Here are some examples of Small Actions that people across the UK have sent to us. We’ve used these ideas as the basis for the Small Actions Campaign which will be launched in 2009!
The campaign suggests small ways in which to change people’s perceptions of refugees and create better interaction between refugee and host communities. The idea is not that we “move mountains” but to come up with small things that can easily be done by anyone - with every individual joining the campaign and doing a small thing for and with refugees, we get a bit closer to removing barriers between host and refugee communities and creating a more tolerant society.
If you have an idea that you would like to be included Tell us Your Idea!
Learn to say some basic things in a new language.
Christian, London
Learn to cook a dish from another culture
Hannah, London
Talk to them & get to know them.
School child, Glasgow
Convince all frontline staff to wear a Refugee Week T-Shirt as often as possible during Refugee Week.
Celine Scwob, London
Don’t judge people without knowing them.
School child, Glasgow
Send a “Thinking of You” card to refugees in detention centres.
Alex, Youth social worker, Cornwall
Every family in UK should be encouraged to eat fish and chips – brought here by Portuguese refugees - during Refugee Week.
Chip shop owner, Swiss Cottage
All churches in the UK should be asked to say a prayer for refugees on the Sunday of Refugee Week.
Rebecca, Mother, Somerset
Invite a group of your friends to watch a refugee/asylum seeker themed movie and have a 'potluck' where everyone must bring a dish from another country.
Monica, London
Show them around the Scheme.
School child, Glasgow
Find out the difference between refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants.
Spend a day in Brick Lane and do some ‘ethnic shopping’.
Celine Scwob, London
Lend a camera to a refugee family for a day so that they can take pictures of a day in their life and then use them in a small exhibition in your local library on myth busting.
Chris Gore, London
Show them respect.
School child, Glasgow
Spend a whole evening in town without spending any money.
Simon C, Hayfield
Invite your refugee neighbour over for a barbeque (in the summer). Worth making sure that you have halal…
Richard, Writer, London
Go to www.timetogether.org.uk and take a quiz to test your tolerance
Respect their religion.
School child, Glasgow
Next time you listen to Bob Marley, Wyclef Jean, M.I.A or Mika with your mates - tell them that they're listening to refugees!
Geraint, Administrator, London
Organise a speed dating event for people from different cultures
Offer people your help.
School child, Glasgow
Take your refugee friend to have a tea with your grandpa.
Sit with a stranger on the bus and strike up a conversation (start with the weather!)
Innocent, Writer/Journalist, London
Read a book about the refugee experience such as The Kite Runner or Refugee Boy.
Attend a Refugee Week event, take photos and post them on flickr.
Chris Gore, London
Find out what countries refugees are currently coming from. What is happening in these countries?
Have a party with lots of different people and cultures.
School child, Glasgow
Send a letter to your local paper asking people to rethink their refugee stereotypes.
Mix more with people from other countries.
School child, Glasgow
Go and see the Asylum Monologues
TimeBank
Find out which character in ‘Fawlty Towers’ was played by a refugee – Clue: it’s not Basil!
Angharad, Artist, Lllanfyllin
Share a story about the contribution of refugees
Learn to be friendly in a different language
Listen to music from another country, ask what the lyrics mean (especially young people)
Innocent, Writer, London
Spend some time with people who happen to be refugees
Arrange for people from different countries to talk about themselves.
School child, Glasgow
Forward a podcast/refugee's story to five people who don’t know much about refugees.
Melanie, London
Find out how to say hello in another language to someone you know who doesn’t speak English as their first language.
At the Airport, have a big screen up showing people meeting different people and shaking hands.
School child, Glasgow
Add a pro refugee statement to the bottom of your email signature during Refugee Week; perhaps a myth-busting fact about the real number of refugees in the UK or a more personal statement such as why you believe refugees are an asset to this country.
Everyone who visits this website could simply encourage others to visit it to increase awareness of all the various events and assist and join in the celebration of the contribution of refugees to the UK.
Chris Gore, London
Respect different cultures.
School Child, Glasgow
Talk to people who talk to lots of people - taxi drivers, hairdressers, pub landlords and bar staff. Better still introduce them to a refugee or asylum seeker.
Richard Byrne, Leeds
Not everyone will be living somewhere where they can meet a refugee, but everyone has a family tree. We all come from somewhere, and most of us have ancestors who will have migrated at some point or other – for example, 40% of people in the UK have Huguenot links. Understanding where your family comes from, and the decisions they made to come here will encourage empathy with those who have come to the UK more recently.
