On 21st June at the Brangwyn Hall we had an event to celebrate Swansea becoming an official City of Sanctuary. Read more about this in the South Wales Evening Post.
It was a fantastic programme and a great evening – thank you to all who attended and all those who participated to make the event a success.
AlHaji Kamara wrote and performed a new poem Open Up to commemorate Swansea’s achievement.
Here are some photographs of the event, taken by Allan Prys Williams.
Amel Chaoubi went to Coventry with Alan and Marilyn Thomas as part of Swansea’s delegation to the City of Sanctuary National Network meeting on 17 May at which Swansea was awarded ‘City of Sanctuary’ status. The picture shows Alan, Amel and Marilyn outside the Coventry Peace House, where the meeting was held, with (behind) Penny Walker and Clint Takudzwa Chikosha (Coventry City of Sanctuary Group) and (standing) Craig Barnett (National City of Sanctuary Coordinator).
Amel came to UK seeking sanctuary from Algeria and has been in Swansea for six years. She now has ‘leave to remain’, together with her husband and five children.
Amel says: “At the moment I am a stay-at-home mum. I can’t work because my youngest isn’t in school yet but I am studying for a Health Studies degree with the Open University, so I will be able to get a good job in the future. I want to feel useful so I do a lot of voluntary work. I’m in the Refugee Speakers’ Team [run by Displaced People in Action] and enjoy explaining to people about what is an asylum seeker or a refugee. I am one of the organisers of the Swansea Women’s Asylum Support Group. I also volunteer with SBASSG [Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers support Group] and Peace Mala and have just started with the Welsh Refugee Council. It feels great because it’s useful to the community and it’s a way of giving back something.
“I enjoyed the trip to Coventry very much, especially meeting people from other City of Sanctuary groups and listening to what they are doing and intend to do. It’s a really good thing for Swansea to become a City of Sanctuary – I am very proud. And Swansea deserves this recognition because people are so friendly and welcoming here.”
On 17th May 2010 Swansea became the UK’s 2nd (and Wales’ 1st) official ‘City of Sanctuary’, meeting all of the criteria set by the national City of Sanctuary network for this prestigious status.
Over the last two years Swansea’s City of Sanctuary initiative has gathered the support of 105 local organisations, including faith communities, small businesses, South Wales Police and South Wales Evening Post. The City and Council of Swansea also passed a unanimous resolution of support for the bid, and is working with the local City of Sanctuary group on ways to implement this throughout local government.
The decision to grant Swansea official recognition as a City of Sanctuary was made at a national meeting of representatives from City of Sanctuary initiatives around the UK on Monday 17th May.
We will have a major launch and celebration event in Swansea on 21st June.
An article by Phil Broadhurst
(Shop Manager, Oxfam, Castle Street, Swansea)
What I like about the various initiatives in Swansea set up by local people to help welcome and support asylum seekers in the city is the air of positivity around it all.
This is not an anti-racist (though obviously it is!) or an anti-government (though sometimes it might be) campaign of dogma and depressed backs-to-the-wall resistance. This is a pro-active and positive statement of beliefs. It is not a political statement (though it can be) ; it is a simple message of welcome and friendship.
In this movement there are not “Local Campaigners and Asylum Seekers”. There are just friends and neighbours working together to improve their community.
Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group have been at the forefront of this, with their regular Drop-In centres on a Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. As you walk in to these Drop-Ins, there are often small pockets of people asking for advice on their asylum case, but mainly it’s just a centre where in one room children play while in another room their parents chat.
Food, music, dancing
and activities for the children
Saturday, December 12th 2009
Swansea Museum (old Museum)
From 7pm-10pm
Transport reimbursed
Childcare provided
Please book your place
Rosemary 07966581243
Amel 07722415879
You are invited to the official opening of the Exhibition about Swansea City of Sanctuary by the Lord Mayor
AT
County Hall
Swansea
ON
Wednesday 9th December 2009
5.45pm – 7.45pm
Light refreshments
Come along to find out more
Please bring others who may be interested in finding out about City of Sanctuary.
The evening will include...
Dewi and Annette Hughes organised a lovely bilingual evening event, with music and poetry, at Capel y Nant, Clydach 11th November to raise awareness of the City of Sanctuary movement.
