Amnesty International East Devon Group and Black Lives Matters Sidmouth joined forces to mark Refugee Week and protest against Government policies on refugees and asylum seekers.
They gathered on Sidmouth seafront on Tuesday, June 21 and collected 70 signatures on a petition calling for ‘a humane and effective’ response from the Government to the global refugee crisis.
Amnesty organiser Fiona Anderson read the words of Congressman John Lewis, the American civil rights activist, urging us all to speak out whenever we see injustice.
Helen Matthew from BLM Sidmouth read Ben Okri’s poem Migrants.
Fiona said: “The group had some great conversations with passers-by and were heartened to meet visitors already hosting Ukrainian refugees in their homes.
“Several Sidmouth families, including Amnesty East Devon members, are waiting for families in Ukraine to get visas, which is still proving an over-complicated and over-bureaucratic process.”
Both groups are on Facebook, and Amnesty East Devon has its regular meeting on the third Tuesday of each month at Twyford House, Coburg Road, Sidmouth.
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