Refugee week is 18 – 14 June. We had originally hoped our photographic exhibition at Bournemouth Library would coincide, but we had to make do with the whole of April instead. The Mayor, Councillor Lawrence Williams, and Mayoress of Bournemouth opened our the exhibition – they are pictured, below, next to the Tapestry created by Amnesty groups in the South.

The main focus of the exhibition was the historic plight of refugees and features 30 photographs taken by photographers from the Magnum agency over the past 70 years. The photographs document some of the issues surrounding refugees from the mass upheaval and displacement of the post-war years to the present-day crisis in Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan. It also ties in with AIUK’s current “Refugees Welcome” campaign.

The Tapestry depicts the 30 articles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). This was originally created to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 and to highlight the continuing importance of the protections afforded by the UNDHR. The Tapestry spent 6 months adjacent to the Magna Carta at Salisbury cathedral. Since then it has travelled to other venues around the south.

As this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of UNDHR, we think this is a great opportunity to display the Tapestry and bring attention to the 30 articles.

Throughout the exhibition we had a video loop, compiled by Tom Wilson. This had several short videos highlighting some of the issues and reasons Amnesty International exists. Two of the most powerful, by Save the Children, are below. As refugee week approaches, do watch them and share – at 90 seconds and 2 minutes they won’t take long, but you won’t forget what it must be like for a refugee child…

We don’t usually post about street collections, but this was a bit of an exception. At the best of times, street collections are not exactly fun events. If you want to experience the feeling of being invisible, without consuming anything illicit, stand on a high street holding a collecting tin.  However, historically we have still managed to collect around £500 from the three street collections we have traditionally held each year (in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Wareham). It’s worth adding that street collections are quite tightly managed by the respective councils. You have to apply some time in advance for a permit and are allocated whatever day is available.  The regulations also stipulate what you can and cannot do (no shaking!!) and where you can collect.

It’s worth pointing out that Bournemouth council have sold off the Square to a private company and Christchurch council have done likewise with Saxon Square. Consequently these areas our out of bounds when doing a collection (Bournemouth Council also forbid collecting in the Gardens). But the main problem with street collections has been a poor showing from the kind people of the respective towns. They seem to have forgotten (or never been taught or told) their role in a street collection: – you stop, you rummage for some change, you apologise for how little you’ve got, you clumsily try to get it through the too small slot in the tin, you accept the offer of a sticker (mainly so you can pass other collectors without guilt), you either proffer a finger, shoulder or bag to affix sticker to (and not a chest!). Simple…

After poor returns – particularly in Bournemouth – we haven’t applied for permits on Bournemouth or Christchurch this year. We should add that the problems listed above have been exacerbated by having fewer volunteers willing to take part in this increasingly unproductive ritual. We had also missed out on Wareham for a couple of years for other, more logistical, reasons. But, despite the distance some volunteers would have to travel, we decided to give Wareham another go.  The residents of Wareham had always been very receptive – hopefully they would remember their role in proceedings.

We needn’t have worried. We were only on the streets of Wareham for two hours, with four collectors, but raised a fantastic £92.35.  This may not sound a huge amount, but a couple individual collectors  got over £25, which compares with an average of less than £10 for two hours in Bournemouth. What’s more, people were genuinely friendly, often keen to talk and aware of some of the issues (and who Amnesty International are). Some even commented they’d missed seeing us recently!  Interest has also been shown in setting up a Wareham group.

So, a big thank you to Wareham, we enjoyed our morning. And we’ll be back.