On the 2nd of this month we had the privilege of going to Westminster to partake in the first ‘Sanctuary in Parliament’, an event where members of the City of Sanctuary movement came from all over the country to celebrate their successes, but more importantly to make some noise and let MP’s hear about what the movement is doing and trying to achieve, hoping to gain their support and voices in Parliament.
Local MP Ben Bradshaw attended and came to speak to us to show his support for the Exeter branch. (See attached photo).
It was a fantastic day, with some very moving theatrical pieces and testimonies from refugees; seeing what other cities have achieved was incredibly inspiring, and we really hope to emulate some of the tremendous things that they have managed! Talking to fellow CoS members was rewarding and a lot of contacts have been made with people who would be very happy to share their own experiences and suggestions for helping the Exeter movement to grow.
Here is a link to a full report of the day https://www.cityofsanctuary.org/news/2542/parliament-celebrating-teh-free….
It was exciting to see MPs taking an interest in what their constituents have been doing within the community for and with refugees and asylum seekers, and hopefully even more will attend next year’s Sanctuary in Parliament.
On the day we got a hard copy of the City of Sanctuary Annual Report, and also a hard copy of the brand new British Red Cross report on refugees – ‘The Move-On Period: An Ordeal For New Refugees’, detailing the problems refugees face after going through the asylum process. If anyone would like to have a flick through either of these then please let us know and we can let you borrow them.
We hope to have some more updates for you soon, and don’t forget that The National Sanctuary Summit will be in Birmingham on Saturday 15th November 2014, if anyone wishes to attend!
Keep in touch and see you soon,
ECoS
