THE MASI TOTE
At the beginning of June 2020, I decided to make a Tote bag with the message ‘End Direct Provision’ printed on it. All of the proceeds from the sales of the totes went to MASI.
MASI is the collective Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, a platform for asylum seekers to join together in unity. The idea behind the tote bag was to help take the conversation of Direct Provision offline and bring it into our society, as many people are unaware of the Direct Provision system in Ireland. It has been in place since 2010. Adults are given €38.80 a week, made reside in shared rooms often with strangers. They are not allowed to work and can sometimes be stuck in this situation for upto 7yrs. These people have already endured a lot of pain & suffering having fled from their countries. I wanted to do something to show my support to MASI and to help people to make a statement that this is not an acceptable way to treat people.
In the 3 months of the launch of the bag there have been 179 bags sold. Minus production costs, there has been €2079 raised and donated to MASI! THANK YOU for your support!
If you would like to learn more about Direct Provision, I would recommend this podcast by Modern Problem
You can also visit MASI and Irish Refugee Council websites (linked below).
We are taking a break from the totes for awhile. If you would like to be involved and take over the project please feel free to get in touch.
Thank you, big love
Emylou x