This year, the United Kingdom celebrates Refugee Week from Monday 19th to Sunday 25th of June. During Refugee Week, charities and voluntary organisations coordinate on a week of arts, cultural and sports events across the UK which aims to celebrate the contributions and talents of refugees, raise awareness of the asylum system, what refugees in the UK face, and to break down barriers and foster connections across different backgrounds.

The Jesuit Refugee Service in the UK is excited to join and celebrate Refugee Week!

In addition to an internal celebration day for refugee friends, JRS UK is taking part in several public events which you are warmly invited to join.

“You can see me, but I don’t exist”

In 2022, refugee friends from JRS UK worked with poet Laila Sumpton to write a collection of poetry for the ‘Limbo’ project. These poems, and others written by refugees living in Birmingham and Manchester, have been collected and will be displayed alongside an exhibition of photographs by Alan Gignoux.

The exhibition will be on display at Stratford Library, London from Monday 19th June to Saturday 1st July 2023. It speaks powerfully to the extended periods of uncertainty refugee friends face whilst waiting to hear on their asylum cases, and the hostility asylum seekers face. The refugee voice and experience is made central in the poetry, in stark contrast to the photography where faces are blurred and unclear, a visual representation of how our policies and asylum system dehumanises and marginalises people, and the erosion of self many people feel.

Join JRS for the launch of the exhibit on Monday 19th June from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm. Refugee friends will join Alan Gignoux for the launch of the exhibit at Stratford Library and will perform readings of the poems.

Join JRS for the Exhibition-in-a-Book Launch on Friday 23rd June from 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm at the Photographer’s Gallery in Oxford Circus, London. Refugee friends will be taking part in performances and readings of their poetry and Alan Gignoux will introduce his exhibit. Copies of the exhibition book will be available for sale at the event to support the project, and readings will be followed by a performance of traditional Zimbabwean music and more celebrations and drinks in the bar.

Join Laila Sumpton, poet and volunteer at JRS, for a Poetry Workshop and Exhibition Exploration on Saturday 24th June from 2 pm to 4 pm at the Stratford Library, 3 The Grove, London, E15 1EL.