Red Cross Blogs

How will you celebrate Refugee Week?

By Julie Linter
May 26, 2009 at 1:11 pm

Refugee Week is a UK wide programme of events which celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK and is taking place between 15th and 21st June this year.

The British Red Cross campaign is ‘Look beyond the label’. James and Lilly are planning two lunch and learn sessions for Red Cross staff and volunteers to encourage them to do just that. We’ve promised to bring the cake!

We will be continuing our campaign at a number of events that are being organised in Bristol throughout the week. James and Lilly are co-ordinating our activities and organising display materials that will let people ‘look beyond the label’ as well as find out more about what the Red Cross does and the support available to people in crisis.

On Sunday 14th we will be attending this year’s Celebrating Sanctuary Fun Day that is taking place in Queens Square. This promises to be a fantastic day with international music, dance, art, poetry, food and workshops. As well as having a display stand in the information tent, we will be offering therapeutic care (which proved very popular last year), and international tracing and message service (ITMS) volunteers wearing our ‘I’m alive’ ITMS T-shirts will be wandering through the crowds talking to people.

The following Sunday we will be attending another music festival in Bristol – Migrations Chill Day – that will celebrate the cultural richness of migrant peoples across Bristol and the South West. On Thursday 18th Bristol Refugee Rights will be opening their doors at the Welcome drop-in for asylum seekers and refugees – encouraging the public to come in and have a cup of tea. We are always present at the drop-in on a Thursday to offer orientation, ITMS, signposting and therapeutic care so we will also be able to talk to the visitors (as well as offer a therapeutic care massage).

We have several things planned for Swindon too. The Swindon multi-agency forum for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants has a planning sub-group and I am the chair! Our focus has been on organising a big celebration evening for the Saturday night – music, dance, story telling and food – bringing people from the refugee community and members of the public together. It’s been a lot of hard work and we still have things to sort out but I’m sure it will be a fantastic night.

The Red Cross will also be talking on community radio during the week (about the work that our volunteers do) as well as setting up a display in the town’s central library.

So I know what I’ll be doing to celebrate refugee week this year. Why don’t you find out what is happening in your area and go along to an event – I’m sure you will have fun.

Photo: © Julie Linter (BRC) and Frantzesco Kangaris (BRC)

Tags: Bristol, international tracing and message service, interns, Refugee Week, Swindon, Therapeutic Care

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 1:11 pm and is filed under Health and social care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.