On a wet and windy Sunday (30 October), 75 people including families gathered in Bottle Alley to make brightly coloured orange paper airplanes carrying messages of hope and welcome to refugees. They were then launched, Filling the Skies with Hope. Polly Gifford writes.
Hastings Community of Sanctuary are holding an event on Sunday 30 October, called ‘Fill The Skies With Hope’. Co-chair Polly Gifford writes.
It was national news recently when it was reported that people on Hastings beach shouted ‘horrible’ abuse as they tried to block the launch of the local lifeboat on the way to assist a small boat in distress carrying refugees. One consequence of this was that donations to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) shot up. Another was that the Council statement on the matter had no Councillors’ names on it.
The government’s Nationality and Borders bill promises dire consequences for refugees if it becomes law. Hastings Community of Sanctuary has convened an online public meeting to help publicise the threat. Nick Terdre reports.
Safwa Chowdhury, who joined Hastings Community of Sanctuary during the first lockdown, has found the periods of restrictions hard to bear, but contact with refugees in immigration detention has convinced her they face a much tougher ordeal.
Following the mass outbreak of Covid-19 at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, where several hundred asylum-seekers are being kept in inhumane conditions, Hastings Community of Sanctuary has arranged an online event next Monday to provide first-hand accounts of what is happening there. Nick Terdre reports. Photos by Care4Calais.
A mass outbreak of Covid-19 has taken place in Napier Barracks, Folkestone, where the Home Office has consigned several hundred men seeking asylum in overcrowded and deprived conditions under the unsympathetic care of a private contractor. Felicity Laurence, from the Campaigns Team, Hastings Community of Sanctuary (HCoS), reports on an increasingly desperate situation. All photos by Care4Calais.
A well-attended vigil was held in the Stade Open Space on Sunday to mourn the family of five who lost their lives in the Channel last week. Seeking refuge is not a crime but a legal right, Polly Gifford of Hastings Community of Sanctuary told the gathering. Nick Terdre reports.
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