Today we hear from Angie that it is the last playgroup session at the hotel:

“Today we celebrated Easter by making chocolate nests and decorated boxes to put them in. We shared a book about eggs then danced to the Birdy Song and See the bunnies sleeping. A beautiful way to end our session.”

Angie also sent some lovely photographs showing gifts of Easter eggs:  “Sharing some Easter joy.  Many thanks to our links with Churches Together who have helped create a caring community alongside HWR volunteers to show  our asylum seekers that they are important and that they matter.”

She goes on to say “I am so grateful to all the people involved in setting up the playgroup with special thanks to the local Churches Together for initially helping purchase equipment alongside grants from Migrant Help. The local community have been awe inspiring in showing up to provide carpet off cuts, nearly new toys, books, play mats and other necessary items for the ongoing provision. I am also indebted to the many volunteers who have helped set up and run the playgroup over the past 2 years offering much needed well being to the children and their parents within the setting. Thanks to the many HWR volunteers who offered advice and encouragement along the way as well as supporters who offered donations through our social media links.”
​
You can see our interview with Angie from last year when she set up the playgroup:  https://www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/volunteer-stories/its-the-sheer-joy-of-watching-the-children

We would like to thank Denise, Angie and Bernie and the fantastic team who have been involved at the hotel. 

​The love and joy they have brought to the residents must have made such a difference to them in the face of some hostility, and we wish them all well.
 

We are pleased that the local Hertfordshire press has picked up our meetings with Hertfordshire MPs at the mass lobby last week:   

See www.thecomet.net/news/25939757.north-herts-residents-join-mass-lobby-migrants-rights/ and
issuu.com/stalbanstimes/docs/st_albans_times_issue_154/41 

You can sign this letter to the Home Secretary at https://act.praxis.org.uk/open-letter-earned-settlement to share your concerns.​

Democracy in action – today three of our volunteers and three members of our Advisory Group took part in the mass lobby of Parliament to let our MPs know how the ‘earned settlement’ proposals will affect refugees in Hertfordshire.

We urged the MPs to write to the Home Secretary, asking her to publish an impact assessment and allow for full parliamentary scrutiny.  

The refugees spoke movingly about how these cruel plans to make them wait decades for settled status will impact their ability to feel safe and integrated.  The scrapping of student visas from Afghanistan, for example, will force more people into making dangerous journeys which will extend the period even further.

Thank you to the volunteers, Advisory Board members, our MPs and the organisers.

See our message to the Home Secretary at www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/news/our-message-to-the-home-secretary

We are dismayed that on top of the cruel ‘earned settlement’ plans to delay citizenship by decades, yesterday the government announced that refugees arriving from March 2026 will have their status reviewed every 30 months, rather than being granted five years of protection.
 
The Refugee Council estimates that over the first 10 years, this change could mean up to 1.1 million repeat reviews - at a potential cost of up to £725 million. More importantly, it would mean families who have already survived war and persecution facing uncertainty for 20 years before they can apply for settlement. 

Long waits for settlement will create insecurity and instability, making it harder for refugees to establish themselves, get secure, well-paid employment and/or progress in work or study. This increases the risk of poverty and destitution, especially when coupled with the need to pay repeat visa fees.   

If the Government wants refugees to integrate and contribute, they should make settlement processes timely, simple and affordable.  

We are sharing the views of two refugees on our Advisory Board:  
Young Sudanese woman with a masters in bioengineering:   “There's no sense of security.… What if one day the government decides to send me back?  Did I take this entire journey for nothing? Will I ever be safe?  This is one of the saddest things that I've seen.”   
University lecturer from Afghanistan: “Personally, it has affected me a lot because I came here with nothing and with lots of hopes. But when I heard about these proposals it shattered me. It’s a kind of limbo situation we are in.  I wish now that I had decided to apply for a student visa in another country and not in the UK.”  

We urge Shabana Mahmood to reconsider these draconian views which are against the spirit of the Refugee Convention and our international obligations to help those seeking sanctuary here. 

On 11th March, we’re heading to Parliament to join migrant and refugee groups, unions, and faith communities to demand justice at the Mass Lobby for Migrant Rights.  We’ll be meeting MPs face-to-face and urging them to oppose the Government’s harmful earned settlement plans.  ​

We have just heard that 'Amirah', student and member of our Advisory Board, has been granted refugee status after a wait of nearly three years.   

We hope this will provide a bit of security and hope for Amirah and her family.

You can read Amirah's story here:
www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/refugee-voices/refugee-voices-amirah

We were dismayed at Jim Ratcliffe talking about our country being colonised by immigrants! 

Hear our response here on Heart Radio: 

If you are on our mailing list you should have received our latest newsletter from our brilliant editor Anna, at ​http://eepurl.com/jy8LBQ

Read this to find out about our new Director Katie, our AGM, an update to Forced to Flee, our response to the government's earned settlement consultation, a new Refugee Voices project and a delicious recipe!

We are so pleased to introduce our new Director, Katie Allen-East who starts her new role with us on 16th February.   Katie chatted to our volunteer Helen:
 
We are delighted to welcome you Katie.
 
Thank you! I am really excited.
 
I see you that you have a lot of experience in the charity and development sector.  Can you tell us a little bit about this, and your experience and interests?
 
