To show solidarity and support for refugees, aslyum seekers and those made destitute by immigration laws a sleep out is being held (organised by Amnesty International, Church Action on Poverty and Boaz Trust).

3 p.m. leafleting
5 p.m. Vigil
7 p.m. Music
10 p.m. - 7 a.m. Sleep Out (start 9.30 p.m. at Friends Meeting House, Quaker Meeting Place, Mount Street)

<h2>Other information</h2>

Why? Refugee week is a celebration of what refugees have contributed to our society. Notables such as Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud were both refugees. Refugee week is also to create communication and better understanding between communities. Many refugees, aslyum seekers and others are living in a state of poverty through a system that has shown to force them into destitution. Many of these people cannot return to their county of origin due to fear of torture or death. The sleep out is to raise awareness of the plight of these individuals through a sleep out. 8.4 million refugees exist worldwide and 23.7 million people are internally displaced across the world.

What is a refugee? A refugee is someone who is forced to leave their country and seek protection in another as a result of fear of persecution (social group, religion, ethnicity, gender, nationality, political opinion) or war - some, of many, examples being Iraq, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Bosnia. When a person arrives in a new country they are known as asylum seekers until they are granted refugee status. An internally displaced person is someone who has fled their home but not crossed the border to another country.

The problems they face? Many EU countries have placed fines on transport carriers of asylum seekers, visa restrictions on refugee-producing countries and immigration officers over-seas to prevent refugees from travelling to EU countries. For those already here, many are forced to live on the borderline of poverty as they are not allowed to work and receive insignificant support. Those with denied asylum claims have state support removed and put them into poverty - many would rather live in destitution than return to their country. Detainment can take place at anytime during the asylum process and there is great concern over the return of refugees to countries where they will not be safe, the vast majority of these countries possessing atrocious human rights records.

<h2>Support Refugees And Join the Sleep Out!</h2>

Links:
Still Human, Still Here
Refugeeweek.org.uk
UNHCR Basic Facts
Amnesty International: Refugees and Asylum