For those of us who have the space to do so, winter is generally a good season for reflections. With that in mind, we wanted to share some suggestions of things to watch, listen to and speak about with others, if you wanted some context to the news.
Films:
Netflix Movie the Swimmers is the true story of the Mardini sisters from Syria, who make their way to Europe in search of safety. It follows their journey from Syria to Berlin, and finally to Rio, where one of them participates in the Refugee Athletic Team. It’s a story of sisterhood, solidarity and what happens at the borders of Europe.
Another film about refugee athletes, the the documentary We Dare to Dream follows athletes from different parts of the world as they embark on their athletic careers. Directed by Waad al-Kateab, from the award-winning documentary For Sama. In cinemas now.
The documentary Gaza documents the lives of citizens in Gaza in 2014 and 2015, and was a participant in the 2019 Sundance Documentary Competition. It was a popular movie on the recent London Palestine Film Festival, and is available here on Amazon Prime.
Podcasts:
This episode of The Guardian podcast Today in Focus charts the story of Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who turns from novelist into investigating war crimes.
The podcast On Things We Left Behind by the sisters Surer and Saredo Mohamed explores the hidden afterlives of war.
The Experts by Experience podcast is hosted by Refugee Action, and its members explore different themes related to seeking asylum and the UK asylum system, including dispersal, statelessness and the impact of the government’s Rwanda policy. They also touch on wider topics, such as Pride Month and a celebration of art in its episode for National Poetry Day.
Using your advocacy power:
All of us have different levels of power, in different contexts. Some of us might be able to vote in the country that we live in, contribute to a community initiative or share resources online. This winter period, we encourage you to make a list of the different places where you hold power, and how you might want to use that in 2024 to make the UK’s asylum system kinder and more humane - from signing petitions to speaking up in your workplaces.
Women for Refugee Women is holding a campaign to Welcome Every Woman. Sign their pledge here.
We look forward to working together again in 2024!
