Refugee Week 2021 : We Cannot Walk Alone

 

At the end of 2020, there were 79.5 million people forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, conflict or persecution for just being who they are. Whilst the majority are internally displaced within their home country there are 26 million who have sought protection as refugees in other countries, with around 4.2 million asylum seekers still waiting to hear whether they will be given legal protection in their new homes. The few thousands that arrive in the UK face a whole new set of barriers within our own bureaucratic asylum system facing a culture of disbelief from officials, being denied the right to work whilst waiting for claims to be processed and having to get by with minimal levels of support of little more than £5 a day. This is not to mention the trauma of finding yourself in a new country, separated from the people you love and where you may not speak the language.

Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Founded in 1998 and held every year around World Refugee Day on the 20 June, Refugee Week is also a growing global movement.

Through a programme of arts, cultural, sports and educational events alongside media and creative campaigns, Refugee Week enables people from different backgrounds to connect beyond labels, as well as encouraging understanding of why people are displaced, and the challenges they face when seeking safety.  Refugee Week is a platform for people who have sought safety in the UK to share their experiences, perspectives and creative work on their own terms.

 Refugee Week started in 1998 as a direct reaction to hostility in the media and society in general towards refugees and asylum seekers, to try and look  beyond the stereotypical ‘refugee’ label and work  to counter this negative climate, defending the importance of sanctuary and the benefits it can bring to both refugees and host communities.

Refugee Week’s vision is for refugees and asylum seekers to be able to live safely within inclusive and resilient communities, where they can continue to make a valuable contribution.

 The aims of Refugee Week are:
1. To encourage a diverse range of events to be held throughout the UK, which facilitate positive encounters between refugees and the general public in order to encourage greater understanding and overcome hostility.
2.To showcase the talent and expertise that refugees bring with them to the UK.
To explore new and creative ways of addressing the relevant issues and reach beyond the refugee sector.
3.To provide information which educates and raises awareness of the reality of refugee experiences
The ultimate aim is to create better understanding between different communities and to encourage successful integration, enabling refugees to live in safety and continue making a valuable contribution.
Refugees are a real, current and terrible problem that we have in our world and possibly one that will get worse as war continues to devastate and uproot people, for instance since the conflict in Syria began more than six years ago, over 4.8m Syrians have fled from their country because of violence, conflict, and a complete collapse of Syria’s economy and infrastructure. Then there are those who have to leave low lying islands of the world as a consequence of climate change, and  people fleeing for their lives as a consequence of famine, violation of human rights, physical, political or religious persecution.

 Many refugees and asylum seekers face severe difficulties once they arrive in the UK. Unable to work or support themselves, many struggle for basics such as food and shelter. Some of the key issues they encounter are the possibility of detention, living in destitution and contending with negative stereotypes.Most of those who are granted asylum are given leave to remain for only five years, making it difficult for them to make decisions about their future, including finding work and making definite plans for their life in the UK while it remains unsafe for them to return to the country they escaped from. As fellow humans we have a responsibility to respond to their specific needs in times of crisis. Many of these asylum seekers come to us as a last resort, having exhausted all alternatives, with nowhere else to turn. We should also remember  all those suffering abuse in detention centres and those facing repatriation despite the dangers that they face.
Refugee Week is an umbrella festival, with events held by a wide range of arts, voluntary, faith and refugee community organisations, schools, student groups and more. Past events have included arts festivals, exhibitions, film screenings, theatre and dance performances, concerts, football tournaments and public talks, as well as creative and educational activities in schools.

 The theme of Refugee Week 2021 is ‘We Cannot Walk Alone’, a phrase used by Martin Luther King in his historic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech when he turns his attention to the White people who, realising their destiny and that of their Black fellow citizens was intertwined, joined the movement for equal rights.

“They have come to realise that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom,” he said. “We cannot walk alone.”

Life is tough for many of us right now, and the future feels very uncertain. Looking after ourselves, our families and communities takes time and energy. There is so much to do.

The challenges of the past year have exposed the deep inequalities between us, including in housing, income and access to healthcare. But the crisis has also shown how interconnected we are – that the wellbeing of each of us depends on the welfare, safety and hard work of others. We are part of a shared ‘us’.

Martin Luther King may have been speaking during the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, but his words resonate across space and time. Here in the UK and across the world today, we know that it is on by coming together that we will move forward. That when we choose to walk side by side, to share networks and resources, or make space for others to lead, we create deeper and longer-lasting change than is possible alone.

The theme of Refugee Week 2021, ‘We Cannot Walk Alone’, is an invitation to extend your hand to someone new. Someone who is outside your current circle, has had an experience you haven’t, or is fighting for a cause you aren’t yet involved in. We cannot walk alone, which means we choose to walk side by side. To share networks, resources, and support each other.

  While the government plans to introduce new hostile policies towards people seeking safety – we  should support groups across the UK giving the welcome everyone deserves. From food  and emergency accommodation to LGBT+ support, legal aid and psychological support to help people on the road to rebuilding their lives.

 Whoever and wherever you are, I hope you’ll join in making Refugee Week 2021 a bold, collective act of reaching out; a space for us all to listen, to exchange and connect. To find out what we can learn from each other, and what we can build together. To continue to stand in solidarity with displaced people and grow our understanding of refugee experience.

Here is a link to an old poem. https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-am-poem-to-mark-refugee-week-15-21.html.

While our politicians often try to paint a small number of people seeking safety as a threat, we know this only serves to distract us from the real issue, politics without empathy. We know a better, fairer, kinder alternative is possible.Please add your name for the call for a UK that truly makes refugees welcome. 

https://action.helprefugees.org/page/82534/petition/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=refugee_week_pledge&utm_content=F.11+Refugee+week+newsletter&ea.u