By Jill Stocks
Horsforth Town of Sanctuary held their Christmas get together last Friday, bringing together members of the community with asylum seekers and refugees living locally.
There are about 180 men seeking asylum in the local area currently, as well as Ukranian families hosted by families in Horsforth.
Horsforth Town of Sanctuary aims to show how they can enrich the lives of the whole community, through events such as these.
Those gathered for the social event shared fellowship and were treated to traditional English fayre, including sprouts which received a mixed reception! Special guest Santa also paid a visit. Food and conversation was followed by carols and games.
Laura Schubert is the refugee support worker for Horsforth Town of Sanctuary.
She said: “Today we’ve had our monthly social but a special Christmas social and it’s been wonderful to celebrate together.
“There’s been about 50 of us; people from the local community, people who are seeking sanctuary, people who are new to this community as well, and we’re able to celebrate together.
“Also we’re celebrating the amazing volunteer efforts that many people have been doing from this community here in Horsforth. And people who are seeking sanctuary who might only be in Horsforth for a couple of months but they love to get stuck in and volunteer in Horsforth Hall Park, in the community garden, helping here at the community kitchen on Mondays at St Margarets and in lots of other ways supporting their peers.
“I’m really proud of us as a project, and as a group, as Horsforth Town of Sanctuary. I feel really grateful to meet lots of people from across the world and be able to help welcome them to Leeds and also help them contribute and be part of this community.”
Ian Kemp is a steering group member for Horsforth Town of Sanctuary.
He told WLD: “We have a monthly social on the second Friday of the month and we ask the guys from the local hotel who are seeking asylum to join us and we cook with them.
“It’s also an opportunity for the volunteers who work both in Horsforth and also at the hotel to come together, and we also like to get people from the community in.
“So it’s a real opportunity for people to mix and enjoy themselves. We shop together, a few of us cook together, and when we’ve had the meal there’ll be some games and a good opportunity for everyone to enjoy themselves.”
Mo Alhusseini is part of the cooking team. He said: “I am an asylum seeker and I’ve been here in the hotel. [In November] I just moved over to Stockton. Just because I belong here in Leeds and I love the people and I call Leeds my home, so I still work here with the network and the Town of Sanctuary.
“Any social, any activities, any work, when I see it in the whatsapp group even if it costs me too much to come from there to join these people I do.”
Horsforth Town of Sanctuary is linked to the citywide Leeds City of Sanctuary and the nationwide City of Sanctuary movement. In Horsforth they are supported by Horsforth Chaplaincy Project.
The vision of the project is to be a town that is welcoming and inclusive to persons seeking asylum and refugees in the community. They have various events and projects which you can become involved with. You can find out more via the website.
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