A call for kindness and compassion for all those seeking asylum in the UK was the key message at a packed event organised by Stroud District Together with Refugees at St Laurence Church Hall in Stroud last week.
The award-winning Afghan writer Gulwali Passarlay spoke about his experiences of travelling as a child refugee out of Afghanistan to seek safety. Sent away by his mother in 2006 at the age of 12 because his life was under threat, he travelled for a year across Asia and Europe, at the whim of people smugglers and facing untold dangers and hardships. Yet when he finally reached Britian, he faced a further struggle for several years to convince the authorities of his young age – they insisted he must be aged 16 – and for his claim for asylum to be granted.
Gulwali’s riveting story is described in his autobiography The Lightless Sky, and he now acts as an ambassador for refugees. In the last nine years he has visited around 450 towns and cities and nearly 100 schools, promoting his message of understanding and compassion.
“If you care about human life, you have to care about all human life, not be selective” he said.
“People leave their countries and make such dangerous journeys because they just have no other choice. Trying to stop the people smugglers or cut off routes won’t work – people will always find other, even more dangerous ways through. Not until we have safe routes for people and a fair system for granting asylum will things change.”
During a fascinating evening, Gulwali was interviewed with great empathy by Stroud Book Festival co-chair Caroline Sanderson. He touched also on the moments of human kindness he encountered on his year’s journey, and his frustrations at the new Labour government’s apparent unwillingness to take a more compassionate approach to the plight of those seeking asylum.
A further captivating moment during the evening was Archway pupil Safa reading aloud her prize-winning story, telling how her family had to flee Afghanistan as it fell to the Taliban in 2021. The audience were also treated to delicious home-made Afghan snacks kindly provided by Safa’s mother. The evening concluded with a delightful retelling of a traditional Afghan tale – one of many traditional stories collected from refugees from twenty-five countries and published in an anthology Stories from our Homes in celebration of the twenty-five years of GARAS. (Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers)
All thirty copies of Gulwali’s book The Lightless Sky, kindly supplied by Stroud Bookshop, sold out instantly at the end of the evening.
