A Pilgrimage With A Difference Comes To Chiswick

Sheila Hancock is a supporter of the Refugee Tales walk and cultural event

Around 80 walkers on a five-day pilgrimage from Runnymede in Surrey to Westminster called in at Duke’s Meadows bandstand this week as they walked the riverside stretch from Richmond to Hammersmith. They were taking part in Refugee Tales, a walk and series of cultural events organised in solidarity with refugees, asylum seekers and detainees by the Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group.

The walkers were met by representatives of Refugees Welcome Hounslow, who provided refreshments for their pit-stop.

Sheila Hancock

This is the third year that GDWG has held its Refugee Tales. The daily walks of around 10 miles were interspersed with lunchtime and afternoon debates. There was also a full programme of evening events incorporating music, theatre and readings. The cultural programme was supported by leading social justice campaigners including Shami Chakrabarti, and Niamh Cusack and the event was hosted by actor Sheila Hancock, who has longstanding links with Chiswick.

Over 30,000 migrants are currently detained in the UK, according to GDWG. There are 11 detention centres in the UK. “The UK is unique in Western Europe in that there is no maximum time limit on immigration detention. People can be and are detained for months or even years,” according to the group, which is campaigning for an end to indefinite detention.

More information at www.refugeetales.org

July 5, 2017