Cut the Red Tape

CUT THE RED TAPE by Vic Cruz co-created with three asylum seekers currently going through the asylum application process, one person who obtained asylum status 40 years ago and a Civil Servant from the Home Office. All wanted to remain anonymous.

An exploration of what it means to be ‘a good citizen’. People seeking asylum status in this country are practicing being good citizens regardless of their status, sending children to school, looking after the land and contributing to the local community. The practise of being a good citizen is often made difficult and traumatic for people in the process of becoming refugees which is not the same for someone who already has a ‘legal status’. The long and uncertain wait, all whilst not being able to work and plan a future, is unsettling and puts unnecessary pressure on people who particularly need help, empathy and resources to continue practising good citizenship.

I am proposing declaring all people seeking asylum part of Global Commons.

Global Commons is used to indicate the earth’s natural resources including and as far reaching as the deep oceans, the atmosphere, outer space, the North Pole and the Antarctic. They are a shared responsibility and should be protected and cherished by the whole world. Global commons also represents a management approach based on systems thinking, transformation and self-organisation to bring out the best in people.

If innocent people fleeing wars could become Global Commons we would share the responsibility of rebuilding their lives, we must treasure their contributions to our communities, cut out the red tape and an inadequate and obsolete system which is not working well right now.

Let’s become active citizens of one world and continue protecting all GLOBAL COMMONS!