By Richard McKeever
On my way to a meeting in Whitehall on Tuesday morning I was astounded to see a refugee encampment in Trafalgar Square.
On closer inspection I discovered a powerful exhibition of a burned out small house and several simple tents of plastic sheeting strecthed over a metal frame each designed to accomodate up to a dozen displaced individuals.
The exhibition “Experience Darfur,” timed to mark Refugee Week was part of a campaign to highlight the plight of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.
It was a moving and intellegently mounted representation of the horrors faced by individuals forced to flee their home at a momets notice – a school blackboard with the chalked message “One day we had to run” was a simple but poignant reminder of how normality can suddenly change.
We at LinksUK produced an Ideas Annual a couple of years ago featuring UK Community projects led by or working with Refugee and Asylum seeking communities - Small Places Close to Home - the range and impact was impressive. During the process of collecting ideas it was interesting to see how many projects were about retaining a link to language, music or culture important reminders of a home left behind.
The Trafalgar Square event left me with a much clearer understanding of the urgency of flight experienced by many refugees and the ongoing disconnection that must surely persist. ”Experience Darfur” was an impressive piece of campaigning / education that brought a small taste of the desperation of life as a refugee to the centre of the capital – a salient reminder as I continued on to my meeting.
See more pictures, and contact www.aiddarfur.org.uk for more information.
It was a fabulous educational event concurrent with the UK’s celebration of Refugee Week. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to Trafalgar Square to see the tents. UNHCR really appreciates all your interest, energy and support. We had a great turnout at the Experience Darfur exhibition and met a lot of people who want to support us. UNHCR is almost entirely funded by voluntary contributions, and spends one-third of its budget via partner charities, so anything you can do is much appreciated and goes to those in need.
Thanks so much for spending a fantastic day with UNHCR,
- Peter