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1 The practice
2 Hints for an evaluation
2.1 Strenghts
The site is empowering for migrants because it allows them to express themselves, especially regarding their political involvement as migrants in the UK and in the case of asylum seekers and refugees regarding their "fight" to stay in the country.
It covers the issue of asylum in a way that the mainstream press cannot. This could possibly be because of the freedom of the journalists to publish what they want (as long as it comes under the editorial guidelines) and so they are not restricted the wishes of rich owners.
Because most people post on the site under pseudonyms it is often unknown which writers are migrants and which are not. This can be useful for migrants as people will not hold any pre-conceived prejudices about the quality of a migrant’s English.
2.2 Critical Points
It is hard to monitor exactly how many migrants publish on the site. This is particularly the case because people post anonymously. However for migrants who are in the middle of an asylum claim, it may prove harmful to "rock the boat". Furthermore, as there has been harassment of "Indymedia" journalists by the police many feel it is best to hide their identities. Incidents such as the seizure of the UK "Indymedia" server in 2003 (by the FBI), further heightens the feeling amongst some journalists that they want to hide their identity.
Some people have suggested that the site is run “by anarchists for anarchists” as points of view which do not fit in with the editorial guidelines are often removed. This criticism is a little unfair however, as people of many different political persuasions read and post on the site. Reports of actions or demonstrations are nearly always kept on the site no matter what their origin, as long as they are not being used as a vehicle to promote a certain political party or are racist and offensive.
2.3 Lessons Learnt
Themes
That there are many people within the general public who are sympathetic to the challenges faced by migrants and that they are willing to set up and maintain projects which support the greater understanding of the migrant community.
Furthermore, it can be seen that migrants can be proactive in improving their own situation when there is a model which allows them to do this. It seems that migrants are happy to openly talk about their situation and become politically involved in their new country.
Methodology
Collective consensus based, non-hierarchical projects can be successful. Despite some obvious tensions which exist on the lists there is a clear and reasoned debate which collectively works to improve and maintain the content of the site. There are problems, but they are usually resolved in an adult and calm manner. The list also does not rely on one or a small group of individuals to maintain the frequency and quality. Because of this there is no real problem when some people (because of other commitments etc) do not work on the site as there are enough people to keep the page running well.
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