Jonathan Cox, London
Organise a picnic where everyone brings a dish of their own nationality.
Student from Royal Academy of Music and drama, Glasgow
Read one story from the book "From There to Here" (or similar) each day for a week.
Melanie, London
Do things to make the place better for more people.
School child, Glasgow
Watch something other than a Hollywood movie – Iraq and Iran are known for their high quality cinema. One successful film is Persepolis.
Find out about your family history. Did any of your relatives come from different countries?
Put up a big banner when they come in to Glasgow Airport, with “welcome” written in every language.
School child, Glasgow
Take 1 person who's never heard about Refugee Week to one event.
Almir, Writer, London
If someone has never went to a football match, why don’t you go?
School child, Glasgow
Buy and donate a copy of ‘We left because we had to’ to my stepdaughters secondary school. Take in with any other literature re Refugee Week to accompany the gift.
Laura Wilks Sloan, Marketing Officer, London
Do not simply believe what you read in the papers about refugees. As a question - find out more.
Lynne, London
Clear out closet and donate men's clothes to charity
Start own (peace loving) Refugee Group on Facebook to educate/inform
Take a refugee to the Imperial War Museum - see the effects of our history.
Bob, Campaigner, London
Read a fairytale from another country to school aged children.
Laura, London
Give them access to education.
School child, Glasgow
Start a meet up group and have regular (monthly) meet ups and do activities relevant to refugee issues. Do something different each time (watch movies about refugee experiences, read books, have dinner etc).
Cristiana, Fundraiser, London
Spend five minutes imagining being in fear of your life and having to pack and leave your home and family within the next hour. What would you do? How would you feel?
Tell a friend a fact from the Refugee Week website.
Pictures without Borders' - travel to Refugee Week events and take pictures of positive images of refugees. Share them as much as possible.
Rawan, London
Read the 'world' section of a newspaper and take a few minutes to remind yourself where refugees come from and why they are forced to flee their homes.
Anelie, London
Write to newspapers on days when there's lots of negative press about refugees. Use facts from myth-busting packs like Refugee Council's 'Tell it Like it Is'.
Lynne, London
Writing messages of peace to fly on balloons.
Alex Backhouse, Teacher, Meadowfield Primary School
Live out of your handbag only for a weekend
Simon D, Beckenham
At any election or voting opportunity send out an email saying something like this “Remember to vote today and make use of this opportunity to have your say. All over the world people live under regimes where voting is impossible. Some are brave enough to stand up and are forced to flee to survive. Democracy is precious and so are refugees.”
Emma N, Bromley
Cut out lots of negative press articles. Put them on a board at church with a banner across the middle saying ‘What would Jesus say?’
Heather, Beckenham
Look at the list of famous people who are or were refugees on wikipedia, share it with your friends to challenge the stereotype of what a refugee looks like.
Emily Keaney, London
Encourage your children to play with all children and to be respectful and sympathetic towards cultural differences.
Fabiane, Artist/Designer, London
Give present to poor.
Ikra
Enjoy stories and dances that originate from the refugee nations!
Tricia George, Storyteller
Leave your house at least once a week with an intention to take notice of other people. Lots of people you will be noticing will be refugees.
Dijana, London
Put up a map of the world in our parish church and have pins for people to put where there grandparents came from. We loved it and it generated a lot of interest and also showing how many people came from different countries.
Paul Gruzalski, Retired Teacher, Ashtead, Surrey
Smile at everyone you pass in the street - regardless of their ethnicity, gender, class and dress.
Matt, Projects Coordinator, PhotoVoice, London
Organise a quiz and send it round to your email contacts/ colleagues to challenge perceptions and raise awareness
Rachel, Hartlepool
Is your bicycle lying unused in your garden? Why not lend it to an asylum seeker friend for a while to save them transport costs.
Ally, London
Request a track by a refugee to be played on the radio
Kiri, Student, London
Wear a T-shirt saying ‘Being European is being in Europe’
Manuel Arroyo-Kalin, Archaeologist, Cambridge
Find out about some celebrities who were or still are refugee's e.g. football players, actors, singers.
Bob Geldof, Sik guy, full time, Leicester St Pauls
Become a pen pal with a refugee or even better make friends with one nearby to your home. Involve them in your games and with your friends. They deserve the respect we show each other.
