Charlbury Refugee Action Group (CRAG)

SeptemberNews2

Newsletter 25/9/17

We are into our third year…

Charlbury Refugee Action Group has just concluded its second financial year. Let's review where we have got to.

CRAG in perspective

Membership has grown to 210.

Most of our activity is in the form of fundraising, that's £17,100 in our financial year just ended and £9797 in the previous year. Most went to grassroots relief organisations in Greece and France, much of it via the charity Help Refugees. Two of us separately raised a further £4470 when we visited Calais in September last year.

That's a total of over £31,000 since CRAG was set up in autumn 2015. Not to mention the hundreds of tents, sleeping bags, coats, socks, gloves, rugs, medical items, food packages and the like that have gone from Charlbury to France, Greece and Syria. All thanks to you and our supporters.

Some of this is in the form of Gift Aid which (if you are eligible) you can add to personal donations you make to Help Refugees using our CRAG donation page. We've just launched a new page at mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/charlburyrefugee . Giving in this way ?" rather than, say, through a collection box ?" adds a whopping 25% to the value of your donation.

Working with Witney

We help Witney Refugee Action with their collections of clothing, bedding, medical requisites etc. These go to High Wycombe Helping Refugees, and from there in containers to Greece and Syria.

On Saturday 30 September some of us are going to Asylum Sounds, an international musical event in Witney. There will be bands, DJs, live art and poetry as well as a speaker from the International Refugee Committee and a woman talking about her experience of fostering a refugee. Both the speakers will stay on to talk with interested parties. It's in the Rock Barn, High Street, Witney OX28 6BB from 2 till 11pm. Last year's event -- the first -- was a roaring success as well as a major fundraiser. Find the latest information on their Facebook pages, Witney Refugee Action and Asylum Sounds 2017. The IRC are supporting the event, and their speaker will explain what is involved in becoming a community resettlement sponsor.

Witney Refugee Action are themselves in the process of applying to become a community resettlement sponsor. This means being assigned a family through the Home Office, as part of the Government's resettlement scheme. It has been brought about because district and city councils are simply not coping with the task, given all the cuts imposed on them since 2015. CRAG has agreed in principle to support Witney in this work in whatever ways we can, and if you would like to be involved, please let us know.

More campaigns

In recent months we have been campaigning for the protection of unaccompanied child refugees and will continue to do so until adequate steps have been taken to ensure their safety and welfare.

Many refugees continue to drown in desperate attempts to reach European countries. Despite this the EU has withdrawn its search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Only a few NGOs continue to provide this vital lifeline and they are being harassed for doing so. We are also concerned about the deteriorating situation in Calais amid ongoing police violence.

We encouraged members to join a summer letter-writing campaign on the issue of child refugees, which we propose to continue in order to keep up the pressure on the government.

Another Art Café!

Coinciding with the Charlbury Artweeks Christmas event, on Sunday 19 November we are holding another Artweeks Café in St Mary's from 12 to 4. We are serving coffee, tea and cake and your help in advance (baking a cake!) or on the day will be much appreciated. charlburyrefugeek@gmail.com

Tea concerts

As we said in our last newsletter, our series of Sunday Tea Concerts will continue this winter. All are now listed at www.charlbury.info/community/88/Concerts, and this will be updated as and if needed. Each concert is held in the Memorial Hall, Charlbury at 3pm. They last approximately one hour. Tickets are £10 and include tea and cake (under 15s, £5) and may be reserved by emailing charlburyrefugee@gmail.com. (For general enquiries phone 01608 811378.)

Reserved tickets should be collected and paid for at the door by 15 minutes before the performance. Otherwise seats cannot be guaranteed. Subject to availability, tickets may be bought on the door. Seats are unreserved.

Our next concert is on Sunday October 15th

Improviso
Fatima Lahham (recorders), Elin White (baroque violin), Florence Petit (baroque cello), Johan Löfving (theorbo)

Improviso is a specialist period instrument ensemble formed when its members were studying at the Royal College of Music, They have since performed widely both in the UK and Europe. They will play works by G.P. Telemann and Dario Castello interspersed with their own improvisations.
More details at www.charlbury.info/events/4772

Bring and Buy: start getting ready!

CRAG will be holding another Bring and Buy on January 6 in the Quaker Meeting House. Please note the date and start putting by any unwanted items that we can sell. We shall raise hundreds of pounds, and it's an easy way you can help.

And as always, up to date information on refugee affairs can be found on our Facebook page. LIKE AND SHARE!

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