Barnet is proud of its status as a Borough of Sanctuary – awarded in 2024 – and to our heritage as a place where people from all over the world have been welcomed and been able to thrive over many decades. We were able to celebrate some of our newest arrivals at the Refugee Week events that ran throughout the last week.
Sport can often be a language that binds people together, and, recognising that, a Refugee Week football tournament took place on Friday 20 June, organised by the Saracens Foundation, Lift and Barnet Council, at the StoneX Stadium in Mill Hill. More than 30 people took part, with medals and trophies presented to the winners. The council’s Sanctuary Team hopes to make this an annual event.
Celebrations reached a culmination on Sunday 22 June, with a festival event on the theme of ‘Community as a Superpower’ at the Meritage Centre in Hendon. Over 90 guests were joined by the Mayor of Barnet, Leader of the Council Cllr Barry Rawlings and Cabinet Member for Equalities, Poverty Reduction and the Voluntary and Community Sector, Cllr Zahra Beg, for the event. Many of those in attendance spoke powerfully about their personal stories and journeys to Barnet – including a doctor who fled Afghanistan weeks before it fell to the Taliban who has now qualified to practice medicine in the UK, and a Ukrainian musical trio who performed traditional Ukrainian music to the gathered crowd. We also heard from a young man who, with the support of his parents and school, has taken up boxing and is already succeeding in tournaments around the country.
Cllr Beg said: “This year’s Refugee Week theme is about community being a superpower, and some of the stories we heard demonstrated this vividly and profoundly. The theme that emerged was the importance of not giving up, embracing life and the importance of giving back to the nation they now call home. This event was also about recognising the rich tapestry of people from diverse backgrounds that make up the borough of Barnet, and this event was a marvellous way of showing the joy that can come from diversity.”