I decided at quite an early age that I wanted to work for people affected by violence and conflict, so I studied “Post-War Recovery Studies”, which included my first experience directly with refugees as we did field research with Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Since then (almost 20 years ago) I’ve worked for a wide range of INGOs across programme management, fundraising and operations roles - most recently as the Director of Global Grants Management for Women for Women International and Head of Development at EduSpots. I’ve travelled to many conflict affected countries and listened to displaced people in places such as Iraq, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Romania. 
 
Alongside this, I’ve been a passionate volunteer since I was a teenager, always having some kind of volunteer role - although these have been very varied - alongside my day jobs. When I lived in south-east London I volunteered for and then became a trustee of Action for Refugees in Lewisham, where I learnt a lot about the UK refugee support sector. A couple of years later, I helped to set-up a baby bank called MammaKind - where I now remain a Trustee and we’ve reached over 7000 family members experiencing poverty (including many with insecure immigration status) since 2020. 
 
What led you to apply for the Director position with Herts Welcomes Refugees?  Is there a particular motivating factor?
 
There are a few motivations that made me very excited when I saw the role advertised in the newsletter. As mentioned already, I’ve worked with people affected by conflict for most of my career and this passion really came from my own family history. My grandparents were refugees to the UK, and growing up hearing about the persecution they and their families’ faced, their incredible journey to seek safety, and how they rebuilt their lives in the UK meant I always had a really strong empathy for people facing similar struggles today and also an appreciation of how incredibly lucky I was to have a safe and secure home. I think it was this feeling that led me to wanting to work in the charity sector and, with people facing conflict and displacement in particular.
 
As well as this, whilst I’ve loved working internationally for most of my career, I was excited about the idea of switching to work more with my local community. I moved to Hertfordshire 5 years ago, have two children now and feel very settled here but working with colleagues overseas all the time meant I was a little disconnected from where I’m actually based. I’m really looking forward to meeting people across the county and getting to be part of the incredible HWR community.
 
What will your role as Director involve?
 
Since it’s a brand new role I’m sure it will evolve over time depending on needs. But, in essence it will involve working with the trustees and volunteers to ensure we’re providing the best possible services to refugees and asylum seekers. This may include finding ways to make our systems more efficient, to improve the quality of service provision, to ensure compliance with all appropriate laws and regulations, to offer more consistent services, or meet new needs. I will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the charity, as well as contributing to strategy and sustainability. 
 
How do you think Herts Welcomes Refugees can best support asylum seekers, refugees and its volunteers? 
 
This is a little hard to say until I really get stuck into the role and can understand what’s needed in more depth. The key thing for me at the start will be listening to our volunteers and asylum seeker and refugee partners to understand their key challenges and where HWR can realistically support or improve. I know there are many barriers facing refugees and asylum seekers, including decision making timelines, finding housing, employment, and so on. We can’t solve all of these problems but I’m sure what the volunteers do makes a difference and hope we can continue to provide a range of moral and practical support. 
 
This is a challenging time for refugees and asylum seekers. How do you think Herts Welcomes Refugees can make a difference?
 
It is definitely a difficult time, but I understand that after some of the protests last summer HWR actually saw an increase in people getting in touch wanting to volunteer. This gives me huge hope and shows how the narratives we hear in the news are not how everyone feels by a long way. I think HWR can make a difference by continuing to provide a warm welcome to those arriving in Hertfordshire and reminding them that there are many people who do care and support them; by continuing to tell the real stories of asylum seekers and refugees, busting some of the myths and fake news that go around; and by bringing people together and providing a channel for those who want to take positive action. 
 
What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming involved with Herts Welcomes Refugees?
 
Do it! Volunteering is so rewarding in so many ways - you meet great people, learn new skills,  and feel great for using your time in such a valuable way. It can help you professionally if you’re looking for certain experience, but equally it can just be a way to do something different from your usual day-to-day and gain a new understanding. 
 
There are a huge variety of different roles that HWR needs support with, so whatever your interests, skills and availability, there’s very likely to be something that can suit you. Get in touch to find out more!

We are delighted to introduce Brian Wedge, who will be joining Adrian as Treasurer, which will now be a shared role.  Here we hear from Brian: 

I spent most of my career in banking and when I retired I became involved with our local Credit Union in Dacorum and I am now the Chair.

I became aware of HWR through friends and volunteered with them because I want to help other human beings. Having travelled widely I am well aware of how fortunate we are to live in the UK and how easy it is to take the benefits for granted.

I started  volunteering at our local hotel which housed Afghan refugees in 2021 and since then have  helped with teaching English, driving education, installing furniture and various other roles. I still meet regularly with one of the people I helped and we are now good friends, learning from each other about our respective cultures.

Taking on the Treasurer role with Adrian is rather daunting but I know the organisation is well run and that  Adrian and the rest of the Management team will be there to help me learn on the job.

HWR makes such a difference to refugees because it provides practical day-to-day support and is able to respond quickly to the needs of people who are dealing with a new language, culture and bureaucracy all at the same time. I have learned a lot from the people I have met and am sure I will continue to do so in my new role.

Thank you Brian!  We are still looking for people to help the finance team, if you think you can help  see www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/volunteer.html or contact [email protected]

Read the full updated report ​https://www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/forced-to-flee.html