‘When the Dust Settles’ participant recruitment

Together Now have been working on refugee family reunion since 2010. We want to learn more about families’ experiences after arriving in the UK. This will help us improve our services. We will also share the information with other organisations so they can also use it to improve their service to refugee families.

We are now recruiting families or couples who have been reunited to take part in our research project.

You can take part if you were:

  • Reunited using a refugee family reunion visa
  • Reunited before May 2022
  • Supported by Together Now, British Red Cross or booked yourself

We need both the sponsor and arriving spouse to take part and both will need some basic English. We may be able to provide an interpreter.

Who will be involved?

We are working in partnership with Maria Abranches, a researcher from the University of East Anglia. She has worked on many projects related to refugees and migration. She will meet with people and ask them about their experience.

Maria will be supported by Nihaya Jaber, a research associate. Nihaya is an Arabic speaker and has experience of the UK asylum system.

Together Now volunteers will support Maria and Nihaya.

How will we find out more about your experiences?

There are three ways we will do this:

  1. Walking interviews. This is where you will go for a walk together and you can show Maria and Nihaya the area you live in, or another area of the city that is important to you. You will be asked to take photographs and record sounds in those areas.
  2. Individual interviews. This is where you will have a conversation with just Maria and Nihaya (or with only one of them). This will give them the opportunity to ask more detailed questions.
  3. Group workshops. These will be sesssions where you can meet other families involved in the research. You will be able to share how you feel about the project and discuss the initial findings.

There will also be an opportunity to participate in the co-production of a short film using the photos and sounds you recorded and stories from the interviews, if you want to. This will be used to help people understand and change their views about refugees and their families.

More information

If you have any questions about taking part please contact Amy, amy@togethernow.org.uk or 07929 337837.

You can also download a full participant information sheet here:

English – When the Dust Settles – Participant Information Sheet 

Farsi – When the Dust Settles – Participant Information Sheet

Arabic – When the Dust Settles – Participant Information Sheet

Tegrignia – When the Dust Settles – Participant Information Sheet

Amharic – When the Dust Settles – Participant Information Sheet