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RAIS Lancaster
RAIS is a volunteer-led charity which provides advocacy, information and support services to refugees and asylum seekers living in Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham.
LIVE NOW on Beyond Radio! 📻![]()
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An amazing asylum seeking man, ‘Sam’ from Yemen is on Beyond Sanctuary tonight in conversation with RAIS Lancaster. He tells us about growing up in Yemen, becoming a professional football player, studying Engineering at university, and becoming a rapper. And, of course, the devastating war in Yemen displacing ordinary people such as Sam. We are delighted for him to play his own original music tonight on the show. ![]()
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📻Live here: www.beyond.radio/player/![]()
↩Listen again from 9pms: www.beyond.radio/on-air/listen-again/![]()
🎙Listen to the podcast series on the Beyond Radio website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts: www.beyond.radio/…/beyond-sanctuary-the-podcast/
Our hearts and thoughts are with refugees and asylum seekers in the UK today, as we await such awful news about the hostile environment becoming even more hostile. We stand committed to advocacy and supporting those who come to this country for refuge, and will be shoulder to shoulder with those affected by the changes soon to be proposed. 🧡“Refugee status isn’t a ‘golden ticket’, nor is it time sensitive. It is a human right.”![]()
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Today, the Home Secretary will roll out drastic changes to refugee protections. Here is our reaction.
Today we delivered our annual guest lecture to Asylum and Immigration Law students at Lancaster University Law School – Law. An introduction to our charity was given by our Operations Manager, and then RAIS’s Senior Support Worker, Prof Dr Omar Jouzdan, a client and incoming volunteer named ‘Sam’, and one of our asylum seeking volunteers, shared their stories of claiming asylum in the UK. They gave a valuable insight into the realities of the asylum process and the challenges it brings when trying to tell their stories. ![]()
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We really appreciated the attentiveness and curiosity from students, who asked some great questions. It was encouraging to see so many students raise their hands when asked, "Who here is considering a career as an immigration solicitor?", and to be surrounded by students asking to volunteer at RAIS! We always love delivering this lecture and meeting bright students who will no doubt go on to help many in their lives.
On Thursday this week, RAIS Lancaster’s asylum seeker and refugee theatre group performed at The Dukes, Lancaster as part of their VE & VJ Day 80th Celebration, titled ‘Our Freedom: Then & Now’, a national project funded through Arts Council England. The group gave a performance they created with a theatre director, Adam Davies, using physical theatre and text to respond to the question: What does freedom mean to you? The group of 5 came from Palestine, Yemen, Eritrea, and Kurdistan.![]()
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They performed on a double-billed night, with wonderful poets Prime Time, a Dukes’ community group for older people. They presented poems reflecting on war, generational trauma, and global conflicts. Their calls for peace and stories of seeking refuge during 20th century conflicts resonated strongly with the RAIS group, who have had such similar experiences decades later. Prior to the performances, a stunning light installation created by art studio idontloveyouanymore, accompanies by locals’ responses to the question, "What have you lost?", was explored by theatre attendees.![]()
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For months, the RAIS theatre group has consisted of over a dozen individuals from Palestine, Sudan, Eritrea, Jordan, Yemen, Syria, and Kurdistan. They have worked with The Dukes and one of their Associate Artists, Adam Davies of Animikii Theatre, a Manchester-based theatre company. Adam is particularly interested in working with people from underprivileged backgrounds. He and Carly from The Dukes have been incredible guides to our theatre group, and it has been a beautiful process seeing people expressing themselves through movement. Our staff member, Omar Jouzdan, has supported throughout as an Arabic interpreter, working with Adam to translate directions to the group.![]()
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The night ended with hugs between the RAIS and Prime Time groups. We were honoured to be a part of such a special event, and can’t wait to continue working with The Dukes and Adam; refugees and asylum seekers’ experiences and expressions are so important to bear witness to, and the arts offer an invaluable outlet for emotion.![]()
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Photo credit of training workshop: The Dukes
Sanctuary Cinema Club will be showing an Iranian film called Motreb Motreb on Saturday18th of October at 2pm. It’s a free showing at Lancaster Library! Please do come along, it should be a great afternoon.
