Tag Archive for: Latest Refugee News

Refugee Support Newsletter – June 2020

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In this newsletter

  • Interview with Vanessa Faulkner of Marlow Refugee Action

  • Resources

  • Actions

  • Upcoming Events

Interview with Vanessa Faulkner

“Establishing a law centre in Samos is probably the thing that as a group I’m most proud of … From Marlow there are three young volunteers in their twenties who have done amazing things .. Just step out, be brave and do something …”

Listen here to some short items from an interview with Vanessa Faulkner, co-founder of Marlow Refugee Action. Hear what motivated her to get involved, highlights of Marlow Refugee Action’s activities, her reflections on the impacts of COVID-19, how local churches have become involved in Marlow Refugee Action’s work … and more.

Resources

The organisers of Refugee Week have produced a pack of Activities for Children and Young People.

Awareness-raising resources for schools, around refugees and children in migration, including video testimonials of young refugees now in the UK, have been produced by My Bright Kite.

Free Movement have put together many free resources on asylum law on their Asylum Hub and have released five short introductory videos on refugee law.

Two Oxford Brookes Sanctuary Scholarships are offered to asylum seekers for 2020/21. Applications, accompanied by a referee supporting statement, can be submitted until 6th July 2020.

A new website, Refugee Action Good Practice, has information for organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. This includes practical guidance on best ways to make destitution payments during the pandemic and ways to prevent digital exclusion.

Particular problems experienced by refugees, asylum seekers and others at this time, and recommendations for the authorities, are highlighted in a report by Doctors of the World “An Unsafe Distance: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Excluded People in England”.

At the end of an article on integration, Sponsor Refugees gives links to six free online courses provided by various universities and the British Council, e.g. Working Supportively with Refugees, Migrants and refugees in Education, Refugees in the 21st Century.

A report by the Home Affairs Committee on the Home Office’s response to the impact of Covid-19 on the immigration and visa systems was published on 16th June. Further changes it recommends include the temporarily lifting of the No Recourse to Public Funds condition and the widening of the free visa extensions for NHS medical staff to all NHS employees and social care workers, as lower paid staff such as hospital porters are currently not eligible. The exemption of NHS staff and social care employees from the NHS surcharge announced on 21st May was welcomed, but this doctors and nurses report that they continue to have to pay it and are uncertain whether the payments will be refunded.

Actions

With the government announcing on 8th June that asylum support allowance would be increased by just £1.85 a week, 220 organisations wrote to the Home Secretary urging her to reconsider. You can add your name to the Refugee Council’s letter to the Home Secretary calling for immediate changes.

The Government’s position in Brexit negotiations with the EU, as shown in documents released in May, is that refugee children in Europe will not have the same rights of reunification with family in the UK as they currently do. Safe Passage is calling on people to sign a petition to the Home Office to keep reuniting child refugees with their families after Brexit, for this to be a mandatory obligation and the right to appeal protected.

As normal events are not possible at the moment, many refugee groups and charities have created some imaginative initiatives to raise awareness and funds, which you could try, e.g.

Upcoming Events

We’re coming to the end of Refugee Week, a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees. This year it is being held online, so there are still many events you can get involved with – see their events calendar. Join with Christians from across the UK for a National Refugee Prayer Hour on Saturday 20th June, World Refugee Day.

 

Wednesday 24th June – The Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture – Mobility and immobility in the time of coronavirus: reflections from long-term study of migration and displacement (Refugee Studies Centre)

Wednesday 1st July – 17th IMISCOE Annual Conference (International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion in Europe) )

Wednesday 22nd July – Online Training For Church Refugee Workers – Rebuilding your team after lockdown (Welcome Churches)

The CCOW events calendar is updated regularly with events of interest on this and other topics. Take a look!

Subscribe to this quarterly email Refugee Support Newsletter at: www.ccow.org.uk/manage-your-preferences/.

We also regularly post on Twitter about refugee issues, campaigns and events. Follow @CCOWinfo.

Refugee Support Newsletter – Interim Bulletin May 2020

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Sign up here to receive our Refugee Support Newsletter by email once every three months

In this newsletter

 

  • Refugees’ Needs at This Time

  • Resources and Ideas

  • Items of Good News

We normally only send out a newsletter every three months. But as these are fast-changing times we felt we should send this interim bulletin, in order that the information and resources are timely. We hope that it will be useful.
With the usual forms of face-to-face meeting and networking not possible at the moment, we would really value your thoughts on what we at CCOW can do to help people stay connected and to share information. Please contact Joanna with suggestions: joanna@ccow.org.uk 07552948688.

 

Refugees’ Needs at This Time

There is concern about inequalities experienced by people in the UK because of their immigration status –
  • A number of organisations are calling on the government to grant Leave to Remain to everyone with insecure immigration status – see the petition signed by the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network and others and also the letter from the Jesuit Refugee Service together with 30 other organisations written to the Prime Minister.

Globally refugees could be some of the worst hit by Covid-19 and many agencies, charities and support groups are responding with emergency medical, hygiene, shelter and food supplies and are appealing for donations, e.g. UNHCR , Donate4Refugees, Med’EqualiTeam.

>Following recent devastating fires in the refugee camp on the Greek island of Samos, Samos Volunteers sent an open letter to the European Commission calling on them to urgently assist Greece in evacuating the 38,700 people living in the camps of the Aegean Islands.

 

Resources and Ideas

At CCOW, we have been busy updating the resources on the Refugees and Forced Migration page of our website and creating some new ones.

  • You can find information about what local refugee charities and groups are doing at this time and how you can get involved, as well as up-to-date sources of information, in the updated document In response to Covid-19.
  • Our latest website post Supporting Refugees Locally at a Time of Coronavirus gives additional information, prayer points and actions, primarily around current needs of refugees and other vulnerable migrants in the UK during the pandemic.
  • Some basic facts and figures now contains the latest available statistics and our Guide to online worship resources has some new items and links.
  • We have also kept adding to our Events calendar as there are lots of interesting seminars, training opportunities and meetings now happening online. Look out especially for this year’s Refugee Week, 15th -21st  June, including film screenings and discussions.

Refugee Action has created a Coronavirus Asylum Handbook as a collaborative resource for organisations supporting refugees in the UK. It shares practical tips on how organisations are adapting at this time with links to useful websites.

