Refugee Week events

June 21, 2016

Please keep an eye on the GARAS website for events taking place in Refugee Week.  These are being updated (please comment below or email the office if you have other events you wish to be advertised).  So far, these include/ have included:

Cake Sale 20 & 21 June – Cheltenham

A cake sale will be held at at the University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham on Monday 20th June 10:30 – 2pm at FCH Chapel and Tues 21st, 11am – 2pm at Elwes Reception, raising funds for GARAS during Refugee Week.

Vigil in Stroud

There will be a vigil for refugees at St Lawrence Church, Stroud on Monday 20th June at 7:30pm. 

Art Exhibition, Stroud

An Art Exhibition is being held in Stroud Sub Rooms, all week: Monday 20th to Saturday 25th June.

Arabic Music at Sub Rooms, Stroud

There will be music on the forecourt of the Sub Rooms in Stroud from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 25th June.

Film Night 26 June 2016 – Gloucester

A documentary about the making of Queens of Syria will be shown on Sunday 26th June at 8.30 pm at the Sherborne Cinema in Gloucester. Tickets are £5 each (popcorn is £1).  You can view a trailer here.

Adele Owen, our Director, will be there and give a short presentation prior to the screening.  Doors open at 8pm and there will be a retiring collection for GARAS.

The live show will open at the Young Vic in London in July, and run for a week before touring the UK.

Refugee Week – Day Two

June 21, 2016

World Refugee Day

I had intended to provide a brief history to the responsibilities we have legally, never mind ethically!  But I have only just got home and maybe, given today, it may be more appropriate to say a little about children, children on their own, somehow surviving against all kinds of odds.  Over the years I have worked with asylum seekers and refugees, it is frequently the children who have touched me most.

What does it take a parent or a family member to come to the conclusion that sending your child on some extraordinary journey is the best for them?

What does it say about the situation that they are in that this the best option, the best future?

Scars both physical and emotional can be very visible and yet so to is the resilience, the commitment to hard work, the ready smile and the childlike trust.

We have been looking at some of the initiatives that are coming into play to support children through Resettlement, Family Reunion in Europe and the so called Lord Dubbs amendment.
Yet today has also involved discussions about the additional legal constraints that are being placed upon these youngsters, withdrawal of access to services and legal help all being implemented through the most recent Immigration Act and a build up of creating a “hostile environment “.
Happy World Refugee Day!

-Adele

Refugee Week – Day One

June 20, 2016

At some point in 1941, a small family left their home and almost everything they owned, in Java and travelled to India where the father joined the Indian Army.  In time the mother, with two small girls, took the SS Stratheden to sail across the world, round the coast of Africa and finally arriving in Scotland to live out the rest of the war. In February 1942 the father was one of the many who were captured at the Fall of Singapore.  Fortunately for them, at some point in the Autumn of 1945 the father finally returned and the reunion was joyful, the family was together again.

So why do I believe that it is important to allow people to move to safety? Because the older girl is my mother, her story has become our story.  A story that resonates every day for me and for all who have a glimpse of the threat of war, the violence that it entails, the challenge of travel in dangerous circumstances, the pain of separation and the joy of reunion.

Let’s celebrate Refugee Week.

-Adele

Immigration Court Fees Petition

May 17, 2016

Please would you consider signing this petition, regarding fee increases for asylum seekers to take their cases to court? In our experience, the appeal process is crucial in terms of justice being done for asylum seekers, whose cases are often unfairly refused. A number of people are later granted Refugee status through the appeal system, which suggests that the Home Office have not made a correct initial decision. If people are priced out of it, they will be even more oppressed, left destitute and in an extremely vulnerable position. Please take a look and sign the petition.  (For more info, you can read this article in the Guardian.)

Event round up

May 16, 2016

Open Garden – 11 June 2016

You are invited to an Open Garden in Staunton on Saturday 11th June 2016, 2-6pm.  Proceeds will be split evenly between GARAS and Freedom from Torture.  Please see the poster, share among your contacts and come along to Vine Farm, Malvern Rd, Staunton, GL19 3NZ.  Tickets are available on the door: £5 per person, under 10s go free.  This includes tea and cake.  (The event will be called off if it’s raining – tel 01452 840177.)
 

Film Night – 26 June 2016

A documentary about the making of Queens of Syria will be shown on Sunday 26th June at 8.30 pm at the Sherborne Cinema in Gloucester. Tickets are £5 each (popcorn is £1) and there will be a retiring collection for GARAS.

Adele Owen, our Director, will be there and give a short presentation prior to the screening.  Doors open at 8pm.  You can view a trailer here.

The live show will open at the Young Vic in London in July, and run for a week before touring the UK, so this is an exclusive screening!

 

The Film night will be shown during Refugee Week.  If you would like to organise an event: fundraising or otherwise during Refugee Week, please contact us and we can provide literature about GARAS and information about refugees and asylum seekers here.