Refugee Week 2025: celebrating the power of community

Read more about Refugee Week 2025 and what it means at the British Red Cross

 

As the UK’s largest independent provider of refugee services, the British Red Cross is proud to be a national partner of Refugee Week (16-22 June). 

Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. 

This Refugee Week, we want to showcase the power of community. When a person has been forced to leave everything and everyone they have ever known and loved behind, community is vital. It provides a space to heal from trauma, to learn new things, and to meaningfully participate in that person’s new community.  

Whether someone needs urgent support, help understanding the immigration system, or to reconnect with family, British Red Cross staff and volunteers are there to listen, guide, and connect them with the right support.  

There are everyday kindnesses we can show each other, and we can all be a part of something bigger to help people feel less lonely. 

Kamal's story

Kamal, who is from Afghanistan, initially came to the UK in 2023. He had been representing UNICEF Afghanistan playing cricket at the United Nations Inter-Agency Games in Portugal, and planned to return home after visiting relatives. 

After friends warned him that returning home would put him in serious danger due to the risks he faced for his liberal political views and for supporting education for girls, he sought asylum in the UK. 

Separated from his family, Kamal found a community at the British Red Cross, joining as a volunteer. He is now employed as a business support manager with the refugee services team. 

“When I saw the slogan ‘The power of kindness’, it really impressed me that there were people giving hope and encouragement to people in a difficult situation,” says Kamal. “So because I can speak several languages, I thought, ‘Why not contribute to that good cause?’” 

Kamal would visit the Red Cross office in Leicester three or four times a week, supporting caseworkers with interpretation assistance in Pashto, Persian, Dari, Urdu and Hindi. 

“Volunteering was really important to me,” Kamal says. “Doing what I could to help in the community made me feel like I was part of society.” 

Kamal’s family are due to join him in Leicester in a few weeks. His priorities now are to support his children with their education and to support his wife, a doctor banned from working in Afghanistan, to obtain the qualifications she needs to work for the NHS. 

“I believe in empowerment for women,” says Kamal. “That’s something really big for me because I came from a country where women are not allowed to go out to work. I want to empower my wife and daughters to be independent, not dependent.” 

 

Finding a voice in a new community 

The VOICES network is a collective of refugees and people seeking asylum who speak out about issues that affect them. The network runs in towns and cities across the country, and advocates on issues including the right to work, family reunion, and immigration detention. 

It's also a place for people to share their experiences and journeys, and find their creative voice. 

You can enjoy some of the poetry created by members of the VOICES network on their website at the link below.  

• Read "Let them fear our faultlines" and other poetry by VOICES network member Zarith.
• Learn more about our support for refugees.
• Get help as a refugee.