Here at Herts Welcomes Refugees we lend support to Fair Begins Here, calling for a fair plan for refugees: https://togetherwithrefugees.org.uk/fair-begins-here-a-new-campaign-calling-for-a-fair-new-plan-for-refugees-that-works-for-everyone/
We were delighted that our Area Convenor Joyce was on BBC Three Counties Radio last night, talking about our work and the lovely art work produced by asylum seekers, some of whom are professional artists. They have generously donated their work for you to buy as e-cards from https://www.dontsendmeacard.com/ecards/charities/herts-welcomes-refugees You can listen to the recording on BBC Sounds or at the link above. We were so pleased that HWR volunteer Linda Lennard had this letter published in the Guardian today, in response to their choice of three refugee charities for their Christmas appeal:
You can read her letter here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/11/ignore-our-shameful-politicians-a-civilised-society-protects-refugees Read about the day Mo and his team served his famous Ash Reshteh – Persian noodle soup for over 60 guests at a special celebration lunch at Sunnyside Rural Trust, and hear his heart-warming speech! We are delighted to tell you about the Inclusive Employment Project Celebration organised by Step2Skills and hosted by Sunnyside Rural Trust. Sunnyside invited our Iranian asylum-seeker chefs Mohammed, Sara, Arman and Asiyeh to make a dish for 60 people. They chose Ash Reshteh, or Persian noodle soup. Our cookery project organiser Helen has been organising everything behind the scenes, going to specialist shops for ingredients and liaising with Sunnyside and the chefs to decide what they were going to cook, agree the budget, and talk about food labelling requirements & intolerances. Prior to the event there was a trial run where the food was cooked for sale in the cafe. Then there was the whole day event: shopping the day before, then starting at 8am in the morning. You can see an account of the day in this slideshow of whatsapp messages below!
Today we hear from an asylum seeker from Honduras who fled to England in fear of his life. For his own safety we are not able to give his full name. He tells his harrowing story below: “My trip to this nation has been to save my life and that of my family, which is my 3-year-old son, my wife, and I. We had to leave Honduras since our lives were in danger. One day, some people came to my house to leave me a mobile phone and told me in a threatening tone: “They're going to call you, you answer.” A few minutes later they called, they told me that I had to pay them and that if I didn't pay them, they were going to kill my family and me, that they already knew where I lived, the school where my son was and where my wife worked. A few days later, when I went down to the car park to go to church, I found my car damaged so I knew that the threat was real. Unfortunately the police were not able to guarantee my safety. Because of this, I had to leave my country, where my life and that of my family are in danger.” Attached is an example of this man’s amazing art work. You can see what a desperate situation this young family find themselves in. They are so grateful to our volunteers who make them feel welcome but they are very fearful for what the future holds. Our Warm Welcome fundraising appeal launches this week.
Can you help families like those of Arash? Read more at https://www.hwsf.org.uk/fundraising-appeal-2023.html Donate here https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/24622#!/DonationDetails We are so grateful for your support in helping us continue our work with those seeking sanctuary here. We are so sorry to hear about the deadly earthquake in the Herat area of Afghanistan. Our hearts go out to all those affected.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-67039463 Another wonderful art session! With a huge thank you to Daler-Rowney who have given us fantastic supplies of great art and crafts materials that we can use for art clubs with adults and children. We will be sharing these with local asylum seekers who are artists and at our art sessions for asylum seekers.
Here is what we heard from some of the participants about the therapeutic importance of art: "Art is important to me because it makes me forget all the problems and all the stress we have, in those painting hours we feel very good and filled with hope for life, we forget all our things, thank you for giving us this course, no matter how little we feel good, thank you ... I hope you will continue this course.” “My mind is free when I participate in this meeting and I don't think about anything else, we have very bad conditions and our whole life has become stressed. We are worried that we will get depressed and by coming to these classes, we will feel better and calm down a little”. Thank you so much to everyone involved! You can see more from Daler-Rowney's own blog post at https://www.daler-rowney.com/discover/news/herts-welcomes-refugees-x-daler-rowney We join our voices to those calling for safe routes for refugees as in the article here
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/12/calls-for-safe-routes-for-refugees-mount-after-more-channel-drownings You will remember Mariam’s story at https://www.hwsf.org.uk/refugee-stories.html
Herts Welcomes Refugees supports Mariam’s family whilst Mariam is now studying Biomedical Sciences at the University of Westminster. Recently Mariam sent us this lovely photograph and an update. Mariam tell us that she has just completed an interpreting course and can now provide official interpreting services at hospital. She says “Engaging in this work has given me valuable opportunities to expand my medical knowledge and ability to interact with patients.” Mariam wishes to study medicine once she completes her Biomedical Sciences degree. You may also remember seeing this wonderful video https://youtu.be/r5P40F5UIb8 made for Refugee Week by the University of Westminster where Mariam speaks about overcoming the challenges she faced when arriving in the UK as a refugee from Syria. Congratulations Mariam, we are so proud of you and pleased to hear how well you are getting on. You are an inspiration! |
|