Ali Smith: ‘Refugee Tales is a small bright spot in dark ...
In 2015 the novelist Ali Smith was invited to tell the story of a former detainee. Ten years on, she explains why the project is more necessary than ever
Ali Smith writes in @theobserver.bsky.social ‘Ten years on, in even darker times for the people rendered voiceless and used as political expedience every day, Refugee Tales is more necessary than ever.’ shorturl.at/Fl5Z7 @rsliterature.bsky.social @commapress.bsky.social @aviddetention.bsky.social
05.07.2025 23:12
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a white number four inside of a white circle
ALT: a white number four inside of a white circle
4 days until we set off on our solidarity walk and it’s going to be a hot one! Sun hat and water bottle packed ✔️🌞 Few remaining walk tickets at RefugeeTales.org and we can’t wait to meet all the walkers 👣✊🏾Thanks for your support!
05.07.2025 12:40
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Big Give
Big Give – discover campaigns and donate
Hot day. Warm heart? 💛 Feeling appreciation for your sunny life? 🌞Spare a moment to think of those in small cells in indefinite immigration detention & please consider joining The Big Give in #SmallCharitiesWeek and helping to fund our frontline work donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05WS… 💐
27.06.2025 17:26
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We’re excited to be in The Big Give’s Small Charity Week! From 23 - 30 June, every donation will be match funded and go twice as far!
💥 Mark your calendar!
📅 Check out our campaign page: shorturl.at/TbgG7
📣 We’ll remind you when The Big Give begins!
11.06.2025 20:00
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Legal Aid Agency data breach
An update following a cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s online digital services.
There was a cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s online digital services.
The Legal Aid Agency says "We believe the group has accessed and downloaded a significant amount of personal data from those who applied for legal aid through our digital service since 2010."
www.gov.uk/government/n...
20.05.2025 13:12
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Welcome walkers at the end of their solidarity walk in Wimbledon on 13 July. Our finale event includes Metronomes Steel Orchestra, actor Niamh Cusack and writer Patience Agbabi alongside experts by experience. Don’t miss! Book at RefugeeTales.org (photo credit: Lyndon Douglas)
17.05.2025 18:43
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Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group
Please also support the incredible work of @refugeetales.bsky.social /Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group GDWG.org.uk
13.05.2025 05:11
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“The phrase “theory of change” has become popular in recent years, as in “what’s your theory of change?” Mine is that categories are leaky and anomalies abound. That change happens in complex, sometimes unpredictable ways, that it often unfolds with slow and indirect consequences, and that what ends up in the centres of power often begins in the margins and shadows. That stories have profound power and changing the story is often the beginning of changing the world.”
Rebecca Solnit
Love this from Rebecca Solnit in The Guardian today on how deep social change is non-linear, and takes faith and creative persistence and eyes to see.
05.05.2025 19:12
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Our GDWG community recipe book ‘Tales from our Table’ (£22) launches today with dishes from around the world from our volunteers, walkers, staff and experts by experience. Email lara@gdwg.org.uk for more info. Thanks Lara and all who contributed #community
04.05.2025 18:43
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A zine and some poems printed out in translations in the foreground and a pile of books in the background.
Final prep for the zine workshop I’m facilitating with @lusignanmermaid.bsky.social
We’re working with parallel translations of poetry in Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Chinese, German, as well as images. Huge thanks to @refugeetales.bsky.social & @sidhepress.bsky.social for your generous contributions. ❤️
21.04.2025 15:32
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Roughly 1 in 2 people detained are eventually released back into the community, their detention having served no purpose!
👇See more info on this thread about: What are immigration detention centers like in the UK?
#ImmigrationDetention
11.04.2025 11:13
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🚨Since coming to power the government has continued to argue that Albania is a 'safe' country, despite the risks facing those seeking protection in the UK.
Our new briefing shows the harm this has caused Albanian survivors of trafficking - who make up nearly 1/4 of our clients. 🧵1/5
03.04.2025 08:47
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[New Blog 🖋️] Ria Rampersad explores how the UK’s court system fails Foreign National Offenders, where language accommodation isn’t just about translation but is shaped by 'stereotypical judgements and interpretation' — undermining fair trials and due process.
blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-crimi...
24.03.2025 14:00
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Man granted right to remain in UK under Windrush scheme after almost 50 years
Samuel Jarrett-Coker, 61, who arrived from Sierra Leone as a child, had sought to resolve immigration status since 1980s
"I am almost 62 years old and I am only now able to give my life meaning without feeling trapped in a cage.”
Samuel Jarrett-Coker spent almost 50 yrs trying to resolve his immigration status, with the fear of deportation hanging over him.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
24.03.2025 09:28
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Willow tree next to a river
Lake with swans
Group of people sitting and standing on the grass
Lovely @refugeetales.bsky.social walk today in the Lee Valley
22.03.2025 18:44
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Many congratulations from us all 🎉🌟♥️
22.03.2025 09:01
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Today, we attended the APPG on Detention & encouraged MPs to stand in solidarity with refugees & asylum seekers in detention.
'Detention is a life sentence for the crime of seeking safety from persecution' @rainbowmigration.bsky.social
Together, we can end #ImmigrationDetention🧡
20.03.2025 14:47
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Walking in solidarity may seem an unusual form of activism to you but it’s creative as it builds community as we walk; a beautiful community manifestation of making change one step at a time. Book to walk with us in July, we walk from Southwark to Wimbledon over 5 days - tickets at RefugeeTales.org
08.03.2025 08:57
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Reflections on
This is a book review, reflection and summary of Mary Bosworth's (Professor of Criminology at Border Criminologies) recently published book,
Read @aviddetention.bsky.social's review of @mfbosworth.bsky.social's Supply Chain Justice: "[I]t is people who are the 'product' — people who arrive or stay in the UK and are subject to detention, people who are sorted, managed, moved, and monetised."
www.aviddetention.org.uk/article/refl...
14.03.2025 10:54
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In a decision today, the Court of Appeal upheld a JR brought by @medicaljustice.org.uk, which argued that the Home Office is required to consult it before introducing any policy affecting the immigration detention of ‘adults at risk’.
👏✊
14.03.2025 17:53
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Refugee Tales 2025: Festival of Walking
A walk in solidarity with refugees, people seeking asylum, migrants, and people who have experienced immigration detention.
Blue skies assured 😉 as we walk to the same horizon of a better imagined on our July walk. Want to live a taste of the community you wish to see? Take 5 days away from your everyday life and walk in solidarity with us www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/refugee-ta...
13.03.2025 09:30
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Need help with your eVisa or dealing with an expired Biometric Residence Permit or Biometric Residence Card? 🤳
LSG Migrants have organised a drop-in session on Saturday, 15 March from 12:00 - 16:00 at the Migration Museum, Lewisham, SE13 7HB.
➡️ instagram.com/p/DHBlJ8ZscV4/
11.03.2025 16:52
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Citizenship: A race to the bottom? | IPPR
A dangerous shift in citizenship policyThis progression provides individuals with security, fosters stronger communities as people establish their lives in
📢 | NEW BLOG: Moving from temporary status to citizenship is the cornerstone of a fair immigration system. But recent policy announcements signal a shift towards instability and precarity. This blog makes the case against a reactive, short-term approach. Read more 👇
11.03.2025 08:08
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#WalkInSolidarity with @refugeetales.bsky.social 👣💫✊🏾
08.03.2025 11:45
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