Refugee Week 19 - 25th June
19 June 2023
Refugee Week is the largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, resilience and creativity of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
Refugee Week 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of Refugee Week and the theme is compassion . We are invited to explore what compassion looks like in action and how the small steps we take as individuals can make a difference.
The Refugee Week website is packed full of resources which includes a list of Simple Acts - everyday actions we can all do to stand with refugees and make new connections in our communities: from watching a film to sharing recipes. View the list of Simple Acts on the Refugee Week website.
Reading books by and about refugees is one of the 'small acts' we can take to deepen our understanding of the refugee experience and help us grow our compassion. Reading stories with children can be a fantastic way of introducing them to new ideas and challenging topics, offering insight into alternative perspectives.
Take a look at the recommendations below for some inspiration.
Reading books by and about refugees can help deepen our understanding of the refugee experience and thus deepen our compassion
The Refugee Week website recommends the following texts:-
Fiction
- A Human Being Died that Night by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela
- All Else Failed by Dana Sachs
- Assembly by Natasha Brown
- Asylum Road by Olivia Sudjic
- A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
- Babel by R.F. Kuang
- By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
- Exit West by Mohsin Hamad
- Iraq+100, edited by Hassan Blasim
- The World and All That it Holds by Aleksandar Hemon
- The Beekeeper of Aleppo Christy Lefteri
- From Another World by Evelina Santangel0
Poetry
- Bless the Daughter Raised by the Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire
- Leaving Fingerprints by Imtiaz Dharker
- I Was Not Born a Sad Poet by Loraine Masiya Mponela
- Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
Non-fiction
- Asylum Speakers by WorldWideTribe
- Conversations from Calais edited by Mathilda Della Torres
- Dispatches from the Diaspora by Gary Younge
- Hope Not Fear by Hassan Akkad
- Map of Hope and Sorrow by Eyad Awwadawnan, Helen Benedict
- Refugee Heritage by Sandi Hilal, Alessandro Petti
- The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
- The Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay
- The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri
- This Hostel Life by Melatu Uche Okorie
- Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
- Who Gets Believed? By Dina Nayeri
- Voices from the Jungle by Calais Writers
Compassion and Mental health
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- All About Love by bell hooks
- Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
The BooksTrust has compiled these recommendations to help children learn more about refugees and asylum
For Children
- My Name is not Refugee by Kate Milner
- The Suitcase by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros
- A Bear called Paddington by Michael Bond
- Wisp: A story of hope by Zana Fraillon and Grahame Baker Smith
- Lily and The Polarbears by Jion Sheibani
- King of the Sky by Nicola Davies/Laura Carlin
- The Journey by Francesca Sanna
- The Day War Came by Nicola Davies / Rebecca Cobb
For Teens
- The Crossing by Manjeet Mann
- The Stars are Scattered by Omar Mohamed
- Hidden by Miriam Halahmy
- Asylum by Rachel Anderson
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
- Secrets in the Fire by Henning Mankell
- The Jungle by Pooja Puri
- Inheritance by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Refugee Week 'Compassion' poster by Murugiah
Introducing The Big Eat Refugee Week on Saturday 24th June at The Kindle Centre.
10am – 2pm
Big Eats cook up a feast from across the globe. As it’s Refugee Week 19-25th June, we are celebrating the foods of the countries where refugees in Hereford are from.
Come along and help cook together a delicious buffet feast from 10am onwards, lunch will be around 1pm. Cooks, helpers and ‘washer uppers’ are all very welcome. No cooking experience necessary!
Big Eats are a unique and special opportunity to meet members of your community, share and learn new skills and recipes and eat together a delicious lunch which you have helped make. No need to book but please advise prior to the day of any food allergies, intolerances or special dietary requirements – email louisa@growinglocal.org.uk or message 07902 802982.
If you have a recipe you would like us to make at our Refugee Week Big Eat the please get in touch!
ALL WELCOME!
Big Eats are free to come along to but donations to the Kindle Centre are always welcome from those able to chip in. Tombola, Bric-a-brac, clothes, toy & book sales too.
The Bishop of Hereford and Mothers’ Union want to help people currently in Herefordshire seeking asylum by giving each person a voucher to buy essential clothes, allowing them to choose items they might need and offering a little dignity in their difficult situation.
While people wait to hear whether the Home Office will grant them refugee status, most have very little, and are often unable to pay for the basics, such as clothing and toiletries.
If you are able to make a donation please use the QR below or go to the give as you live website
Pop along to hvoss’ Refugee Week stall in Hereford High Town on Wednesday 21 June between 10am and 4pm.
There will be some activities as part of Refugee Week’s Simple Acts (Simple Acts – Refugee Week) including ‘Sending a Message’ to those seeking sanctuary and ‘Growing your Compassion’ where you can plant seeds to take home.
Come and find out more about how organisations in Herefordshire are supporting people in our community and celebrate with us the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.