By Talia Smith
Talia Smith
On 20 June, after Initiatives of Change (IofC) launched its Refugees as Rebuilders project in Parliament, we hosted guests at Greencoat Place to celebrate World Refugees Day. This was a creative and collaborative event featuring music, art, discussion and food from individuals from many cultures.
The event was held in partnership with International Centre For Eritrean Refugees And Asylum Seekers (ICERAS), Light Project Pro International, Erasmus+ IofC project Cross-Border Intercultural and Societal Entrepreneurs and Arab Forum on Cultural Heritage.
Amina Khalid, IofCâs Sustainable Communities Project Manager, opened the evening âtonight is about celebrating the success of refugees and also about the role that each of us can take to make a difference to the situationâ. Amina encouraged people to âtake away the labels and to see the humanâ.
Caroline Namugabi, founder and president of the Uganda Youth Forum and author of âChallenges of Identity: a psychological perspectiveâ spoke about identity as a person who came to the UK as a refugee. Caroline wrote this book as a response to her battle with identity. âWe must not give up on our cultural identity. I am a British citizen, this is my national identity. It is like a double conscious â I am an African lady, holding the English culture. It is always a balanceâ.
Professor Gaim Kibreab, a Research Professor and Course Director of MSc Refugee Studies at London South Bank University, talked honestly about asylum giving a historic perspective. âThe institution of asylum is a successâ Gaim commented. He explained there are core values that unite us, rather than divide us, but these are often forgotten when dealing with Asylum seekers and refugees. Gaim gave insights into the current global refuge situations, particularly in Syria and Libya. âThere are 3.5 million Syrians registered by the Government of Turkeyâ stated Gaim. In response to the staggering facts he provided, he asked âwhat happened to our shared valuesâ Gaim asked? âIt is like human lives donât matter anymore, greed and self-interest matters more. Liberal democracy, as a value, is threatened and this threat is against the common interest of the European Unionâ.
Daniel Trilling, a journalist, editor of New Humanist magazine and author of Lights in the Distance: Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe, spoke about his work in the field and his personal reasons for being part of the struggle for refugeeâs rights. Daniel was born and grew up in London, his parents are British and both of his grandmothers were refugees. He grew up hearing stories of their journeys and suffering. Danielâs book focuses on the refugees on the boarders of Europe. He spent five years building friendships and trust with refugees, re-telling their stories of how they have encountered the system. Danielâs response to the refugee situation is to âfind refugees, connect with them and spread their storiesâ.
Joseph Nicolson-Porter played the piano, and Jeremiah Nicolson-Porter shared a pertinent poem about time. Faith Rose read a poem she had written especially for World Refugee day. As a gesture to the topic, she asked everyone to stand-up and take the personâs hand next to them and breathe together. âJust as now, we are all interconnected in this world. Refugees must not be forgottenâ.
Key messages of the evening were the responsibility of the media within the refugee crisis, the personal actions and responses each of us can uphold and that refugees are to celebrate â a message that World Refugee day is acknowledging.