Refugee Week on Answers
This week is Refugee Week: we’re delighted to say that Yahoo! Answers are supporting it. The week sees a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrates the contribution of refugees in the UK, and encourages a better understanding between communities..For more information visit www.lookbeyondthelabel.org or www.refugeeweek.org.uk.
During Refugee Week, the British Red Cross is asking people to pledge their support to refugees by collectively ‘changing their online status’ across all social networks, instant messenger and email to include the www.lookbeyondthelabel.org web address.
On Answers, the British Red Cross have asked three topical questions, that we’d love you to answer:
- If you had to evacuate your home and didn’t know if you’d be back, what would be the one thing you’d take?
- How do your opinions vary between how you view refugees and other types of immigrants?
- Which famous refugees can you name?
The Red Cross have also teamed up with Desperate Housewives star Dougray Scott to produce an online film highlighting the contribution of refugees and asking people to change their online status in solidarity to include www.lookbeyondthelabel.org.
He said: “As an actor I’m aware of the importance of identity, something which refugees are denied. We must look beyond this label to the individuals – doctors, teachers, parents and friends.”
Refugee Week 2009 – ‘Change Your Status’
See exclusive shots from behind the scenes of the film on the Flickr Group, which you can join.
Yahoo! Travel have helped the British Red Cross build a Trop Planner asking: where do UK refugees come from? The answer it seems is Afghanistan, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Iran.
Yahoo! Music have also built a playlist of songs by former refugees like Bob Marley, M.I.A., Wyclef Jean, Emmanuel Jal and Mika. Listen to it here.
You can also change your Yahoo! online status to support Refugee Week (with an image like the one at the top of this blog post) on Yahoo! Profiles or Messenger. Instructions on how to do this is here.
The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. They are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies.
They enable vulnerable people in the UK and abroad to prepare for and withstand emergencies in their own communities. And when the crisis is over, they help them to recover and move on with their lives.
Each year the British Red Cross supports thousands of refugees in a wide number of ways, from providing emergency provisions for those facing severe hardship to giving orientation support and friendly advice to the most vulnerable. Their services include: orientation, destitution, support for young people and women, and family reunion and resettlement.
- For more info: www.redcross.org.uk
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This is a disgrace. Britons can’t even hold a St. George’s day parade without being called racist, now the refuges who are living here, under our laws, under our protection, in our culture, are having a larger say as a minority group than the majority group. I ask you, is this fair or right?
Shame on you Labour party, shame on you
God bless mdnss69
Don’t ask us to help refugees when we cant even hold St Georges Day, why ask us to pay the price of their countrys dilema when most of us cant afford to go out anymore, as for living under our laws as mdnss69 says thats not on either, most live under their own, if you don’t believe that come to where i live, and i cant even get a larger home which i need as a CVarer for my wife due to these people taking everything first. British Labour Party you say, ugh! no fear, this countrys gone bollocks.
Interesting
Congratulations Yahoo! on supporting this initiative. We should be setting an example to other countries in welcoming those who have been denied democratic rights elsewhere, who have faced war or natural disasters, who are under threat of torture or violence and have been forced to flee their homes. There seems to be a lot of ignorance around the plight of asylum seekers and anything to celebrate the positive contributions they make has to be good news.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aouq_PbDG60fraQDAKlHJ0YgBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20090619020801AAUqiPr
Thank goodness, refugees have finally got some positive press!
If this country is ‘bollocks’ then feel free to move. Most of us are fortunate enough to have that freedom.
If most of us can’t afford to go out then the refugees won’t be able to either. I don’t know where you’re getting your facts from but as soon as they arrive in this country, refugees are in exactly the same position as the average English citizen; they have no privileges. Most do not live under their own laws – they follow ours.
You have a house, halfof12, which is more than can be said for some people. The stories about refugees being given housing priority is also a complete sham.
It’s disappointing to see so many comments buying into the Daily Mail’s usual paranoia and negativity.
The Red Cross lost my support when it refused to display anything to do with Christmas in it’s shop windows.I agree with the comments before me.