REFUGEE Week was marked in Evesham last Wednesday (June 18) by an event at Evesham Methodist Church which saw an international audience gather hear from a wide-ranging group of people talk on the subject.
Organised by Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees (EVWR), the evening saw contributions from members of several political parties, churches and the group itself.
Almost 100 people attended from near and far including individuals from Iran, Eritrea, Syria, and Afghanistan, plus other countries where minorities are under threat.
The national week which ran from June 16 to 22, is billed as the world’s largest art and culture festival celebrating the creativity and resilience of those seeking refuge and sanctuary. This year’s theme was ‘community as a superpower’.
The mayor of Evesham, Councillor John Clatworthy, spoke warmly of Evesham as a welcoming and friendly town, and said every effort should be made to welcome those fleeing from war and persecution in a difficult world.
Individuals were moved especially by stories from Iran, currently a theocratic state under the control of an authoritarian regime. Citizens are not allowed to convert from Islam to Christianity in Iran and the meeting heard one family’s personal account of having to flee at an hour’s notice when police raided the house church in Tehran where they had met.
After sleeping at a secret location, in the morning their neighbours phoned to say the police had broken into their house asking where they were.
As a consequence they had to flee the country without saying goodbye to parents and friends which was particularly traumatic for their child. This was further compounded by receiving a less-than-pleasant welcome at the UK airport where they landed.
The films included two by refugees themselves, about their dilemmas when leaving their country. It questioned where is ‘home’ for them – where they come from or where they were living now.
There was also a video from headteacher Andy Collard of St Egwin’s CE Middle School who spoke very positively about having refugee children in the school, and how they broadened the understanding of fellow students about other parts of the world.
A young refugee from the school, Ghufran Al-Shebli, 12, who came from Syria seven years ago after several years in refugee camps in Lebanon, under the Cameron government’s resettlement scheme, also spoke.
She talked about her positive treatment received since arriving in the UK.
“Thank you very much for your good treatment of us and your noble morals.
“We have trust and love for you that cannot be written by pens or described in words but love and appreciation for you are in all our hearts.
“Thank you to the helpers here and to all the British people,” she told the audience.
Ros Gowers, the coordinator of Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees (EVWR), talked about the rewarding nature of the organisation’s work and how, although the refugees were very grateful to the volunteers, the volunteers were also grateful for what they had learned from them.
EVWR has opened its own ‘sanctuary centre’, two years ago in Riverside shopping centre providing clothes, toys, furnishings, mobile phone cards for communicating with families, plus a venue for lessons in English and maths.
It is a member of the City of Sanctuary movement and is currently lobbying for Evesham to consider becoming a town or community of sanctuary.
EVWR is holding it’s AGM next Thursday, July 3 at Wallace House, 7.30pm. The speaker is Sarah Frost, the City of Sanctuary worker for Worcester which is already a designated city.
