We Are 4 Years Old Now! A Letter From Our Director Executive
Latest update: 10/01/2024
SEEAC was formally incorporated on 10th January 2020 as a not-for-profit organisation by and for Southeast and East Asian communities in the UK, and today marks 4 years of our journey since then. I extend my heartfelt thanks to each one of you, who have been part of this journey together.
We began our operation during a very anxious time when we witnessed the first wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in East and Southeast Asian regions and immediately faced significant challenges of the pandemic, which caused devastating impacts on our communities. Despite these initial challenges, after four years, we are proud to have grown from a group of a few volunteers into an organisation with dedicated members of the staff and the board, generously supported by volunteers and partners, delivering essential support services to members of our communities, empowering them, and advocating for the rights, welfare and dignity of Southeast and East Asian migrant communities in the UK. During these years, we have established ourselves to deliver our community support and advocacy work to address challenges around community wellbeing, migrant labour rights, identity-based discrimination and hate, and immigration and asylum with a rights-based approach. These could not have been achieved without collective efforts together with many East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) community initiatives, partner organisations, our volunteers and supporters and many other stakeholders.
At the same time, the context in which SEEAC operates and our communities live has not been any easier. The UK government’s narrative on migration continues to become more and more poisonous using dehumanising languages against migrants, refugees, diaspora and those who support them, and systemically with the Nationality and Borders Act, the Rwanda Plan and Illegal Migration Act. These actions have continued to take away dignity and the rights to justice, protection and remedy from many members of our communities. As a by and for organisation, members of our team also have to navigate and face challenges posed by the UK immigration system in their personal lives while delivering essential work to support vulnerable members of our communities. I appreciate all the support, solidarity and care the SEEAC team has received. Voices and lived experiences of our communities and us as an organisation are core to our work. I believe that continuing to build a circle of care and solidarity at the community level will lead to an environment where fundamental human rights are protected for everyone no matter who you are and where you are from, in the UK and our home countries.
Thank you for your trust in SEEAC, for standing with us and being part of our collective journey and champions of change.
Happy New Year and In Solidarity,
Mariko Hayashi