‘Community as a Superpower’ was such a fantastic theme for this year’s Refugee Week – and we had seven days of inspiring activity to match. Bringing people together, from our own JUMP community, to packing sessions and communal discussions, has been central throughout. Read on to learn what we’ve been up to.
JUMP takes on Brick Lane
What better way to kick things off than with a JUMP community event? We couldn’t have asked for a better destination than Brick Lane. A group of almost fifteen JUMP befrienders, young people, and HIAS+JCORE staff joined for a captivating tour of the area, led by our very own Eric. There are so many parallels between the different heritages and stories in this part of E1 – and it was fascinating to learn about the Huguenot, Jewish, and Bangladeshi communities who’ve all made this street home. This wasn’t just a history trip though: we also explored the Brick Lane markets, before heading off to a nearby park for some games. Watch this space for our next event!
Refugee experiences across the decades
Such was our enthusiasm for this year’s Refugee Week that our opening two events took place before it had even officially begun! Our Executive Director David Mason was delighted to join the United Synagogue to facilitate ‘Then and Now’ – a powerful conversation between Paul Summerfield, who fled Berlin in 1939, and Kemi Ogunlana, a Nigerian refugee. The panel explored refugee experiences across decades and generations, highlighting the enduring challenges displaced people continue to face.
Putting values into action: Kyndryl packing session
Imagine having to survive on just over £1 per day. That’s what many of the young people our JUMP befriending project supports are forced to do – and while we’re busy fighting for change, we’re also working hard to ensure that our young people can live in dignity.
So ahead of World Refugee Day, we partnered with Kyndryl UK to assemble care packages for the asylum seeking and refugee young people we support. These packs are a simple but vital action that ensure our beneficiaries have the key essentials they need, and make a real difference.
Our Executive Director David was pleased to follow the session with a talk outlining our work for a UK where refugees are empowered to thrive.
Our Executive Director David Mason with Kyndryl colleagues at Liverpool Street, London
The Jewish community is a superpower
How can the Jewish community even further deepen its support for displaced people? Our Refugee Week closed with a brilliant, interfaith event alongside the Board of Deputies and City of Sanctuary, exploring this important question. It’s a real pleasure to be partnering with City of Sanctuary on our upcoming Synagogues of Sanctuary project (watch this space!), and it was great to hear from Chief Officer Sian Summers-Rees, and Founder Inderjit Singh Bhogal.
We were delighted also to partner with the United Synagogue Asylum Seeker Drop-in Centre, The LJS Drop-In for Asylum Seeker Families, and JUMP befriender Josh Stein, for a Jewish Chronicle article showcasing the lifechanging work with refugees in the Jewish community.
Our panel event with the Board of Deputies. L to R, clockwise: Sian Summers-Rees (Chief Officer, City of Sanctuary), Sara Radivan (Deputy & Community Engagement Manager, Board of Deputies), Deborah Cohen (Chair of the Board of Deputies’ Social Justice Committee), Jeremy Michelson (Vice President, Board of Deputies), Rabbi David Mason (Executive Director, HIAS+JCORE), and Inderjit Bhogal (Founder, City of Sanctuary).
Action to justice: our work delivering change
We’ve not just been showing refugees that they are welcome – our advocacy team was busy fighting for the critical reform we need for our asylum system.
Our team were pleased to meet with Ben Coleman MP, and discuss our concerns around the refugee citizenship ban, and hopes for increased refugee family reunion. Following our important work with Baroness Lister toward a permanent 56-day move-on period, we were also happy to meet Lord German.