Aidan Robinson, St Pauls RC Leicester
Put up awareness posters in your local church
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Join an organisation that sends DIY tools to poorer communities to refurbish/build houses
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Set up talk groups to raise awareness about refugees
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Join in cultural festivals
Listen to music from other countries
Buy ethnic/world music CDs
Give time to refugee children to share some of their stories at the assembly with others.
Arman Mohajeri, Civil Servant, Home Office
The World In My Garden – find out where have your favourite flowers have come from.
Try a dance from another culture
Everyone in the UK should learn about their family tree - they may well discover refugees in their history.
It is wrong to treat asylum seekers as second class citizens. Equal status should be given to them.
Offer them education. Speak with them – integrate them
Compare the number of Australians to the number of Asylum Seekers
Invite a play group made of refugees to perform at your local theatre
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Refugees should have quick attention and help by really listening to them.
London
1. Look in your wardrobe, find the cheapest garment
2. Find the label “Made In…”
3. Ask yourself “How much does the person who made this get paid?”
Simon, Croydon
Stop the brand/title ‘Refugee’. The brand itself is humiliating
Join a local 'buddy' scheme.
Kirti, Croydon
UKBA often gain a negative view of refugee issues. Since the Home Office actively encourage their staff to volunteer their time for a max of one week per year, as paid special leave, this type of mutual voluntary engagement can only be beneficial to both parties.
Next time you hear a negative thing being said about immigrants or refugees challenge it in a non-confrontational way
Amy Pedder, Senior Project Worker, Worthing
See the planet as a micro spec in the universe so it becomes easy to see all mankind as brothers and shake their hands!
Paulo, Civil Servant, Croydon
Organise a competition to design a poster to promote Refugee Week 2009 and display them in your school to raise awareness.
C Brown, Assistant head teacher, Leeds
Help asylum seekers by buying £35 supermarket vouchers and giving them to a day centre working with refugees so they can then give the asylum seekers cash so they can buy cheaper food from the markets, as these vouchers are all they have to live on each week. It is very simply - you buy supermarket vouchers from them, and they give asylum seekers cash instead.
Claudia Demuth, Consultant, London
Give food and medical supplies
Joseph Moore, Unemployed, England
Empower women refugees by attending a compulsory educational programme where if illiterate they would learn a craft.
Arman Mohajeri, Civil Servant, Home Office
Facilitate for professional refugees to 'work shadow' at workplace, where they can familiarise themselves with work patterns/expectations and get more possibilities have finding a job in their new country.
Arman Mohajeri, Civil Servant, Home office
Take a couple of hours and use the internet as a tool to search for information about this subject. blogs, videos, articles online do give some general understanding.
Ghislaine, Student, Nijmegen
EVERY university city in the country to organise a City of Sanctuary. Students are always best at ACTIVATING these groups. From there cities and towns of S. could be formed until WE ARE ALL INFORMED ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF THESE ABUSED PEOPLE
Mim Umney-Gray, Oxfordshire
Get involved in your local City of Sanctuary group - if there isn't one, start one!
www.cityofsanctuary.com
Gill Buttery, Development Worker, Leicester
Give a week's holiday to a client of the Medical Foundation for victims of torture. It's great or volunteer to host a destitute asylum seeker for a week.
Pat Bryden, retired teacher/lecturer, Edinburgh
Step into the shoes of a famous refugee [e.g. Einstein, Pissarro or Michael Marks] and be interviewed in Assembly.
Jackie Bowie, Teacher, St. Joseph’s College
Visit a world market
London
Try a restaurant from another part of the world.
London
Make your own t-shirts which have one word in a different language so that people ask and learn about a new culture.
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Watch a film from another part of the world.
London
Give us another bank holiday and make it a celebration of refugees
London
Try a craft from another country
London
Ask someone from a refugee country to talk at your school.
London
Learn about refugees on the internet
London
Awareness posters around schools, hospitals, bus stops with inspiring quotations:
'The Earth is but One Country and Mankind its Citizens'
Arman Mohajeri, Civil servant, Home Office
Learn more about the asylum system
London
Have a pub quiz about refugees in 1000s of pubs across the UK
London
Invite someone home to cook a meal with you.
London
Say hello, how do you do?
London
Tell a child a story of a country in plight.
London
Spend an afternoon once a month or every 2 months with an asylum seeker/ refugee or with a family of asylum seekers/refugees – lunch, a day in the park etc.
London
Volunteer one evening to help out at a night shelter for homeless asylum seekers.
Pete, London
With a smile, with a hug, with a welcoming face.
