Refugee Tales

For the past two years I’ve been doing some drawings with Refugee Tales, an organisation calling for the end to indefinite detention for people seeking refuge in the UK. Every summer, Refugee Tales organises a walk which takes place over several days and each evening there is a big delicious meal and an event consisting of readings, music and often dancing. Then the hardcore participants spend the night in a temporary dormitory before starting again in the morning. It’s an extraordinary and wonderful community and I urge you to find out more through RT’s website and books, which are a series of tales written by people with lived experience of detention in collaboration with authors.

In the Summer of 2022 the walk went from Merstham in Surrey to Winchester in Hampshire, and I joined them in Guildford. All these sketches were made in situ.

Holy Trinity Church, Guildford. Music by Great Russell. Although walkers came from many faiths and none (like myself), we were often hosted by churches. It was spectacular to be in these places, receiving kindness from strangers. Refugee Tales evenings are open to people from the local community and are a mixture of readings from the Refugee Tales books which are often harrowing first-hand experiences of exile and detention, followed by riotous and joyful music and dancing.

Camping in the Holy Trinity Church

After the first night, I invested in a pair of earplugs.

Breakfast in Guildford. Breakfasts are really important and I wanted to document the work that goes on behind the scenes that keeps the walkers walking. Also I had tried previously to draw while we walked, I made myself a tool belt style pencil wrap, but I got travel sick when I tried to draw on the hoof, so it was the stuff around the walk that I decided I could best capture.

Loading the van

Our bags and beds were driven from location to location by a team of volunteers, who also made sandwiches and delicious hot food, set up the venues for evening events, planned and led the walks.

Evening event in The Maltings, Farnham, The Teenager's Tale' by Maurizio Veglio.

Breakfast in The Maltings, Farnham

As I sat drawing this image, a young man who had spent time in a detention centre came and sat quietly with me, and I asked him if he wanted to draw together. I didn’t expect him to say yes, but he did. It was such a beautiful moment, the two of us, communicating without words. Drawing is the one activity where I feel present and calm and connected in a way that I can’t recreate without my sketchbook.

John Hanging the Banner at St Lawrence Church, Alton.

Dinner Prep, Alton Community Centre

Walkers resting.

I’m really grateful to Refugee Tales for asking me to be part of this walk. If you are able to support RT, they have a Friends Scheme - you might recognise the illustrations!