Refugee Council has created a “Your questions answered” page where you can watch their Head of Advocacy giving clear and succinct responses to e.g. Why don’t asylum seekers in the UK have the right to work? How will the asylum interview process continue during COVID-19? What will be the major changes to the UK asylum policy after Brexit?
They are also offering a free My Refugee Friend activity to teach children about the challenges that refugee children face.

Doctors of the World is working with the British Red Cross and others to provide COVID-19 guidance in 51 languages.

The Book of the Month from Oxford University’s Social Science Library, The health of refugees: public health perspectives from crisis to settlement, whilst written pre Covid-19 pandemic is particularly relevant at this time.

Right to Remain has developed an online version of the Asylum Navigation Board game. Information Cards and Problem Cards help participants to understand each step of the UK asylum system and what people can do to be in a better position.

Oxford City Council’s Activity Hub has links to a wealth of events and activities online, as well as commuity volunteering opportunities and advice for wellbeing at this time.

Details of two university scholarships for asylum seekers – application deadline 16 th June – are publicised by Refugee Support Network. These can make a huge difference to someone’s life who would otherwise not be able to get higher education, being ineligible for student finance.

Items of Good News

Hear how one local charity is adapting its services to continue to support refugees – an interview with Refugee Resource’s children’s psychotherapist on BBC Radio Oxford (skip to 1:25:30, 2.5 minutes long).

Asylum Welcome has welcomed their new director, Mark Goldring, and is providing ongoing support for clients.

Safe Passage now has a Young Leaders group made up of 16-25 year olds from refugee backgrounds. Despite not being able to meet in person after their inspiring initial training session they are continuing to develop their skills in campaigning and advocacy through weekly online meetings.

Campaigning by Safe Passage culminated on 11 th May with 47 people from Greek refugee camps being reunited with family in the UK

Imix, a group of communications professionals trying “to change the conversation about migration and refugees to create a more welcoming society” shared  stories of acts of kindness by refugees and migrants around the world during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Refugee Support Newsletter – March 2020 (Part 2)

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In this newsletter

  • Updates on local groups

  • Online resources and opportunities

  • Prayers

Welcome to Part 2 of our March newsletter with information to help us stay connected and continue to support refugees in these challenging times.

 

Updates on local groups

 

 This week Asylum Welcome is almost entirely closed, prioritising a list of around 40 of their current most vulnerable clients for ongoing help. Please help keep the pressure off their reduced team: no drop ins! Email advice@asylum-welcome.org if you know of anyone else needing help. Supporters can donate online or by bank transfer.

British Red Cross is currently updating information on the availability and contact details of their serices due to coronavirus. You can still donate to support their work.

Under the current circumstances Connection Support is not visiting the Syrian refugee families it supports. But they could really do with people offering to volunteer who could spend time phoning the families just for everyday conversation. Also helping families with the children’s school work via whatsapp or other similar social media facilities. Anyone interested should contact their volunteers coordinator on kevinburrows@connectionsupport.org.uk

Refugee Resource‘s offices are now closed but they continue to provide remote support. Many fundraising events have been cancelled, but the Oxford Half Marathon in October is still going ahead for now. So any runners who are keen to keep their fitness up & work towards this please consider signing up to run on behalf of Refugee Resource. They would also welcome donations to support the loss of income from community fundraising.

Refugee Support Network is trying to provide support round-the-clock for vulnerable, isolated refugees and asylum seekers at this unique time. Lockdown can be a very challenging time for those with recent experience of such/being unable to escape, and isolation can be very difficult for those recently arrived who have a very limited social network. RSN is also keen not to lose momentum on its building campaign to bring a unique refugee education centre and social impact hub to one of the most deprived areas of London. You can support the Refugees during Covid-19 campaign to keep key services running and the Sending Solidarity campaign, in which members of the public can, beyond making a donation, send a postcard or photo of to a vulnerable or isolated refugee who RSN works with.

Sanctuary Hosting is continuing to actively support their 14 guests, while also ensuring hosts and support workers can continue in their roles. A number of hosts have had to end their placements due to being in the vulnerable category with regards to Covd 19, so new hosts are needed for these guests. and also for 5 peope on the waiting list. Sanctuary Hosting is increasing the weekly stipend to their guests who are destitute to £30 weekly to cover higher food prices. So if anyone could help by donating £10 per month that would be tremendously helpful.

Refugees in the UK will have smaller local networks and may not be sure who they can go to for support during the Covid19 pandemic. Many will be feeling very isolated and far from home. It is more important than it ever has been for churches to reach out to refugees and asylum seekers in their communities. Welcome Churches are producing new resources regularly to help churches do this: welcomechurches.org/covid19. Please give to help them develop more ways of supporting refugees across the UK during this time at welcomechurches.org/donate. Thank you.

Wycombe Refugee Partnership just welcomed their 21st refugee family to Mellor House and are putting the father of their 22nd family into temporary accommodation while he waits for his family to be allowed to join him. WRP were delighted that people quickly volunteered to shop for one of their refugee families who are self-isolating due to having a vulnerable child.

Online resources and opportunities

 

Recent articles have highlighted the particularly difficult situation for refugees as the Covid-19 pandemic spreads – those in refugee camps and rough settlements around the world, refugees in Europe, especially unaccompanied children, and here in UK immigration detention centres.
Many refugees and people with insecure immigration status in the UK are at particular risk, due to lack of or restricted access to healthcare, housing and other services. So JCWI, Migrants Organise and Medact have produced a short Guide for Supporting Migrants During Coronavirus.
The Refugee Council provides daily updated information on Changes to Home Office Asylum & Resettlement policy and practice in response to Covid-19 and further up-to-date information on Coronavirus and the UK immigration system is provided by Free Movement.
On 16th March the Home Office published a Statement of policy in relation to family reunion of unaccompanied children seeking international protection in the EU or the UK. The details are yet to be negotiated, but should mean rights at least equal to now.
As we all become more aware of the importance of staying connected with loved ones when physically distanced, through Phone Credit for Refugees people can donate to top up a refugee’s mobile phone.
Many people are finding it helpful at this time, while it is not possible to meet in person, to connect with others via video conference. This could be a way of keeping in touch with refugee families or other refugee supporters locally. One relatively easy and effective way is using Zoom. This can be used on a laptop, computer, ipad or mobile phone and only the “host” of the conversation needs to create a Zoom account. Here are beginners’ step by step instructions for participants.
Coronavirus and your wellbeing advice from Mind may be useful for yourself and any refugees you support.

