Courage at the heart of Richmond’s Refugee Week celebrations

In Richmond, we take our role as a Borough of Sanctuary seriously and are committed to creating a unified community by bringing our sanctuary seekers and residents together. Creating meaningful social connections, cross cultural conversations and celebrating our diversity is what builds cohesion and integration. And that is exactly what happened during recent Refugee Week.

The theme this year was 'Courage' and throughout Refugee Week Richmond’s sanctuary seekers, residents, voluntary sector partners, artists, musicians and poets came together to highlight the courage, creativity and contributions of those who have come to our borough seeking sanctuary and fleeing war and persecution. We also celebrated the courage of our communities and partners across the borough who actively choose to step forward to offer welcome and support.

The week began with an 'Around the World in Food and Languages' gathering at ETNA Community Centre, Twickenham. Organised by Richmond EAL (English as an Additional Language) Friendship Group, whose 25th anniversary falls this year, this bring-a-plate event celebrated the diverse cultures, languages and traditions within our local community through food, conversation and connection. With contributions from across the world as well as from Richmond, it demonstrated that being a Borough of Sanctuary is not a single act of welcome but rather a sustained community commitment. A promise that we will continue breaking down barriers, connecting people and building trust with everyone who calls our borough home.

The same inclusive spirit was on show at Multicultural Richmond’s event 'Courage in Action', which featured interactive stalls, karaoke and dancing. Even the visiting Mayor of Richmond, Cllr Nancy Baldwin, was on her feet singing – well, she does have a lovely voice! There was also a wonderful storyboard created by members of Richmond’s Hong Kong community, who shared their journeys to the UK, highlighting the considerable challenges they have experienced. It included some beautiful artwork which the Mayor offered to display in her Parlour. Cllr Baldwin was instrumental in the establishment of Richmond as a Borough of Sanctuary whilst Spokesperson for Communities, Equalities and the Voluntary Sector, and I am thrilled that she has chosen the theme of sanctuary for her Mayoral year and continues to support us as we work towards reaccreditation as a Borough of Sanctuary next year.

A more sombre note was struck at the intimate theatre performance of 'Are You Okay', arranged by the Ukrainian Social Club with Richmond Libraries. Centred around real-time text messages between a Ukrainian soldier at the front and his wife, a school teacher in Kyiv, the story unfolds through fragments of their everyday conversations, revealing their fears, memories and the courage with which they confront their daily lives in the midst of war. Interwoven with contemporary Ukrainian poetry and live clarinet music, it was also filled with humour, love and hope. Deeply moving and a timely reminder of the terror and hardship many of our sanctuary seekers have faced, it brought me to tears.

There was also a feeling of poignancy at the 'Displaced Ukrainians Together: Courage to Belong' event hosted by St Mary’s Trust Ukrainian School satellite at St Richard’s Ham, which paid homage to the courage shown by displaced Ukrainian families rebuilding their lives here. St Mary’s provides family support and keeps its pupils connected to their Ukrainian heritage and education system so they can re-integrate more easily if/when they return to Ukraine. There was some beautiful singing, as well as paintings, crafts and Ukrainian children’s books on display, plus delicious varenyky dumplings to eat. Pupils participated in a live interactive traditional art workshop presented by a teacher in Dnipro. They regularly correspond with fellow students from that city, which is subject to frequent bombardments, exchanging messages and paintings to strengthen ties and boost morale. I was given an exquisite picture of a Motanka – an ancient Ukrainian folk talisman/guardian doll symbolising prosperity, hope and inter-generational connection – painted by 11-year-old Kateryna Sitkovska from Dnipro. I felt deeply humbled and will treasure it always.

Reconnecting with the culture and country they were forced to leave behind was a feature of the 'Courage, Culture and Community' event hosted by SFIDA Albanian/Kosovan/Macedonia and Gorani Group and the 'Courage through Culture' event hosted by Prosperity for Ukraine. Both brought refugees and the Richmond community together to share traditions and cultural experiences, including in the case of SFIDA striking artwork by former child refugees, personal stories across generations, colourful traditional Albanian dance, and delicious food. At Prosperity there was a varenyky dumpling masterclass, Petrykivka painting, a Motanka doll workshop, and Ukrainian wine tasting. Joyful yet poignant, these types of gatherings foster empathy, challenge negative narratives about sanctuary seekers and help strengthen community cohesion.

Joy was certainly on the agenda at the Council’s Refugee Week event at York House, opened by the Mayor of Richmond. Sanctuary seekers, residents and the voluntary and community sectors came together for an uplifting celebration of the courage, creativity and resilience of refugees. There were stalls representing our different sanctuary seekers and voluntary partners, together with Council services offering information and support, as well as several displays of original art. Multiple connections were made and cross-cultural conversations were had over Iranian, Syrian and Ukrainian inspired food, and the evening came to life with the joyful voices of Hong Kong children singers, the energy and colour of Ukrainian dance group ‘Stefania’ and the powerful rhythms of African drummers ‘Adanta’. The way everyone came together to celebrate the contributions, art and culture of sanctuary seekers – and to listen to and support one another – was a powerful demonstration of what a welcoming and inclusive community looks like in practice. It made me proud that Richmond is a Borough of Sanctuary.

Additional events organised by the Council during Refugee Week included the unveiling of an information board charting Richmond’s long history of welcoming sanctuary seekers, which stands in our Garden of Sanctuary at Warren Gardens, Twickenham, and Richmond Library Services’ celebration of a year of 'Voices of Richmond upon Thames', a project inviting those moving to Richmond from other countries to add photos of their daily lives to the borough archive, creating a diverse collection to be viewed for years to come.

Ultimately, Refugee Week is a platform for storytelling, where participants share their stories and experiences, fostering a sense of community and understanding. This was central to Learning English at Home’s Refugee Week storytelling and poetry session, where participants reflected on courage and expressed ideas through drawing, writing, accessible verse and group storytelling. It was also central to the Ukrainian Social Club’s Kupala festival, which was the fitting culmination of Refugee Week and an opportunity for our Richmond community to unite with Ukrainian sanctuary seekers to share stories of courage and resilience, build connections and celebrate Ukrainian culture.

Kupala, like Refugee Week, focuses on light, hope, resilience and belonging. Long before Christianity reached Ukraine, people gathered on the summer solstice to celebrate the birth of the summer sun. When Christianity arrived, ancient traditions blended with the feast of St. John the Baptist, creating the holiday now known as Ivana Kupala. Despite centuries of bans and disapproval, Kupala survived and remains one of the most beloved folk traditions in Ukrainian culture.

It took courage and tenacity for Kupala to survive and to become integrated into Ukraine’s culture. It takes enormous courage for sanctuary seekers to leave their homes and build new lives here in Richmond. But courage is not held by one group alone – it is shared. It lives in each and every one of us when we choose compassion and unity over the narrative of division and hostility. That is something I learned during this Refugee Week, both from sanctuary seekers and those who support them.

As Martin Luther King said, the ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.

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