The 17th of June marks the start of Refugee Week in the U.K. this year. We were recently very fortunate to have guest speakers Laura come in to speak to our Year 10’s from Herts for Refugees and Charlie with his four legged friend Fowzy representing Mobile Refugee Support. They talked about the vital humanitarian work they are supporting with across Europe and more locally supporting Ukrainian refugees in Harpenden and Wheathamstead. The stigmatisation of refugees and asylum seekers was also exemplified in the presentation whilst examining some of the brutality some refugees face whilst in desperate circumstances facing life or death.

Jeremy Bottrill, our contact from Markyate Church who has also been working with refugees in Hertfordshire spoke about the ongoing support his Church team have been offering to refugees who do not have access to a kitchen while in temporary hotel accommodation. We also learnt about local initiatives where these refugees have been keen to support their new local village such as litter picking while they wait for their paperwork to process.

We were also reminded about the comforts we have at home that we take for granted and one question posed at the start was: “if you had to suddenly leave your home in the middle of the night because of a war breaking out in your city, what items would you grab to stuff into a backpack and flee for your safety?” What would you choose, your favourite trainers, maybe your childhood photos? Your passport and food as you won’t know when you will next eat? How about your bank card – just in case you need to empty out your savings account to pay a smuggler to help you and your family cross a dangerous border which upon arriving you may find out you have been left stranded by your smuggler (who promised you a safe crossing).. and now you and your family are left dumped penniless at the border of a country where you don’t speak the language, don’t know anybody and are facing brutality by the local police.

This is a harsh reality for many refugees who wish for nothing but safety for their children and families. All they want is to be in a safe place where they can receive an education and make a life for themselves, to contribute to society and give their skillset to the local economy.

Some of the most famous refugees in Britain include singer Rita Ora whose parents fled war in Kosovo, Freddie Mercury who fled Zanzibar before helping to establish the band Queen and also sports legend Mo Farah who won gold for Team GB at the Olympics after escaping wars in Somalia/Djibouti in the early 90’s. All of these people went on to make significant contributions to British society to showcase on a global platform.

Keeping in mind our KWS values of Knowledge Wellbeing and Success, in the build up to Refugee Week, let’s increase our Knowledge of other people’s struggles and extend our empathy to them, ensuring everyone’s Wellbeing is met in order to make a more Successful society around us for all. We don’t know what someone might have gone through to get to where they are today, but we do know by helping them reach their potential we are a part of a wider success story that will benefit all.

Thank you again to Laura, Charlie and Jeremy for their time in educating us about the misconceptions that many of us hold about refugees and for allowing us a platform to ask questions we had.

Best wishes,

Miss Annie