Prayers

 

Anyone wishing to pray in the current situation may find this Churches Together in England webpage helpful. It gives links to suggested prayers and guidance from a number of different churches.
An additional prayer is below:
Dear Lord,
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues we pray for refugees, asylum seekers and all displaced people. We ask that those in authority would act to improve their living conditions, remembering especially those in refugee camps and sleeping rough. Give government leaders and all in authority wisdom and motivation to do all that is possible to protect these people – and all  people – from illness and suffering. 
We also ask that you will grant wisdom, protection and resilience to staff and volunteers of refugee charities and groups, who are striving to continue to support their clients in the current difficult circumstances.
Help us all not to be afraid, but to continue in times of rapid change to love our neighbours as ourselves, trusting not in our own understanding but in your unchanging love and mercy.
Amen.

Refugee Support Newsletter – March 2020 (Part 1)

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In this newsletter

  • CCOW’s new booklet for Oxfordshire churches

  • Other Resources

  • Actions

Because of the current public health situation, we are cancelling the ‘Churches Supporting Refugees’ event on 24th March. We intend to hold it at a future date and will let you know when we are able to reschedule.

The situation is changing very rapidly – this is, therefore, the first part of a two-part email. Next week we will send an update on local groups and how you can continue to support them at this difficult time, as well as introducing new prayers and online opportunities to keep us all connected.

Churches Supporting Refugees – new booklet for Oxfordshire churches

CCOW, in collaboration with partners from a number of local and national refugee chatities, has produced “Supporting Refugees – a guide for Oxfordshire churches”, which has been sent to over 300 churches. Please contact joanna@ccow.org.uk for more copies. We hope it will help churches discern how they can support refugees locally.

Resources

Chatterbox is an online language learning service taught by refugee professionals who are native speakers. The University of Reading recently joined with Chatterbox to connect students with refugee coaches.

Sponsor Refugees has produced safeguarding resources for Community Sponsorship groups – useful guides and templates, helpful for anyone working with refugees.

The Missing Migrants Project tracks incidents involving migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, who have died or gone missing in the process of migration towards an international destination. Data from 2014 to 2020, broken down by month, region and is shown in charts.

Redcliffe College, a Christian mission training centre, has a new online Refugee Worker Training course. Over four sessions (minimum 3 hours each) it aims to develop understanding of the refugee experience as well as self-care. Cost £80.

R2C2 Refugee Resource Centre for Churches has produced two Quick Guides – on the asylum seeker in your church and persecuted Christians and new converts with advice on how best to help them. R2C2’s website is also regularly updated with research, reports and briefings from the refugee sector.

Sanctuary Hosting recently reached two significant milestones – since it began in 2015 volunteers in the Thames Valley have now hosted more than 100 guests (refugees and other vulnerable migrants), providing more than 20,000 nights of accommodation. Hear an interview with a volunteer host broadcast on Radio Oxford. Watch the 8-minute film “A Road to Oxford”, produced with the help of Sanctuary Hosting, of Rawan from Syria telling his story. Sanctuary Hosting has made available the short country guides for hosts which it has produced on Albania, Afghanistan, Eritrea and The Gambia (the top four countries from which guests come)– helpful for better understanding people from these countries.

Refugee Support Network (RSN) has put together advice and information for asylum seekers and refugees interested in going to university in the UK, specific to the person’s immigration status. RSN also provides a personal higher education advice service. Those unable to access student loans because of their immigration status may be able to apply for scholarships like the UCL Access Opportunity Scholarship.

Read RSN’s Catherine Gladwell’s article “Accessing and thriving in education in the UK” about the barriers faced by refugee and asylum-seeking children and what the authorities and schools can do to help.

Short article and infographic “15 Facts about asylum-seekers and refugees” for use in myth-busting and addressing negative stereotypes. Also a myth-busting 2-minute video clip “Why do refugees want to come to the UK?” showing the destinations of refugees who cross the Mediterranean.

The British Red Cross has released a new report “The cost of destitution: a cost-benefit analysis of extending the move-on period for new refugees”. It explains why an increase from 28 to 56 days is needed, in the time allowed to transition to mainstream benefits or employment when refugee status is granted.

Bridget Walker of the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network has written a handout on Asylum Seekers and the Militarisation of Borders. Contact walkernind@icloud.com for a copy and/or to talk to her about this. See also Saferworld’s report on this issue.

Migrant Help has been working with Doctors of the World and British Red Cross to put together Coronavirus (Covid 19) advice in a number of languages. So far there is English, Albanian, Dari, French, Pashto, Portuguese, Bengali, Vietnamese, Kurdish Sorani, Mandarin, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish and Farsi, with Malayalam, Amharic, Tigrinya and Somali coming soon. Doctors of the World will replace documents with any new advice as updates come in. To be notified of these updates email yciftci@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk with the word ‘subscribe’ in the subject line.

Actions

With the ongoing offensive in Idlib province in Syria continuing to force people to flee their homes (almost a million have fled since December alone) continue to call for action to stop the bombing and provide humanitarian assistance, e.g. by signing The Syria Campaign’s petition.

Since Turkey opened its borders at the end of February many are trying to reach Europe, increasing the overcrowding in Greek island refugee camps. Sign the petition to the EU leaders calling for immediate decongestion of the Aegean islands. Support one of the charities providing practical help there and seeking legal routes to sanctuary, e.g. Help Refugees or Safe Passage.

Now added to the problems for those living in overcrowded, unsanitary refugee camps is the likely spread of the corona virus Covid-19. With a confirmed case on Lesbos there are concerns for the refugee camp there, and the refugee population throughout the Middle East is particularly vulnerable. Refugees worldwide risk being further stigmatised by this situation and host countries need help. Pray for wisdom for those in authority and support UNHCR’s Covid-19 appeal.

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Refugee Support Newsletter – June 2019

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  • Save the date – Saturday 5th October – our big event this year!

  • News from Local Groups

  • Resources

  • Actions

  • Upcoming Events

Save the date – Saturday 5th October – our big event this year!

Following on from the success of ‘Partnerships of Hope – Working Together for Refugees’  last year, we’re delighted to announce another day conference.

