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This week is World Refugee Week. Refugee Week takes place every year across the world, and aims to educate and raise awareness of the reality of refugee experiences.
In the UK, Refugee Week is a nationwide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees, and encourages a better understanding between communities.
Comic Relief has a long history of supporting refugees and helping them find safety. The British Red Cross Refugee Family Reunion Support Project, was funded by Comic Relief and has helps reunite families who have been separated by conflicts or disasters. Sami received vital support from the project, read his story below.
Sami’s Story
Sami (28) arrived in the UK having fled his home in Northern Syria. For almost two years, he had been hiding from the government, living with the constant threat of being found and forcibly recruited to join the army. As the conflict escalated, planes started to bomb the small town where he and his family were sheltering in. “My mother was killed this way,” he recalls. It became too dangerous for Sami, and he made the difficult decision to leave his home and family in search of safety in Europe. “I can’t say I was happy, I was sad that I had to leave my home, my family, but I felt relieved.”
Sami joined a group run by the Red Cross and discovered that they offer support for refugees who want to be reunited with their family. After finding out his younger brother Farid (17) had been captured and tortured, the British Red Cross helped arrange for him to be flown over to the UK so he could be reunited with his brother. “He was lucky to be alive. I couldn’t let him stay there.”
Thanks to the Red Cross, Sami and Farid are now adjusting to life together in Manchester, and Farid has started college. “Things are not simple” Sami says, “but I’m glad he’s here with me now.”
To find out more about Refugee Week, visit refugeeweek.org.uk(opens in new window).
