos of promoting the rights, empowering and building capacities of migrant communities. As a Filipino migrant myself, my direct experience and exposure to the realities of migration and systems that breed unequal opportunities, discrimination, racism and hostile environments against migrants and their families afford me a first-hand perspective for my role as Community Organiser.
I am motivated by my own experience and with the commitment to contribute as much as I can in assisting and empowering others who may be going through the same situation that I experienced. As well, I wish to get involved in communities where other pre-settled status holders like myself are able to collectively assert our rights and welfare here in the UK amid the present hostile environment.
Before coming here, my entire volunteer and work experience have been solely dedicated to organising minoritised and marginalised communities — specifically im/migrants and displaced peoples and their families. Having worked with and for these vulnerable sectors, and as a member of a migrant family and now as a migrant here myself, I am fully aware of the challenges that come with it and have learned to ensure all voices, especially those society deem less important, are heard.
Through these experiences, I have learned to put a premium on listening to the stories of migrants and their families, and encouraging them to transform their lived experiences of injustice into collective action to challenge systems and policies — through a combination of litigation assistance, education and awareness-raising, policy and advocacy work, campaigning through collective action and movement-building. I am a firm believer that these components always go hand-in-hand and efforts should always complement each other.
This vision is what I wish to contribute to the3million and our community. And I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to develop and cultivate this through our new Community Lawyering Programme.
Why Community Lawyering?
We at the3million believe that grassroots migrants and community members are the best people to articulate their issues and demands and should therefore be provided spaces to speak for themselves. In this programme, we endeavour to join forces to build resilient and supportive networks within our community. Our goal is not just about navigating the legal system, but more importantly about forging relationships, sharing stories and collectively working towards solutions that bring about genuine change.
I am here to listen, to understand, and to facilitate efforts and actions that resonate with the needs and aspirations of our entire community.
We shall work collaboratively to ensure that everyone has access to the justice we all deserve. Let us all work together to make our voices echo with clarity and purpose in the spaces where decisions are made. Our journey will be marked by shared experiences, mutual learning and steadfast commitment to promoting rights, welfare and social justice.
I am eager to embark on this meaningful journey with you, and I am fully committed to making our Community Lawyering initiative a powerful platform for advocacy, support and impactful change.
Looking forward to collective victories!
In solidarity,
Sarah
Sarah Maramag is Community Organiser - Access to Justice at the3million, the EU citizens' organisation.