‘Responding to the changing landscape for refugees’ is for refugees and all walking alongside or interested in doing so. It will take place at Wesley Memorial Church in central Oxford and will involve presentations from  national and local speakers with a wealth of relevant expertise and personal experience. There will also be workshops and opportunities for networking. See the  Eventbrite page for details and to register. The conference is free to attend, but we ask for a donation to cover the cost of lunch

  Bicester Event

News from Local Groups

Bicester Refugee Support had a stand at the Bicester Big Lunch (see photos). This community gathering, led by the Churches in Bicester, showcases what the community is doing. The stand had the theme of ‘Home from Home’ to celebrate the Syrian families that the group has been supporting through furnishing private rented accommodation. It included children’s creative activities, of which the most popular involved making a house into a home by cutting out and gluing the necessary furnishings. The Bicester families are making further progress with learning English, undertaking training, and making friends. Some are now in employment. The families are well supported by volunteers, managed by Connection Support and Hope Into Action. In January Cherwell District Council committed to supporting another six families, due to arrive during 2019,  through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.

Asylum Welcome is delighted to have been chosen as one of the charities of the new Lord Major of Oxford who says “I specifically want to make Oxford a truly welcoming city”. As well as their new appeal “weaving nets of support” Asylum Welcome has also launched a new service – it is now one of a number of advice agencies across the UK that is going to be running a vital service for Europeanswho are unable to complete the EU settlement scheme registration without help.

Marlow Refugee Action‘s co-founder Tom Doust recently visited the Greek island of Samos, now home to 5,000 refugees, and met with people working there in very difficult conditions, including those working at the Legal Centre which MRA helps to fund. MRA is also helping local refugees to access English language tuition and get back into their professions. Hear an interview on Marlow FM‘s Mid Morning Matters programme (broadcast 3rd May: interview starts 96 minutes in).

Sanctuary Hosting is keen to send an inspiring speaker to groups, organisations and events to talk about hosting refugees and migrants. See their new flyer.

Wycombe Refugee Partnership has a new website and welcomed their 19th refugee family to High Wycombe at the end of May.

Resources

This year 23rd June is designated Sanctuary Sunday. Churches are asked to make a commitment on Sanctuary Sunday and encouraged to use a resource entitled Hospitality and Sanctuary for All compiled by Rev Inderjit Bhogal.

A recent report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration highlights a number of issues with UK fees for immigration and citizenship services. It recommends waiving child citizenship fees for those unable to pay. Citizens UK’s research found these fees (£1,012) to be five times higher than the European average. The vast majority of the fee is profit, as the Home Office itself estimates the processing costs to be £372. The situation is leaving thousands of young people who having grown up in this country without citizenship.

Immigration detention in the UK was severely criticised in a report by the Home Affairs Committee in March. The Guardian reports on the unlawful detention of vulnerable people, wider issues of poor asylum decisions and how millions of pounds could be saved by a 28-day time limit on immigration detention. See The Migration Observatory’s overview and statistics of immigration detention in the UK.

The Right to Remain Toolkit, a guide to the UK immigration and asylum system, is now available free online. Updated regularly, it contains detailed information on rights and options at different stages of the process, some in multiple languages.

Read about many new Community Sponsorship groups across the UK welcoming refugee families.

Recordings of the presentations at the Refugee Studies Centre’s March conference “Democratizing Displacement” are now available online.

A report by the Institute of Race Relations When witnesses won’t be silenced: citizens’ solidarity and criminalisation highlights a significant increase across Europe in prosecutions of people assisting and showing solidarity with migrants.

Some good news for child asylum seekers in the UK – councils will now receive more money to care for unaccompanied minorsand young asylum seekers should in future be less likely to be wrongly classed as adults, as the Home Office must rewrite its policy on age determination. But there is concern that unaccompanied child refugees in France may no longer be able to transfer to the UK under the Dubs scheme and Safe Passage’s report on Unaccompanied children in Greece in the Dublin family reunification process reveals difficulties they face.

The government has published the latest UK immigration statistics. The Refugee Council comments on these and, together with Refugee Action and the British Red Cross, is calling on the government to commit to continuing refugee resettlement after the end of the current schemes in 2020 and to expand this to welcome at least 10,000 each year.

Actions

Sign Amnesty International’s online petitioncalling on the UK government to stop thousands of children who are eligible for British citizenship being denied their right as they are unable to pay the fees of over £1,000. Use Citizens UK’s online petition and letter to your MP asking for child citizenship fees to be reduced.

Help Refugees’ “Choose Love Not Landfill” project salvages abandoned tents and sleeping bags after UK festivals and sends them to Calais, Greece and beyond for refugees. Join a team of volunteers for Glastonbury (1st -2nd July), Boomtown (12th -13th Aug), Reading & Leeds (26th-27th Aug).

Share UNHCR’s 1 minute video “8 practical ways you can help refugees”.

As a church join Welcome Churches’ network of churches around the UK committed to welcoming refugees. Sign up to give regularly to Welcome Churches and receive a free 40-day devotional book.

Take part in Concern Worldwide’s Ration Challenge to survive on the same rations as a Syrian refugee during Refugee Week (or another time).

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Upcoming Events

Thursday 13th June – Celebrate Eid at the ‘KAMA Cafe’ (Oxford) 
Friday 14th June – Workshop: Livelihoods and Socio-Economic Inclusion of Syrian Refugees in Host Countries (Oxford)

REFUGEE WEEK Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd June 2019:
Tuesday 18th June – Safe Passage demonstration outside Parliament for a legal route to safety for child refugees(London)
Wednesday 19th June – Come and meet with Lord Alf Dubs in Chorleywood(Chorleywood)
Wednesday 19th June – Film screening of “Female Voice” (Oxford)
Wednesday 19th June – Film – Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki (Reading)
Thursday 20th June – On Her Shoulders (RRSG’s 25th Anniversary Film Festival)(Reading)
Thursday 20th June – Weaving Networks of Support – an evening of solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers everywhere(Oxford)
Thursday 20th June – Celebrate World Refugee Day (Milton Keynes)
Friday 21st June – On Her Shoulders (RRSG’s 25th Anniversary Film Festival)(Wokingham)
Sunday 23rd June – On Her Shoulders (RRSG’s 25th Anniversary Film Festival)(Newbury)

Monday 24th June – Multaka-Oxford Networking Day (Oxford)
Monday 24th June – Crochet with Souad – KAMA Oxford workshop (Oxford)
Friday 28th June – Access to HE for young refugees and asylum seekers: training for practitioners (London)
Monday 8th July – Crochet with Souad – KAMA Oxford workshop (Oxford)
Monday 22nd July – Crochet with Souad – KAMA Oxford workshop (Oxford)

The CCOW events calendar is updated regularly with events of interest on this and other topics. Take a look!

