Refugee Week: What’s Your Simple Act?

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This week (14th June to 20th June) is Refugee Week 2010 and has a great theme to get people involved: Simple Acts.

Simple Acts are, well, simple.  There are 20 simple things you can do, then you can share your act with others.  What’s the point, you might ask?  Well, even a simple act like ‘Learn to say a few things in a new language’ or ‘Cook a dish from another country’ or ‘Define the word refuge’ can get you thinking about what it means to be a refugee, to need to settle in a foreign country, to embrace new foods, new culture, new language and so on.

So my Simple Act is ‘Find five facts about refugees’ and I’m going to share them now:

• Fact 1: Asylum seekers account for only 3% of net immigration to the UK (Source)
• Fact 2: It is estimated that there are between 155,000 and 283,000 destitute asylum seekers in the UK (Source)
• Fact 3: The vast majority of asylum seekers are not allowed to work and are forced to rely on state support, which is set at just 70% of income support (Source)
• Fact 4: Refugees that have been based in the UK include: Sigmund Freud, Joseph Conrad, Albert Einstein and Michael Marks (of M&S) (Source)
• Fact 5: About 80% of the world’s refugees are living in developing countries, often in camps. Africa and Asia host more than three quarters of the world’s refugees between them. Europe looks after just 14% (Source)

There are 20 suggested Simple Acts on the Refugee Week site and another option ‘Your Simple Act’ where you can submit your own act so there are no constraints!  If you’re struggling for ideas, why not:

• Follow Simple Acts on Twitter
• Share some of the above facts or find your own
• Visit and share one of the following links:
  • Famous Refugees
  • Refugee Week – Simple Acts on YouTube
  • Simple Acts Page
  • Simple Acts Blog

Enjoy your Simple Act!