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January 8, 2018

oops, please note that the The Transports will be performing at Cheltenham Town Hall on Wednesday 10th January, not the 11th as in my previous message.

There is also information on their Facebook page if you are interested

https://www.facebook.com/events/314250989053588/

The Transports

January 5, 2018

Happy New Year to all who read the GARAS blog. Maybe in 2018 I will be able to write more frequently.

As a starter to the year there is an event in Cheltenham on the 11th January at Cheltenham Town Hall by The Transports.

This information is from their website:

There’s nothing quite like The Transports. The music is stunning – performed by some of the best folk musicians in the land, often singing in ten-part harmony – but it’s much more than a concert. It’s a dramatic show, but without actors. It’s rooted in the past, but taps into anger and injustice today. We’re not quite sure why it works so well, but it does. Audiences are enthralled.

As part of their show they tell a little of the migration story of the place they are performing and you can read more about that at:

http://thetransportsproduction.co.uk/parallel-lives/cheltenham

Tickets are selling well and can be bought from the Town Hall site or the Transports own site.

This sounds like a good night. GARAS and CWR (Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees) will be there so maybe we will catch up!

Refugee Issues in the Arts

October 26, 2017

Over the next week or so, there a number of events being held in Gloucestershire that might be of interest to followers of this blog.

1) You may recall that I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina last autumn where I visited some of the places that were involved in the atrocities of the conflict in the war there. Amongst the people we met was a woman who was involved in helping women from Srebinica rebuild their lives and community. She will be visiting the University of Gloucestershire next week and you may be interested in hearing of the work she has been involved in. This link will connect to the booking page.

2) Meanwhile all week in Cheltenham, the Everyman theatre is showing a stage version of the Kite Runner by the talented Khaled Hosseini, retelling the story of 2 Afghan boys and their lives caught up as their homeland descends into war.

https://www.everymantheatre.org.uk/m-shows/the-kite-runner/

3) Over Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th of November, a play called The Bundle will be performed in Stroud and at GARAS, Gloucester. “Based closely on the story of a real woman and her three young children, who escape from domestic persecution and denial of human rights in Chechnya, to find a home in the UK. Here they encounter the
Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ to asylum seekers and refugees.The Bundle has been commissioned by QARN (Quaker Asylum Seeker and Refugee Network).”

The Stroud event will be on the 6th November at the Trinity Rooms, Trinity Road Stroud and will start at 7.30. If you miss that evening you can come to GARAS, 111 Barton St, Gloucester, the following evening for a 7pm start.

Adele

Refugees at Home

October 23, 2017

Refugees at Home

Are you interested in hosting a refugee in your home on a short term basis? If so, please contact ‘REFUGEES AT HOME’ – http://www.refugeesathome.org/ . We are working with them to sort out accommodation for refugees who face a period of homelessness between being granted their Refugee Status papers and finding settled accommodation to move into. More information is available on their website. They come recommended. The more hosts in the Gloucestershire area (especially Gloucester itself), the better! Please forward this on to any friends or contacts who you think may be interested. Thank you.

How to respond to strange times?

September 13, 2017

It seems we never learn. Once again we watch in helplessness as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are forced to flee their homeland due to the severe and outrageous persecution they are facing. Persecution they have had to face for generations as stateless within their own land. Now intensified as ethnic cleansing becomes ever more violent. Out of such gaze, similar events continue to the Darfurian peoples in Sudan. And elsewhere violence is perpetrated against people because of their ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender or age amongst other reasons. It doesn’t have to be violent, it can be the denial of rights as a human being to education and health and justice.

If you heard the German politician yesterday morning talking about forcing people to leave Germany because they should not be there due to their faith you may have felt, like me, a shudder of “and this is how it ramps up!”

And yet, and yet…. so many good people choose the other route. Acts of love and generosity are poured out. There are Bangladeshis welcoming their new arrivals and ensuring they have food and help. So often, whenever there are attempts to march in the name of hate, their voices are silenced by anti-racists.

I experienced that side again, as I have so often, by the warmth of the welcome of World Cafe here in Gloucester . On Saturday evening a group of people enjoyed each others company, ate very good food produced by some of our Syrian friends and raised money through purchasing works of art donated by generous artists. In one evening £1000 was raised towards the work to support women supported by GARAS.

This kind of generosity has been experienced by GARAS from individuals and groups across the County. People raise money and volunteer their time in so many different ways. The power of love is stronger than hate. It can be difficult to speak out and contradict unpleasant voices. But when we remember that actually we are not alone then it is easier to speak a word of compassion, to put a hand out to the stranger, to argue against prejudice and do it all while staying calm and focused.