Refugee Support Newsletter – March 2019

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  • Resource for Prayer and Reflection

  • News from Local Groups

  • Resources

  • Actions

  • Upcoming Events

Resource for Prayer and Reflection

A new resource for churches is now available on CCOW’s Refugees and Forced Migration webpage. With the kind permission of the Reverend Ben Kautzer, we have full materials for a prayer service, including prayer stations, a liturgy, reflections, and more. We also have an account of how these resources have been adapted and used in two different contexts – Didcot Baptist Church’s evening prayer service on 2nd December and CCOW’s Day of Reflection on 26th January – and the supplementary materials from those events Why not hold a similar event at your local church, to help people increase their empathy with the experience of refugees and be challenged to respond?

News from Local Groups

Asylum Welcome needs good condition bikes of all types and sizes. Bikes improve the lives of asylum seekers and refugees living in Oxford: cycling is a free, green and easy way to travel! Contact: bike@asylum-welcome.org to donate.

CCOW organised a useful communications training morning in December, led by Jillian Moody. The event was attended by representatives from Refugee Resource, Connection Support, Haddenham Community Sponsorship Group, Blackfriars Community Sponsorship Group, Asylum Welcome and CCOW.

Chorley Wood 4 Refugees is now sending one or more pallets of aid from London to Greece on a weekly basis. Each pallet can take 40 banana boxes filled with aid. They have negotiated a special rate so the cost of transporting each banana box from London to Greece is only £5. If any individual or group would like to take advantage of this palletisation programme, email  briandonnelly04@gmail.com.

Churches Together in Marlow are offering Lent study groups which will follow the USPG Study Course on Migration and Movement.

Faringdon Refugee Support Group and Host Abingdon are now together providing ongoing support for the 8 Syrian families who came to the Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire under the government’s Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Could you help with finding employment, give financial support (e.g. for driving lessons, bus passes) or volunteer as an English teacher,  family support volunteer, volunteer co-ordinator or translation support? Contact Sue Colclough hostabingdon@gmail.com for more information.

Members of the Headington (Quaker) Meeting have been undertaking a variety of activities relating to asylum seekers and refugees. The meeting itself holds a weekly food collection for Asylum Welcome and supports Oxford Friends Action on Poverty. Individual members have engaged in activities such as mentoring with Refugee Resource, supporting refugees through Sanctuary Hosting, and serving as part of the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network and the Bail Observation Project.

In February the volunteers of Reading Refugee Support Group,  founded 25 years ago, were nominated for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The Women’s Service of Refugee Resourceheld their fourth Pop Up Cafe on 16th January, in collaboration with Syrian Sisters and Asylum Welcome. Guests were Syrian families and elderly people living in Witney.

One of Sanctuary Hosting‘s guests urgently needs a phone and another a bike – if you have one you can pass on, please email:elaine.savage@sanctuaryhosting.org

Wycombe Refugee Partnership are looking for someone to help refugees register for Universal Credit.

Resources

A new Application Form for Community Sponsorship was introduced by the Government in December. It replaces the previous Resettlement Plan and Application Form.

Sponsor Refugees (Citizens UK) has produced a Welcome Pack Template for Community Sponsorship groups to use with their refugee families. The template, which gives a framework for presenting information on a variety of key areas such as housing, emergency services, transportation, employment, and schools, has material in both English and Arabic.

Migration and Movement is a six-session study course produced by USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel). A good discussion starter for small groups, it blends Bible passages, stories and facts from around the world, and discussion questions.

On 19th December 2018 the UK Government published an Immigration White Paper “The UK’s future skills-based immigration system”. Read the Refugee Council’s response including their comments on detention, family reunion, employment and ESOL provision. TheImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill is currently going through parliament.

The UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was adopted in December. Find out more about it from this podcast, which summarises its history and content and offers analysis.

When a person is recognized as a refugee in the UK, they have just 28 days before their financial support stops and they must leave their accommodation. For many this is not long enough and they risk becoming destitute. The British Red Cross have produced a report “Still and ordeal – The move-on period for new refugees” and is calling on the length of this move-on period to be increased.

Actions

Sign Amnesty International’s petition to the Home Secretary to make the rules on refugee family reunion less restrictive. Currently child refugees in the UK are unable to sponsor their close family to to join them. Similarly the children who are over 18 or elderly parents of refugees in the UK are unable to join them.

Call on the UK government to end indefinite detention.  Join MPs from all parties and others calling for a 28 day time limit on immigration detention. See the report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights for more information.

Sign the online petition to restore language support for UK driving test candidates. Until 2014 translation was offered. But now many refugees whose international driving permits have expired but whose English is not yet good enough to pass the UK test are banned from driving. This is a serious obstacle to their integration, particularly as they seek work.

Email your MP asking for all unaccompanied children to be supported by an independent guardian to  help them access their rights. Many have experienced or are at risk of trafficking. With the Modern Slavery Act under review, support this campaign now.

Upcoming Events

Now until Wednesday 17th April – Thought provoking display on the topic of refugees (Marlow)

Friday 15th March – Author talk “Finding Home – Real Stories of Migrant Britain”(Brightwell-cum-Sotwell)
Saturday 16th March – “Share the Journey” walk (Marlow)
Saturday 16th March – Odd Job Day & Car Wash in aid of refugees (Aylesbury)
Monday 25th March – Crochet with Souad(Oxford)
Tuesday 9th April – Piano Recital: Far From the Home I Love (Reading)
Sunday 12th May – Flute and Harpsichord Recital for Chalbury Refugee Action(Charlbury) 

The CCOW events calendar is updated regularly with events of interest on this and other topics. Take a look!

