Adrift – Refugee Week | Rochester Literature Festival

Adrift poster

To mark Refugee Week, we hosted an event in partnership with the Huguenot Museum on Saturday, June 25.

Britain has a history of offering shelter to displaced peoples, whether due to war or religious persecution, be they Huguenots, Vietnamese boat people, Jewish children escaping the Nazis or Syrians fleeing their war ravaged country.

We were delighted that the programme included speakers Stephen Goldsbrough from Medway City of Sanctuary, writer Sarah Hehir, who has seen at first hand the hope created by theatre in the Calais jungle, Major Haris Giannaros from The Salvation Army and Laura Teisler Goldsmith, founder of Help for Leros. A selection of short films by Syrian artist, Hala Georges, were also shown, when she spoke about her first hand experience of family trapped in the Syrian conflict.

Each talk was moving, heartbreaking and emotive but not without hope. You can hear all them here in due course, beginning with Stephen Goldsbrough.