It was a dark and very stormy night but we found warmth and shelter at Capel y Nant on Wednesday evening. We were welcomed into the light from the downpour with tea and some wonderful barabrith.
The event was compered by the Welsh poet Robat Powell. Local musicians Bill and Dr Fiona Gannon sang a beautiful Welsh carol followed by a medley of tunes on piano and saxophone. Next was Alhaji Kamara who entertained us with his wonderful lyrical poems extolling peace and love. Humberto Gatica's poems are beautiful and powerful but their harshness belies his soft delivery. The evening closed with more music, this time classical, played by The Cwmtawe Ensemble.
We left to find the storm had passed on - we had definitely found the best way to wait it out.
The entertainers : photo by Annette Hughes
Dewi Hughes talking to Alhaji Kamara and Robat Powell
Visit Hafan Books Lulu site to find out about Humberto Gatica and Alhaji Kamara's poetry books
An INFORMAL WORKSHOP.
TUESDAY 10TH NOVEMBER at 7pm in COMMITTEE ROOM 2, 2nd FLOOR, CIVIC CENTRE(COUNTY HALL) SWANSEA.
D Murphy
This a workshop for people who are concerned about the fact that many
refused asylum seekers are destitute and homeless. We are hoping that
you will come to help us with the design of a project that could help.
The voluntary hosting project is modeled on a number of successful
schemes elsewhere in the UK. Through these schemes local people support
destitute asylum seekers by:
. Offering temporary accommodation in their homes - e.g. for few
weeks or a few months, or even just a weekend.
. Offering support to "hosts" and "guests" by offering money
for the bus fares, food or offering meals to "guests"
. Helping to run the scheme itself
I am working part-time to pilot a Hosting Project in Swansea. We
hope to get this up and running by January and the first stage is to
meet sympathetic people, and discuss the rewards and challenges of
being involved. There is absolutely no obligation to become involved in
the eventual project if you come to the workshop.
You are invited to come to a meeting to find out about “Fan Groups”
Wednesday 4th November at 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House on St Helen’s Rd.
FAN groups are a simple, popular way of bringing small groups of people together of all nationalities and ages. We think that they could make a real difference to making a Swansea a welcoming place - not just for refugees and asylum seekers but for everyone. They are also simple to run.
Here is an example of a FAN group in practice:
Fan groups meet regularly for a maximum of an hour. They are basically listening groups. After a simple opening statement which helps people feel welcome and safe, everyone in the group has a chance to speak for 2 or 3 minutes, while everyone listens. Then the group closes with a simple, affirming statement and many groups then go on to have tea or coffee together. There are already 14 groups in Cardiff, meeting in churches, asylum seeker drop ins, community centres and even in IKEA. They have made a real difference to people’s lives - including the lives of asylum seekers and refugees
For more information about FAN please look up the Fan Charity Website. http://www.thefancharity.org/
Many thanks to all who turned out to support our silent vigil "Respect, Equality, Goodwill to All" on Saturday. As you know, this was called by Swansea Quakers and the Swansea City of Sanctuary Steering Group to demonstrate that Swansea is a welcoming city where we celebrate the part played by everyone, including those of all religions and none. We had over 40 people standing in silence on the lawn outside the Quaker Meeting House,from 4.00 to 5.00. There were also a similar number on the street who clearly saw themselves as part of the demonstration. An impressive quiet dignity was maintained for the full hour.
We were also pleased to hear about the success of the "Unite against Fascism" demonstration,which in the event ran continously from 1.00 to past 5.00 in Castle Square,with at least 300 people taking part. The so-called "Welsh Defence League", reportedly mostly from outside Wales, were outnumbered almost ten to one and effectively confined by the police to one corner of the square.
We hope that our silent vigil successfully served its purpose of adding to the sense of solidarity and community among the people of Swansea, complementing the "Unity against Fascism" demonstration, and offering an alternative, quiet way for people to make clear their views.. As it turned out, there was no initimating behaviour nearby, but we hope that our presence in St Helens Road, near the mosque, also provided a visible symbol of community support for freedom of religion and for Swansea's Muslim community as a welcome part of our vibrant city.
Photos by Martin Willson
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