A week of events, from storytelling and poetry to a group walk, was held to celebrate the contribution and courage of the refugees who have fled danger to make a new home in the borough.
To mark Refugee Week (15-21 June), Ealing Council awarded £10,000 to a group of community organisations to run a programme of community-led events:
- Golden Opportunity Skills and Development (GOS&D)
- Ealing Somali Welfare and Cultural Association
- Horn of Africa Disability and Elderly Association
- Acton Youth Association
- Hikayetna – Our Story
A key theme running throughout the week, which included storytelling and poetry events, was courage: the courage to leave home, to adapt to a new place, and to rebuild lives.
And the week of activities culminated in a big event at GOS&D’s Impact Hub in West Ealing. It saw the opening of a new centre for refugees and migrants at the hub, to provide practical support, learning opportunities and a safe space. The event included local organisations, bringing together food, music, poetry and conversation in a lively celebration of the borough’s community spirit.
This was then followed by The Walk of Courage – a walk from the W13 Impact Hub to Ealing Council’s offices at Perceval House, symbolising the journeys refugees have made and the borough’s commitment to walking alongside them as part of the community.
Why it matters
The borough has been recognised as a Borough of Sanctuary, and the council is committed to maintaining it as a place where people who are seeking safety are welcomed and included. Refugee Week is both a celebration of that commitment and a reminder of the work that continues beyond it.
‘Nurses, doctors, parents and friends’
Sharmarke Diriye, the chief executive for GOS&D, said: “Refugee Week is a chance to recognise the courage it takes to leave home – and the courage it takes to build a new one. We’re grateful to Ealing Council for backing this programme, and proud that it’s led by refugee and migrant-led organisations themselves. My hope is that people come, listen to these stories, and leave seeing their neighbours not as ‘refugees’, but as nurses, doctors, parents and friends. People who make the borough stronger.”
Councillor Lauren Wall, the council’s cabinet member for thriving communities, said: “We are proud to be a Borough of Sanctuary and Refugee Week allows us to take a moment to truly recognise the courage, contribution and stories of refugees and sanctuary-seeking residents who have made this borough their home. Organisations like these work incredibly hard to support our most vulnerable residents, including sanctuary seekers, and it’s great to see the community come together to celebrate the courage it takes to leave home and make a new one.”
Visit the council website to find out more about the council’s Borough of Sanctuary work.
