By Richard McKeever
Today sees the start of Refugee Week an annual opportunity to reflect on the contribution that refugees have made to the UK and to “identify positive educational messages that counter fear, ignorance and negative stereotypes of refugees.”
It sometimes feels that few understand the reasons why people seek sanctuary in the UK and - if the tabloids were to be believed - this country does not appear to be a welcoming place for those seeking asylum and coming to live here in a place of safety.
This year Refugee Week falls as we come to terms with the UK being represented in the European Parliament by two members of the British National Party and further job losses are announced making the UK a tougher place for many to live and thrive.
A little while ago we at Community Links published a book identifying projects led by or working with refugee and asylum seeking communities. The book’s title “Small Places, Close to Home“ is a quotation from a speech Eleanor Roosevelt made to the UN General Assembly marking the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
It is a very powerful idea that enormous overarching global concepts - like human rights - can only have real meaning if each of us takes responsibility for safeguarding them where we are. Where we live, work and play together…
This year the focus for Refugee week is the Simple Acts campaign. Simple Acts is inspiring individuals to consider 20 small, everyday actions which if carried out by a large number of people will help change perceptions of refugees and promote better relations between refugee and host communities. The aggregate effect of many small actions can be immense.
The actions, including “Tell a child a story from another country“, and “Cook a dish from another country” are all detailed on the wondefully designed Simple Acts website along with short-films, original writing and links to loads of resources to inspire further action.
The Campaign takes a very similar approach to We Are What We Do, which was initiated at Community Links: Small actions X lots of people = Big Change!
As well as the very powerful message behind the campaign the approach is very refreshing – some ideas are identified and some resources are made available via the campaign website and then readers are encouraged to take the ideas and develop them – so their Facebook group includes invitations to film showings and self organised events across the UK. For example people are introducing a refugee angle to their regular poerty group or just making a point of talking to friends in the pub about a current topic.
Spare a few minutes this week to show a bit of support to vulnerable people in those “small places close to home”.
Hi Richard!
Thanks so much for highlighting Refugee Week 2009 and the Simple Acts campaign on your blog and your support on twitter!
It’s this support from people like you that has helped us see over 6000 simple acts completed so far!
Keep up the good work and visit us for a natter http://www.simpleacts.org.uk
Best
Anna and the Simple Acts team