Shirley, London
Exchange handicrafts (jewellery, knitting etc)
Discover different instruments and their origins.
London
Encourage employed people to take a day (voluntary day by which they get paid anyway by their employer) off and work with refugee centres around UK. By offering this manpower, projects can easily take place during refugee week.
Arman Mohajeri, Civil Servant, Home Office
A photography exhibition which could display through images and text the way a refugee used to live in his/her country.
London
Invite a refugee to join your facebook
London
Start a community service project with refugee teens who want to help out in the community.
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Support a sports team from another country.
London
Artistic endeavours human element.
London
Get rid of the name refugees.
London
Email your MP and ask them what they are doing to support asylum seekers.
Laura, London
During school talks have children research 5 key points to a culture. Make a poster project out of this information.
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Wear badges, have an appropriate member of Parliament, stop being racist, have a foreign food day! New culture day! Love my neighbour.
Small business loans for refugees to set up restaurants, shops etc with openings and events to involve local communities. Restaurants - food is a great way to learn about other countries and people and people would come.
Hattie and Janis, London
Weekly refugee column in local free newspaper (metro, London paper, London Lite etc) about their observations of life in London etc.
Anna, London
Football team in local league.
Hot refugee of the week in London newspapers.
Alex, London
Just see them as human beings.
London
“Come on” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
B. Dylan
Put women in power, hence no wars, hence no refugees.
London
Invite a few newspaper/TV editors along to a Refugee Week event.
London
Write to the Daily Mail telling them the truth about asylum and immigration. Prosecute the Mail and the Express for their lies and prejudice.
London
Promote ethnic fashion. Bring back Afghan coats!
London
Help integrate a new asylum seeker/ refugee individual/family by inviting them to your house regularly for a meal through the refugee council or similar charity.
London
Talk to the people opposite you or adjacent to you on all forms of public transport no matter what they look like or where they look like or come from.
London
Smile at a stranger and help others no matter where they are from.
Lesley, Scotland
Celebrate the similarities as well as the differences.
London
Ref-huge-eee Week!!
London
Use all the money usually spent on cappuccinos at Starbucks and send to Refugee Week! Add it up!
London
Share your sweets.
London
Get to know refugees better through (culture and food) open events.
London
Cook food and listen to music from different countries.
London
Make the present government inform the British people about other people suffering in their country.
London
More public discussions in media to promote awareness historical contribution of refugees.
London
Organise a dance party with jive, ceroc and rock ‘n’ roll. Everyone participating. All types of music.
London
Show interest in other cultures. Ask questions.
London
Have a Refugee Week every week.
London
Share your wardrobe with a refugee.
London
Take a basket filled with lovely things to give to a new family of refugees.
London
Pass through harsher anti-terror legislation until this country becomes more like the places current refugees flee from. Then the British people will have more apathy towards people fleeing a homicidal and totalitarian government.
William, music teacher, Powys
Everyone should go to an evening of entertainment organised by people from different countries e.g. Indian dancing, theatre. It can bring so much happiness and fun.
Jayne, London
Don’t look at them, talk to them.
Sid, London
A number of young refugees and asylum seekers are now successful at sports especially football: one of them could become a campaigner, helping with changing the image of refugees and asylum seekers.
London
Hold out hands and share warmth from our hearts.
London
Keep an open heart to all human beings and leave them their value.
London
Organise a cooking workshop with refugees and people from the “host” community, where participants learn to cook food from a different country (and at the same time learn more about each other’s cultures; improve British …)
London
Workshops for schools with a film to show the kids the reality of refugees leave their country of origin and here. Show also pictures and do games with kids about their culture, food, histories, clothes...
London
Dance and sing in a language that you don't understand!
Marina, Psychologist, Athens, Greece
Tell people about some famous refugees like Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, Joe Slovo … who were welcomed to the UK and made a great contribution to our lives in all kinds of ways.
London
When someone speaks negatively of refuges, remind them that Einstein (and many other great human beings) are refugees.
London
Big Brother / Sister project where individuals / families from immigrant communities welcome / invite new arrivals from other countries.
Big idea, London
Encourage refugees whose children attend primary schools to share their traditional stories and songs in the classroom.
London
Encourage the work that refugees have done: Persians, the Huguenots, the Kenyan Asians, the Jews. Blow that trumpet fortissimo and let the current asylum seekers get a life.
London
Turn the preconception in the tabloids that welcoming refugees is a strength not a weakness in the UK.
London
Don’t call refugees “refugees” – call them people.
