Thursday, June 19, 2008

Refugee Week 2008

Its Refugee Week this week! Events and activities have been happening all over the British Isles, from film screenings and puppet shows to festivals and debates.

The week kicked off with a bang at ‘Celebrating Sanctuary’ on the South bank in London on Sunday; an event which showcased a range of exciting refugee talent, and celebrated the cultural contributions refugees make to the UK.

Headliners ‘The Noisettes’ and a host of other refugee musicians and dancers took to the stage for a vibrant afternoon of mixed up musical madness, journeying from gypsy punk to Congolese Soukous. Exiled writer Mir Mahfuz Ali performed his prose from a yurt and kite-making workshops unfolded in amongst the market of food stalls serving delicious international fare.

In Glasgow the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art has been displaying ‘Life after Iraq’ an exhibition by photojournalist Angela Catlin and writer Billy Briggs. The exhibition documents the life of exiled Iraqi’s who have sought sanctuary both in bordering Syria and the much further flung destination of Scotland.

In Wales the Refugee Week World Cup had a collection of truly international teams battling it out in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. Bay Warriors and Newport Kurdish are now set to go head to head in the finals later this summer!

STAR students get involved

STAR members have been making their mark on celebrations this week. Rob from Sussex STAR tok part as a guest speaker at an open debate in Brighton, discussing a whole host of refugee issues alongside a range of refugee specialists including Fazil Kawani from the Refugee Council.

Kathryn Bird from Leeds STAR also had a moment of fame as her journalistic efforts were read by hundreds of commuters in London this week. Kathryn’s account of living like a destitute asylum seeker for a week made it in to the pages of ‘The New Londoners’, a free newspaper produced especially for Refugee Week 2008 by the Migrants Resource Centre.

Find out more

If you haven’t managed to attend or take part in anything for Refugee Week yet, events are carrying on until the 22nd of June so you still have time to check it out!

To find out more, visit the Refugee Week website and see whats happening in your local area.

Posted by Russell Brooks on 19/06/2008 at 02:15 PM