Stories From Around the World

Compton Road Library held a unique celebration today for Refugee Week by incorporating storytelling and rhymes from around the world and activities for children.

The session started off with Lorraine Lee the Children’s Development Librarian reading from the book Fatou Fetch the Water written by Neil Griffiths. The story was made to be interactive by having a Fatuo doll and asking the kids to pick the fruit off the storyboard and putting them in his basket, which not only the kids enjoyed doing but also the parents!

The children also got to sing classic nursery rhymes ‘If you’re happy and you know it…’ and ‘Eensie Weensie Spider’ using different musical instruments. The session was also educational with the children colouring in different exotic fruits and being asked to draw what they would they put in an empty suitcase if they were moving or going on holiday. The session ended with the children running around with big smiles on their faces, bursting the bubbles from the bubble blower machine.

The library holds a free story time session at 10.30am every Friday for children under the age of 5. The sessions are fun, interactive and designed to share stories in a relaxed friendly atmosphere. It is also a great opportunity to meet other parents and carers.

Lorraine said “The library is a fantastic tool with great resources. By brining children to these story times it makes it easier for them to develop their learning skills before even going to school. It is important to celebrate Refugee Week because it is all about celebrating cultures that is why we had stories from other cultures.”

For more information on the story time sessions held at Compton Road Library contact the friendly helpful team:

The Compton Centre
Harehills Lane
Leeds
LS9 7BG

Telephone: 0113 336 7790

United Voices

 

Members of Asmarina Voices have faced difficult times yet have fantastic uplifting attitudes and show that through their smiles and singing their hearts out every Friday. Asmarina means “united” in Eritrean and that’s exactly what you will get from the women, even after only spending such a short amount of time with them you can immediately see the beautiful souls these strong women possess.

Asmarina Voices Women’s singing Group was part of the Welcoming the World programme for West Yorkshire Playhouse’s production of Refugee Boy and received funding from the Home Office to promote wider engagement with the region’s refugees and asylum seekers. The singing group has continued to flourish with women from all over the world coming together, forgetting their troubles and belting out songs.

The group comes together every Friday from 1pm-2pm and runs until the 19^th July. They are currently in preparation for their performance for the Wonderful Women of the World at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on Friday 21^st June at 10.30am-2.30pm as part of 2013’s Refugee Week. Asmarina Voices will be performing Taylor Swift’s Safe & Sound and We Are Family by Sister Sledge.

West Yorkshire Playhouse, alongside with the Refugee’s Council’s Health Befriending Network and the women’s group in Leeds, offer weekly singing sessions for refugee and asylum seeking women with professional artist and musician Sophie Jennings who leads the choir. Sophie says “My idea is to have fun on a Friday and I always feel happy when I leave. Some of these women only come to this during their free time, so I want to continue encouraging them to come and have some time for themselves. The songs we sing have not got too many words so there is no language barrier and it makes the sessions relaxing.”

Shreena Gobey a Youth and Community work student at Leeds Metropolitan University did her placement at West Yorkshire Playhouse and currently helps with the voices singing group. Shreena says “The group is open to everyone; it doesn’t matter if you can’t sing it’s all about enjoying music and having a bit of a social.

Debt free

Rachel White interviews Musab and Solomon about the project they started in Leeds to help refugees and asylum seekers understand their financial problems, and to help them live within their means.

".these reforms [welfare reforms] will undoubtedly make things worse"

Read the full article in the latest edition of One Planet Leeds

Just Play Football

Steve McVeagh interviews Isa Turkoglu about the Football Association's Just Play scheme. Isa, a former professional footballer in Iran, talks about football coaching in Leeds.

"One of the greatest rewards of being a football player is feeling like you are part of a 'family'."

Read the full article in the latest edition of One Planet Leeds

Still Human Still Here (in Leeds)

Leeds Asylum Seekers' Support Network will today ask the council to support the aims of Still Human Still Here in order to combat the devastating affect of destitution among asylum seekers in Leeds.

Still Human Still Here is a coalition of over 50 organisations that are campaigning to end the destitution of thousands of refused asylum seekers in the UK. The coalition believes that the current policy is inhumane and ineffective and is urging the Government to:

• Provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with sufficient support so that they can meet their essential living needs until they are returned to their country of origin or are given permission to stay in the UK;
• Provide free access to healthcare for all asylum seekers while they are in the UK;
• Grant asylum seekers permission to work if their case has not been resolved within six months or they have been refused, but temporarily cannot be returned through no fault of their own ;
• Improve decision making and ensure that all those in need of protection receive it.

Read more: http://lassn.org.uk/lassn-call-on-leeds-city-council-to-prevent-destitution/

Locked up without limit

10 people have been locked up solely under the immigration act for up to 4.4 years (a mind-numbing 32 years between them). A recent Freedom of Information request revealed that the ten longest detentions as of December 2012 were:

4.4 years    (1,620 days)    Male

4.1 years    (1,522 days)    Male

3.6 years    (1,348 days)    Male

3.6 years    (1,117 days)    Female

3.0 years    (1,096 days)    Male

2.9 years    (1,063 days)    Male

2.8 years    (1,033 days)    Male

2.7 years    (1,019 days)    Male

2.7 years    (1,018 days)    Male

2.6 years    (980 days)    Male

Remember that there is no limit on the length that someone can be detained under the immigration act - unlike the terrorism act!

http://www.no-deportations.org.uk/index.html