Refugee Support Newsletter – December 2018

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  • Time of Reflection – Saturday 26th January 2019

  • News from Local Groups

  • Resources

  • Actions

  • Upcoming events

prayer station

Time of Reflection – Saturday 26th January 2019 – Oxford

CCOW would like to offer you this opportunity to take time out from the everyday bustle and reflect on the situation of refugees and our response as Christians. We will use a variety of prayer stations and reflective materials, interspersed by theological reflections, throughout the morning, followed by a shared buffet lunch with an international flavour. Time: 9.30am – 2.00pm. For more information or to register, please contact Joanna (joanna@ccow.org.uk; new phone: 07774 474601)

News from local groups

Refugee Support Network is in real need of volunteer mentors in Oxford. Volunteers meet for an hour a week with a young unaccompanied refugee (aged 15 to 21) to help them progress in education, e.g. by working on an aspect of their homework or classwork which they find challenging. Please contact Torie Stubbs tstubbs@refugeesupportnetwork.org or fill out an enquiry on RSN’s website.

Marlow Refugee Action celebrated becoming a registered charity. The group recently organised a World-Café event and Imad’s Syrian Kitchen in Marlow and continues to support a legal centre for refugees on the Greek island of Samos.

Kama Oxford has had a successful “taster term” of events enabling refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to share their skills and passions with others. These have included Chinese Folk Song, Middle Eastern cookery, Arabic language and culture, and an introduction to Eritrean culture.

Faringdon Refugee Support Group has received a framed thank you certificate from the Red Cross in recognition of their support in resettling eight families across the Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire. In total the group spent approximately £8000 on essential white & electrical goods, to help equip each family with the basics, and supplied furniture, groceries, and other essential household items (approximately £500 per household.) Now that the Red Cross contract for the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme in this area has ended, FRSG and Host Abingdon are discussing how they can continue to provide support to these families.

Didcot Baptist Church recently held an evening service of prayer focused on refugees. Prayer stations, based on materials developed by Rev Ben Kautzer of St Nicolas Church, Earley, were used. If you are interested in using these materials, please contact Joanna.

Campaign to Close Campsfield welcomed the news that Campsfield House immigration detention centre, north of Oxford, is to close in May 2019 after 25 years. But “25 years too long” was the slogan of the rally held on 25th November. The group continues to campaign for the closure of similar centres elsewhere in the UK. .

Asylum Welcome has launched its Winter hardship appeal. Asylum Welcome helps over a thousand asylum seekers, refugees and detainees in Oxford every year. Why not sign up to Asylum Welcome’s mailing list to receive more information directly? Details of how to donate and how to become a supporter here.

Resources

Lift the Ban

A large coalition of 80 organisations, including major churches and refugee charities, is calling on the government to Lift the Ban on asylum seekers working. Currently people seeking asylum in the UK are effectively prohibited from working. They can only apply to the Home Office for permission to work if they have been waiting for a decision on their asylum claim for over twelve months and only for jobs that are on the Government’s restrictive Shortage Occupation List. Instead of being able to take paid employment asylum seekers get just £5.39 per day to live on. Allowing people to work once they have been here 6 months since their asylum application would be beneficial for their integration and wellbeing as well as financially for the government in tax and National Insurance contributions. It would also bring us in line with other countries. More information in the report Lift the Ban: Why people seeing asylum should have the right to work.

What can I do to support refugees?

CCOW has produced a new document ‘What can I do to support refugees? – Information for churches in Oxford’ with lots of suggestions, including contact details should you want to find out more. We hope this resource is useful and welcome feedback to improve and add to it.

University Study in England

Blackfriar Refugees Aid has compiled “University Study in England: A Resource for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Other Forced Migrants”. It is intended for learners aged 25 and above living in and around Oxford (but most of it is relevant for all those based in England) and gives information on how to access university study and how to pay for it. Contact Leslie Topp for a copy.

Immigration Detention in the UK

The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford provides an overview of Immigration Detention in the UK. It explains the use of immigration detention and breaks down the statistics. Further information can also be found in the freemovement article Campsfield House and the future of immigration detention

Actions

Sign the online petition to Lift the Ban on asylum seekers working, and download the activism pack for tips on how you can help make this happen.

Safe Passage’s petition to Theresa May to resettle 10,000 child refugees over the next 10 years has a goal of 40,000 signatures. It’s almost there…can you help it reach the goal?

Upcoming events

Christian Aid’s church exhibiton tour: Uprooted helps raise awareness of the 40 million internally displaced people around the world. Available for churches to host from February – contact your local Christian Aid office.

Wednesday, 12th December – CCOW communications event for groups supporting refugees (Oxford) It’s not too late to sign up for this. Please let Joanna know if you are coming. Please note Joanna’s new phone number: 07774 474601

Saturday, 26th January – CCOW Time of reflection (Oxford)

Saturday, 9th February – Sanctuary Hosting volunteer training

The CCOW events calendar is updated regularly with events of interest on this and other topics. Take a look!

Refugee Support Newsletter – September 2018

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  • Communications Event

  • Resources

  • News from Local Groups

  • Upcoming events and actions

Communications Event

Would your group or organisation like to do some joint thinking about strategic communications, both among ourselves and externally? Then please join us on Thursday, 11th October, 9.30am – 12.30pm, at Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford, for a session led by media consultant Jillian Moody. Jillian ran the  communications workshops at our “Partnerships of Hope” conference and offered to facilitate this follow-up in response to participants’ feedback.  There is also the option to bring your lunch and eat together afterwards. Please let Joanna know if you would like to come (joanna@ccow.org.uk; new phone: 07774 474601)

Resources

Refugee Resource Centre for Churches

This very useful site, not just for churches, brings together the latest briefings and research reports on refugee matters by a range of agencies.

End Hostility

The Joint Public Issues Team (the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Church of Scotland, Methodist Church and United Reformed Church working together for peace and justice) has launched this report calling for an end to the “hostile environment” and challenging churches and individuals to act.

Slipping through the cracks and Tipping the scales

Two recent reports by Refugee Action highlight problems within the UK asylum system: delays in being granted support and barriers to access to legal advice.

Migrant Health Intelligence Pack

This report on migrant health in the South East, by Public Health England and the South East Strategic Partnership on Migration, gives facts, figures and links to resources, including on entitlement to services.

Global Trends – Forced Displacement in 2017

The UNHCR provides a comprehensive picture of the current global refugee situation with pictures, graphs, case studies and statistics.

Safe Passage: Advocating for a humane asylum and migration policy in Europe

The Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe recently published this booklet which analyses issues associated with the current system for dealing with migration. As well as thoroughly explaining the basis for rights in European and international law and debunking some myths, the author suggests what churches (and others) can do to improve the situation.

Forced Migration Review

Published about three times a year by the Refugee Studies Centre in the Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, these journals are available free of charge in print and online in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Each issue contains a wealth of articles on a particular topic, e.g. Economies: rights and access to work, Syrians in displacement, Resettlement.

News from Local Groups

Asylum Welcome needs a new venue near Cowley Rd, Oxford, for its youth club for unaccompanied young refugees. It is now too large for its current venue (35 attendees 1 evening a week) and they don’t want to turn people away.

Kama Oxford , a new project enabling refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to share their skills and passions with others, recently held its first teacher training workshop. Volunteer mentors and teachers are now being matched up. So look out for workshops on subjects such as Arabic language and culture, Middle-Eastern cookery, embroidery and computing starting soon.

Marlow Refugee Action raised over £800 at their July garden party towards the legal centre for refugees on Samos, which is now up and running.

Sanctuary Hosting which provides shelter to homeless vulnerable migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, needs more volunteer hosts in Oxford, Reading and Milton Keynes. Please help publicise using this information sheet.

Upcoming Events and Actions

Sign the Refugee Council’s petition asking the Home Secretary to change unfair rules keeping refugee families apart.

Sign Sign Safe Passage’s petition to Theresa May to resettle 10,000 child refugees over the next 10 years.

Saturday, 15th – Sunday, 30th September – Art Exhibition about Refugees (Oxford)

Friday, 21st September –  ‘Should it be a crime to rescue refugees?’ Talk and discussion (Charlbury)

Saturday, 22nd September – Sanctuary Hosting volunteer training (Oxford)

Sunday, 23rd September – Talk by artists at ‘Exodus’ art exhibition (Oxford)

Sunday, 7th October  – Recital in aid of Charlbury Refugee Action Group (Charlbury)

Friday, 12th October – Meet the author evening for Brightwell Supporting Refugees (Brightwell-cum-Sotwell)

Thursday, 18th October – Lecture by UNWRA Commissioner-General (Oxford)

Sunday, 21st October – Apple Day stall in aid of Brightwell Supporting Refugees (Brightwell-cum-Sotwell)

Saturday, 27th October – Walk the Thames in support of Bail for Immigration Detainees (London)

Now until 3 November – ‘The Jungle’, a play about refugees in Calais, has a limited West End run (London)

Monday, 26th November – Quiz night in aid of Brightwell Supporting Refugees (Brightwell-cum-Sotwell)

The CCOW events calendar is updated regularly with events of interest on this and other topics. Take a look!

Refugee Support Newsletter – June 2018

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In this newsletter

  • ‘Partnerships of Hope’ Follow-Up

  • News from local groups

  • New developments

  • Resources

  • Upcoming events and actions

POH lunch
POH speaker

‘Partnerships of Hope’ Follow-Up

On Saturday 21st April 2018, CCOW organised ‘Partnerships of Hope – Working Together for Refugees’ at New Road Baptist Church in Oxford. There was an extremely positive atmosphere as people learned from one another, shared experiences and made connections. Find further details, photos and links to resources on our conference webpage.

Jillian Moody, who ran the two communications workshops, has generously offered to facilitate an event in the Autumn to help Thames Valley groups and organisations working for refugees do some joint thinking about strategic communications, both among ourselves and externally. If you would be interested, please contact Joanna

News from Local Groups

Asylum Welcome is very happy to come and give a talk to any group that would like to learn more about refugees from people working with them first-hand.
Asylum Welcome is also recruiting for 4 roles: Finance and Contracts Manager (3 days a week), Fundraising and Development Manager (full time), Development Officer (3 days a week), Office Manager (15 hours a week). The closing date is 12 o’clock midday on Thursday 21st June.

Wycombe Refugee Partnership (WRP) has so far resettled 17 refugee families and couples with leave to remain. One of the most difficult challenges is finding short-term temporary accommodation while a suitable long-term rental property is sought. Chilterns Area Quaker Meeting is coming to the rescue by using legacy money to buy a three-bedroom house to be leased to WRP at a peppercorn rent for five years in the first instance. WRP will use it to provide emergency, temporary accommodation to families whom it has agreed to house long-term in High Wycombe. The property will be called Mellor House, in memory of the couple who left the legacy.

Marlow Refugee Action (MRA) has been considering its focus going forward. It plans to work with Wycombe Refugee Partnership and Refuaid to support refugees locally and Samos Volunteers giving legal advice to asylum seekers on the Greek island. MRA has also begun work in Marlow schools and hopes later to create links with schools in refugee camps.

Churches in Bicester Refugee Support Group is about to welcome its 6th Syrian family. A team of volunteers from the Bicester churches are hard at work furnishing and equipping the house, bought by a group of investors under the Hope Into Action scheme. As Cherwell District Council has now approved plans to house a further 6 families another 6 houses will need to be found. Please do get in touch if you know of a property that could be rented out at housing benefit rate.

Sanctuary Hosting has a new Service Manager Ana Novakovic, covering Sarah Wahby’s maternity leave.

KAMA Oxford is a new project enabling refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to share their skills and passions with others. It wants to celebrate the richness of cultures migration has brought to the UK and give refugees and asylum seekers a voice, confidence, skills for their future, fun and humanity.

New Developments

NHS no longer required to share immigrants’ details with Home Office

NHS data had been given to the Home Office to check immigration status, which undermined confidentiality and made many fearful of accessing healthcare. Refugee and health care groups therefore welcomed that this practice has stopped.

Inspector’s report on VPRS

The recently published report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration found the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) processes to be essentially effective and so anticipated that the target of resettling 20,000 refugees by May 2020 would be met. Some recommendations for improvement were made, not all of which were accepted by the Home Office.

Resources

Community Sponsorship Guide

Caritas Social Action Network and Caritas Salford, the first organisation to welcome a Syrian family to the UK under the Community Sponsorship scheme, have produced this guide to help those considering Community Sponsorship think through the process and develop a sound plan.