Tonight at 8pm! Tune in to Beyond Sanctuary to listen to a wonderful Ethiopian man, ‘Robert’ (a name he chose for his safety while telling his story) seeking asylum in the UK shares his story on the asylum system and give his perspective on harmful rhetoric about asylum seekers in the UK currently. He teaches us about Ethiopian history, culture, and the ongoing persecution and displacement of people because of their ethnicity in the country. ![]()
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During a time of so much information about asylum seekers, it is more important than ever to listen to the real, lived experience of those seeking asylum in the UK. ![]()
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📻Listen here at 8pm: www.beyond.radio/player/![]()
↩Listen again after the show airs: www.beyond.radio/on-air/listen-again/![]()
🎙Listen to the podcast series on the Beyond Radio website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts: www.beyond.radio/player/podcasts/beyond-sanctuary-the-podcast/
Beyond Sanctuary – The Podcast – Beyond Radio
www.beyond.radio
This series is a companion to the Beyond Sanctuary radio programme. It highlights the often harrowing stories of refugees and asylum seekers who have arrived in the Lancaster & Morecambe district but …
🧡Messages of Welcome to Refugees🧡![]()
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RAIS received dozens of ‘messages of welcome’ from Conversation Over Borders, a non-profit supporting refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK with English, mental health support, befriending, and digital inclusion. They have gathered thousands of messages from people across the UK, including from young people in schools and univerities, to speak directly to refugees and people seeking asylum and counter the narratives of hostility; saying they are welcome here and we stand with them, and see their pain. They very kindly shared some of these beautiful messages with RAIS.![]()
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Last week, we shared these messages directly with our clients in our appointments. On days of a negative decision from the Home Office, an eviction, and a difficult day of trauma flashbacks, these messages have offered such warmth to our clients. The impact of a stranger wishing you well is a powerful thing; many people seeking asylum took the messages home to display them in their asylum accommodation. We valued these messages so much that we wanted to make a permanent display outside our office so that our clients now and in the future can read them. This is often a spot where people are standing as they wait for support in the office or in our drop-in room, usually feeling anxious and stressed about the problems they need resolving.![]()
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Our amazing volunteers, Lindsey, Ella, Jamie, and Lindsey’s granddaughter, created this display. At only 12 years old, she worked for hours creating and designing. We had many messages from children and young people, and it was incredibly moving to see these generations caring so deeply about refugees being met with open arms. ![]()
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The messages can be seen in the Cornerstone and will proudly remain there. ![]()
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Thank you to Conversations Over Borders, and to every person who wrote these messages. Community and care mean so much to those suffering in dark times. 🧡
RAIS had an amazing day out with asylum seeking and refugee children and their parents at Jamie’s Farm in Skipton on Friday! 🚜Jamie’s Farm are an incredible charity offering transformative days out and residential trips for young people in the UK to help them connect with animals, nature, and good growing, on working farms! We were honoured to be the first refugee group to go to the Skipton farm. We wanted to share some photos from such a special day. 📸![]()
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We started the day with introductions and a check-in with everyone, including the lovely staff and volunteers at Jamie’s Farm. We then headed to a green house to pick some vegetables for lunch, walked around the flower gardens, visited the farm dogs, fed the chickens, collected eggs, met Oreo the lamb (who we all fell in love with and two of the young people held!), fed the pigs who live in the woods, and returned for a delicious lunch prepared by the young people themselves with the vegetables and eggs they had collected! After a good rest playing Jenga, we headed back out to feed the pigs their second meal before exploring the wetlands and the natural pool the farm is building. We then had a check-out where everyone expressed what a special day it had been and that they can’t wait to return (watch this space!) 🐷🐑🐓![]()
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We had an absolute blast. To see the young people and their parents forget the stresses of their every day, and to throw themselves so wholeheartedly into each adventure, was such a lovely thing to be a part of for the RAIS reps, Caitlin and Jennifer, who joined the trip. Thank you to the amazing families we work with, and a huge thank you to Jamie’s Farm for such a great day out. We appreciate organisations like you and all of the important work you do. ☀️
We did a mapping exercise of the people who currently come or used to come to RAIS for support to see what this looks like globally. We were amazed to see it in an image – so many countries, cultures, and people from across the world have arrived in Lancaster and Morecambe and walked through our doors at the Cornerstone. And we are so happy they arrived here to such a welcoming city. ![]()
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Yet it is a sobering reminder of the state of human rights and peace globally. People have to flee for many forms of persecution and harm, including on the basis of race, political opinion, gender-based violence, sexual orientation, and of course, the devastation that war brings to people’s lives. That so much of this map is coloured in reminds us of the distance so many have to travel to reach sanctuary. Many traversing such a distance do not have the option of safe travel, and many have lost their lives on the journey to refuge. We work with individuals who have lost loved ones on the journey; separated and lost contact, killed in conflict as they pass through neighbouring countries, or drowned in the oceans they have to cross. The journey to safety should never be unsafe. #saferoutesforall.
A very warm congratulations to two of our clients who were successful in their appeals for Leave to Remain! Both have been granted Refugee Status after a long and difficult appeals process and the shock of the initial negative decisions. ![]()
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RAIS Lancaster provided significant support for the two individuals during their journey in the asylum system, and were there until the end, sitting with them in court and liaising with their solicitors and barristers. We weren’t expecting both hearings to be scheduled for the same day in two different cities, but our staff and volunteers made sure they were there.![]()
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We must celebrate these life-changing victories for those seeking sanctuary; the granting of a status that means a settled and certain future in the UK away from the destructive persecution they were facing for who they were or demanding their rights and freedoms. RAIS will continue to stand by the sides of refugees during their struggles and let them know that they aren’t alone. 🧡
We had a wonderful first theatre workshop session at The Dukes, Lancaster, led by Carly! The refugees and asylum seekers attending explored creating characters and using movements to tell a story with the use of handmade ‘puppets’ they created themselves. It was lovely to have a light-hearted afternoon full of creativity and play. ![]()
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We are so happy to be partnering with The Dukes, which is such a well-loved part of Lancaster and beyond! What an honour. Until next week!