London
I can’t think of one specific action but something that highlights contribution to society. Too many people think refugees = drain on resources.
London
More festivals like Celebrating Sanctuary but on a bigger scale.
London
Share dinner.
London
Start educating from school age. Go into colleges and universities and educate tomorrow’s people.
Valerie, London
Set up a heritage club where each club member tells a story about their country of origin.
Waterman’s Group, Bristol
Find a pen-pal from another country.
London
I find food always brings people together – food, dance and song. I would encourage them to sit and eat together, learn how to cook a traditional dish together, learn a song or a national dance.
London
We could look at the advantages of refugees in our country.
London
We could go and see how life is for refugees. Maybe donate money too.
London
More events like Refugee Week to promote awareness through music, poetry and Arts. We should not rely on government to make the move or we will wait forever. We should rely on people like ourselves that are true.
El Crisis, London
Promoting the culture, the traditional outfits, their products.
London
Get together - have a street party like they used to do in the 1970's. Close off the street and enjoy just being neighbours.
Croydon
Have an international day at school where each room is a different country and people move round and experience a bit of everything.
E Appleby, Teacher, Hanwell
Watch The Killing Fields - to understand some of the things that many refugees faced.
Davina, Brighton
If you live in London, have a meal at Song Que (Vietnamese restaurant) and appreciate the flavours and recipes that refugees have brought to this country.
Davina, Brighton
Read your local newspaper - they are usually full of information about the different cultures present in your community and help to appreciate the diversity.
Davina, Brighton
Get together with mates who don’t know much about refugees and say a few facts. At work, parties pubs etc…
Tony, London
Listen to different countries music.
Eat different countries foods (Cakes!).
Exchange different countries cultures (Stories).
Smile if you can't say anything else.
Vicente, Spain
Offer a smile.
In a supermarket . Crossing the road. At the swings. At the school gate. In the doctors surgery. On a bus. Angela Cook, Mediator, Coventry
We have to provide more information about issues in refugee producing countries and why people leave their countries.
Wearing their traditional clothes
Puck Liu, student, CHINA
Think before you judge
Chris Ryder, Photographer/Librarian, Wales
Make a refugee channel on TV or a programme on a popular TV channel. This will tell millions about the truth of refugees.
A brighter future! :o)
Izaak Martin, Age 11, Derby
Start a dialogue with the High Street banks to offer refugees bank accounts and loans at reasonable rates.
Rona, Glasgow
Buy vouchers from failed asylum seekers on Section 4 support.
Why: 1) More people realise in what appalling conditions failed asylum seekers have to live 2) failed asylum seekers get some support and dignity through having cash to spend 3) it highlights the issue and puts pressure on the government to change their policy
Chris, Project Worker, London
A cultural exchange workshop in schools and businesses hosted by refugees. The visit would allow a large number of people to humanise refugees. It would also give refugees an opportunity to see the nice side of Brits.
Mike, Teacher, London
Make a similar programme to ‘Wife Swap’ involving refugees.
Jack Lash, Bristol
Write to your local MP on behalf of failed asylum seekers.
Jack Lash, Bristol
Organise a huge (friendly) water fight carnival.
Rosa, Bristol
Make a friend from another culture.
Go and visit other countries.
Smile at everyone on your way to the shop.
Give everyone around a huge free hug.
Organise cooking workshops so everyone can exchange cooking skills and recipes from their countries.
Art therapy for all refugees - let art heal our hearts.
Accept everyone with love, patience, tolerance and serenity.
Get people to stay at camps like Sangate for a week – ask people to imagine leaving their country, language, culture and family for a foreign land.
Give refugees what they want - PEACE!
Sing a song from a refugee producing country.
Encourage schools to invite the parents of refugee schoolchildren to visit and raise awareness.
Say good morning to neighbours, shop people and those sitting beside you on the bus. You never know whose spirits you might lift!
Give them biscuits of love!
Anon, Oxford
Even if you can’t campaign, you can still be a real friend to a refugee.
Involve refugees in community gatherings or groups.
Allow asylum seekers to work.
Organise a local auction for charity – trading one item of cultural significance for another.
Throw new shapes! Learn dance styles from different cultures.
Treat people with respect.
STOP and give space in your life to listen – really listen – to people’s stories. Then ask them “What can I do? What will make a difference in your life?”
Organise a ‘Living Library’ – borrow a ‘book’ which happens to be a person. This helps to create an understanding between people who would not meet un normal circumstances.
Carry a Refugee Week balloon around town.