Updated Briefing for ministers

The Joint Public Issues Team have updated their briefing for members of the clergy called to give evidence in support of asylum applications. It gives general advice about the asylum process, providing written evidence, and asylum hearings and contains an example of a statement.

Booklet on Supporting English Language Learning

This booklet has been produced by Churches Together in the Merseyside Region to accompany their “Welcoming the Stranger” guide.

Short film “The Peace Between”

Could your church or community group screen this new film? It features three friendships between a European and an asylum seeker or refugee. The film offers an opportunity to open dialogue by hosting a discussion event at your screening – full resources provided.

Podcasts from Refugee Studies Centre

Recordings of public seminars given at the Refugee Studies Centre (University of Oxford) can now be heard on SoundCloud.

Upcoming Events and Actions

Sign Citizens UK’s petition to extend VPRS beyond 2020

Friday, June 15th – Refugee Week: Launch evening of exhibition, Oxford

Sunday, June 17th – Refugee Week: Concert in aid of Host Abingdon, Sutton Courtenay

Monday and Tuesday, June 18th to 19th – Refugee Week: Exhibition – Origami Art in Immigration Detention, Milton Keynes

Tuesday, June 19th – Refugee Week: Community Café, Oxford

Tuesday, June 19th – Refugee Week: Film Screening “Human Flow”, Milton Keynes

Tuesday, June 19th – Refugee Week: Concert in aid of OKSA & Red Cross, Sutton Courtenay

Tuesday, June 19th – Refugee Week: Film “Human Flow”, Reading

Wednesday, June 20th – Refugee Week: Talk at Somerville College, Oxford

Wednesday, June 20th – Refugee Week: Film “Barbara Harrell-Bond: A life not ordinary”, Oxford

Wednesday, June 20th – – Refugee Week: Film “The Other Side of Hope”, Reading

Wednesday, June 20th – Refugee Week: Gathering in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes

Thursday, June 21st – – Refugee Week: Panel Event – Refuge or detention?, Milton Keynes

Thursday June 21st to Sunday, June 24th – – Refugee Week: Photography by Ania Ready, Eynsham

Friday, June 22nd – Refugee Week: Syrian Summer Banquet, Oxford

Friday, June 22nd – Refugee Week: Celebrating Freedom – An evening of Poetry and Music, Milton Keynes

Friday, June 22nd to Saturday, June 24th – Refugee Week: Tandem Music Festival, Ramsden

Saturday, July 7th – Brightwell Supporting Refugees stall at fete, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell

Saturday, July 7th – KAMA Oxford launch event, Oxford

Saturday, July 14th – Witney Refugee Action Group sewing session, Witney

Wednesday, August 1st – Slough Refugee Support summer party, Slough

Sunday, September 9th – Churches in Bicester Refugee Support Group open meeting, Bicester

The CCOW events calendar is updated regularly with events of interest on this and other topics. Take a look!

Refugee Support Newsletter – March 2018

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  • Partnerships of Hope – 21st April

  • News from local groups

  • New developments and resources

  • Upcoming events and actions

PfH Poster

Partnerships of Hope – 21st April

Whether you’re already involved in supporting refugees, would like to be or are just exploring, this event organised by Christian Concern for One World is for you. A range of groups and organisations from across the Thames Valley will be participating in a programme which will include speakers, workshops on topics such as community sponsorship and working with the media, and stalls. It’s a great opportunity for information, networking and encouragement. Free to attend, £5 with lunch. Registration essential – go to www.ccow.org.uk/ww37521/events/partnerships-of-hope. For further information please contact Joanna Schüder, CCOW’s Refugee Networking Officer on joanna@ccow.org.ukor 07823 686568.

News from Local Groups

Asylum Welcome

Asylum Welcome is currently dealing with several people who are street homeless and who have been very glad to be in their cosy offices during the day. They are making them hot food in addition to the usual food parcels. Items currently needed for Asylum Welcome’s foodbank: 1L cooking oil, UHT milk, 1kg sugar, toiletries, nappies, 1 kg flour, long life juice, dried fruit and nuts. Asylum Welcome is also running an allotment, so if anyone is in touch with refugees who like growing things, then please put them in touch with John Fenning at Asylum Welcome. Contact him also about the Adopt a Room scheme, whereby an individual or group can commit to kit out one room in a house for a newly arrived refugee family

Marlow Refugee Action Group

in collaboration with Churches Together in Marlow and Churches Together in Maidenhead has an initiative, reported in the local press, to encourage volunteers to help refugees in Calais over the period of Lent by serving in the kitchens and warehouse there for a few days. 22 people have signed up so far.

New Developments and Resources

Hope for more refugee children to come to UK
Following an agreement between the UK and French governments at the end of January unaccompanied refugee children who arrived in Europe between March 2016 and January 2018 will now also be eligible to come to the UK under the Dubs scheme.

Immigration policy report highlights changes needed 
After eighteen months of considering evidence the Home Affairs Select Committee recently published its report Immigration policy: basis for building consensus. It recommends that the government proactively challenge myths and inaccuracies about immigration, honour its commitments to unaccompanied child refugees and establish a permanent Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.

New Resource on Refugees and Mental Health
City of Sanctuary has produced an excellent information pack designed to help people understand the journeys that refugees and asylum seekers have been through that put pressure on their mental health. It includes advice and resources for helping refugees with mental health problems.

Seeking Reform of Family Reunion
Oxfam and the Refugee Council have published a new report “Safe but not Settled: The Impact of Family Separation on Refugees in the UK”. It calls for the government to expand the qualification criteria for family reunion.

Human Flow film by Ai Weiwei
If you missed the recent screenings of this powerful documentary on global migration and would like to show it at a church, school or group you can register your interest with the producers.

New Book about Syria
New book about Syria For those interested in learning more about the history of Syria as a land to which refugees came and now which refugees are leaving, Dawn Chatty has written “Syria – The Making and Unmaking of a Refuge State.”

Upcoming Events and Actions


Sunday, 17 March – Refugees Welcome Bloc at the March against Racism

Saturday, 7 April – Sanctuary Hosting volunteer information day

Saturday, 21 April – ‘Partnerships of Hope: Working Together for Refugees

Friday, 11 May – Quiz and Raffle for Witney Refugee Action

Sunday, 20 May – ‘Bike Oxford to Support Asylum Welcome

The CCOW events calendar is updated regularly with events of interest on this and other topics. Take a look!