Exploring Wales’ Recent Heritage of Refugees and Sanctuary
Blog feature by student placement Maryam Ginwalla, June 2024
Wales as a Nation of Sanctuary
Wales is working towards being a Nation of Sanctuary, which is a title given due to their support for refugees and asylum seekers, making Wales a welcoming environment for people from all around the world. The Welsh national consensus shows us how this support has increased as the decades have passed, with 2021 highlighting just under one million people living in Wales having been born outside the country.
People claim asylum for a variety of reasons, the most common being fleeing from persecution and conflict. Wales has historically been a place where people have sought sanctuary, shown with thousands of Belgium refugees coming to Wales after WWI, setting an impressive precedent for the decades to follow.
A Community:
Wales as a whole has a wide support network for refugees and the following links are helpful resources that have created a community for refugees within Cardiff specifically. A few religious sites local to Cardiff are also included, as they all add to the diverse community.
Welsh Refugee Council is a brilliant organisation that works across Wales to support asylum seekers and refugees once they are in Wales. They provide a variety of resources such as English classes and appointments to understand casework. They also are involved with the following website which may be useful in helping asylum seekers and refugees understand their rights in the UK- Sanctuary | Choose a path (gov.wales).
Oasis Cardiff – Oasis is a charity organisation that directly supports refugees and asylum seekers, providing English classes, hot meals, and a variety of fun activities to get involved with alongside the local community.
Space4u – Home (space4ucardiff.co.uk)– Space4U provides a variety of support, including twice weekly English classes along with refreshments, advice and practical help people may need. They also host conversation classes with Cardiff STAR.
(Instagram- @cardiffstar)- Cardiff STAR is a university society that holds weekly conversation classes for refugees and asylum seekers, creating friendships and a warm environment.
LGBTQ | RefugeeCardiff– They provide support through helplines and coffee mornings, specifically for LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers within Cardiff, with helplines and even dance lessons to get involved with.
DPIA – Supporting Refugees & Asylum Seekers in Wales since 2001– Displaced People In Action (DPIA) help refugees and asylum seekers across Wales to empower them in being more confident through a variety of classes, play sessions for children and forums.
A few religious sites local to Cardiff include:
Dar-ul- Isra, Canton Uniting Church, Cardiff United Synagogue, Shree Swaminarayan Temple and the Sikh Gurdwara Temple.
Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Migrants:
Asylum Seekers- Someone who has been forced to flee their country due to danger and has come to another country to try and seek sanctuary.
Refugees- Someone who has been successful in seeking sanctuary and has been granted asylum.
Migrants- someone who moves from one country to another, generally to find work or higher quality of living conditions.
Most of the case studies below will focus primarily on refugees and asylum seekers, however it is significant to recognise that some of these groups will include economic migrants; all of which has contributed to creating a diverse environment across Wales.
