Refugee week: climbing the mountain

Based at St. Mary Magdalen Community Centre on Upper North Road, Brighton Voices in Exile support refugees who have come to Brighton and Hove, mostly to escape persecution in their home country. Mary Bartlett, the trustees chair, explains the objective of their event, “We‘ve opened our doors to welcome people to our community and show them a bit about what goes on here. That is, supporting people who are marginal in our society and help them with access to housing, food and legal support. We help people to become financially independent and integrate into the community.”.

After a supporters lunch attended by a mixture of volunteers, trustees and beneficiaries of the services the charity offers, the celebrations got underway in the main hall. Starting with some very moving speeches from refugees, brave enough to share their stories. People such as Zubair, a young and well-educated man from Afghanistan, who tells us, “Do not ask me why I cannot back to my home country, ask me why I left,” he continues, “people in this country think that Afghanistan is safe but why would thousands of international troops need to be based there if it was safe.”. Arrested and tortured for his political affiliations, he stresses that although the people of Brighton have been welcoming the asylum system in Britain often means refugees are deprived of basic human rights, shelter, food and protection, especially when applications have been refused. BVIE has empowered him to fight for his cause, “I have not given up, I will fight against the system.”. As well as bringing his cultural experiences to the city, he too is experiencing the Brighton way of life, even indulging in vegetarian and vegan food.

Another refugee, Nicki, talks about how she has recently gained resident status thanks to the organisation. She fled Zimbabwe, a country most people understand to be in deep political, economic and social turmoil. Having previously been placed in Hull and then Derby, she found solace in Brighton thanks to the help of BVIE but also to what she feels is the kind and generous nature of the community. She even helped set up a support and social network specifically for Zimbabwean refugees in Brighton which meets monthly at Community Base called Raw Brighton. “I have only experienced one negative and stupid remark in Brighton, everyone has been friendly and welcoming.”.

Four brightly dressed ladies treat the crowd to an authentic folk song, a capella, called ‘How Am I Going to Climb the Mountain?’, in their case, how can I find freedom in exile and who will help me. More and more people drift into the hall to listen, people clap along and a delicious buffet of diverse culinary offerings is still going strong. The afternoon continued with poetry and readings, interwoven with more music. The organisation has had 214 people access the service during the first five months of this year, on more than 2000 occasions. Mary Jane Burkett, the Director of the charity, remarked how good it was to see people who have received help stay around to help and socialise. Dr Yagoup, another of BVIE’s trustees and a clinical psychiatrist, originally from the Sudan says, “We want people to integrate into the community after they come here. That’s what Refugee Week is about, to help people talk to one another.”.

What more can each of us do during and after Refugee Week? Nicki puts it simply, “Just acknowledge us, smile and say hello.”. Dr Yagoub hope that the Open Day and Brighton’s variety of events this week will bring more support, either from volunteers, gifts or other donations. “British people are very kind, when they know there’s a benefit behind something, they are very generous.”.

To find out how you can help with BVIE visit: http://www.brightonvoicesinexile.org/index.html

It’s not too late to get to an event in Brighton this week: http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1157664

Or nationally or at home! http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts