We are proud to be members of Together with Refugees
“A coalition of members which include grassroots, community and refugee-led groups, international development charities, trade unions and faith groups. Although our interests and concerns are varied we have one thing that unites us:
We believe in showing compassion for people fleeing war and persecution. for a kinder, fairer and more effective approach to supporting refugees in the UK. Be part of a shared movement for change.”
January 2023
Fill the Skies Flights with Hope
In response to the Government’s proposed flights to Rwanda, the Fill the Skies with Hope campaign was created by Together With Refugees, a coalition of 500+ organisations.
The campaign involves people in our community joining together to call on the Government to stop the Rwanda scheme and replace it with a fairer system to support people seeking sanctuary in the UK.
Joining together to take simple and powerful action to send messages to Swindon MPs, by creating orange heart-shaped paper planes carrying messages of welcome and hope, people across the town can add their voices to thousands of others in the UK urging the Government to think again. Our hope is that the government will enable safe and legal routes and a humane approach to people seeking sanctuary.
If you are interested in taking part in the campaign, please contact us at [email protected], on social media or visit the Together with Refugees website for the most up to date information on the campaign.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qcdp31fihK2rfzmB-abkEhQN0UV53wdg/view
June 2022
Flights to Rwanda – how can you help:
From our friends at City of Sanctuary UK
Our government plans to send people seeking sanctuary to Rwanda – the first flight is due to leave Tuesday 14th June
These are fathers, brothers and sons who came to the UK hoping to reunite with family, find safety or the chance to rebuild. Instead, they are being shipped off to a place where they have no connection with and no family or friends, with a proven poor record on human rights.
We have to fight this with everything we have. Here’s how you can get involved right now:
1) Tell the airlines: don’t remove people to Rwanda.
2) Call on your MP to take a stand.
3) Organisations are challenging the policy in court, but legal action takes money. Donate here and here.
5) Email the Airline planning to do the first flight to Rwanda:
4) Plan a local demonstration
Compassionate countries simply don’t trade in human beings. We believe in a country that welcomes those in need of safety.
Thank you for taking a stand.
November 2021
Swindon City of Sanctuary Show Your Heart Month of Welcome
(In Partnership with Create Studios)
This November, join us during Swindon City of Sanctuary’s Show Your Heart Month of Welcome, all of us across the town can join together to show how welcoming, kind and inclusive we are in Swindon.
How can we do this?
Just by making one or two simple acts of kindness:
- share messages of welcome and support, on orange hearts, to all people who come to live in our town, especially people who have fled from danger and are seeking safety here with us (you can create your own hearts or download the one below)
- send a portrait photo / ‘selfie’ (in original format and without filters)*, with your messages of welcome and support on orange hearts via WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com) to [email protected]
- Are you a school who would like to be involved? Click this link for resources specifically created for Swindon schools – Schools – Show Your Heart
- Are you a local business/organisation wishing to get involved? Click this link to join us on the 25th November – Invitation local businesses/orgs to Show Your Heart
All images need to be sent to us by Thursday 25th November
* by sending us your photo, you consent that any person shown in the image has given explicit consent for their image to be shared with us. You also consent to the image being shared and reproduced for public display eg. displayed online, shared on social media platforms, shared with local and national media, and presented on public display
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Open in new tab Large Heart Display
Images gathered will be brought together by Create Studios alongside images sent by local businesses and Swindon schools to display on a large billboard in the shape of a giant heart with a simple message of welcome to all eg. – ‘The People of Swindon Welcome you /everyone’
Are you a local Swindon Organisation?
If you are get in touch to be part of our Show your Heart Day of Welcome on November the 25th, we would love to invite you to join the many other local businesses in our town to have your photo taken with your hearts by Create Studios.
Please email: [email protected] for more information.
Why an orange heart?
The orange heart represents compassion for people fleeing war, persecution or violence. Inspired by the Refugee Nation flag, and the colours of a lifebelt, the heart symbolises hope and kindness. It is a symbol of the Together with Refugees campaign.
Our Swindon messages of welcome on orange hearts will show:
- we support people who are forced to flee their homes
- we want people to be able to seek safety in our country, no matter how they have arrived here
- we want people to live in dignity and safety here while they wait for the decision granting them protection and giving them Leave to Remain in our country
- we welcome people into our communities and show them that they belong here so they can re-build their lives in safety and become involved in their new communities
If any one of us feared for our lives or the lives of our loved ones, we’d want to know that others would help us to safety, wouldn’t we? This is our chance to show our messages of welcome and support for everyone – no matter what we look like or where we come from.