To celebrate World Day of Social Justice on Tuesday 20th February 2024, local charities International Care Network (ICN) and Citizens Advice Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (CABCP) are joining up to highlight the barriers faced by Refugees and Asylum Seekers within our community.

During the week of the 19th – 23rd February, they will be sharing information, facts and stories which will serve to emphasize local and current problems faced by these minority communities in accessing Social Justice, and how we might overcome the problems.

The themes they will be campaigning on will include:

• Access to Legal Aid
• Positive Stories
• Access to Housing and Homelessness
• The Hidden Barrier of Language Accessibility
• Access to Work

Anna Smith of ICN and Kirsty Pemberton of CABCP said:

‘Refugees and Asylum Seekers are sometimes portrayed negatively, but what we see as charities is the positive contributions they often make to our society under very difficult circumstances. Our charities believe that all people should be able to access their human rights with dignity and equity, but there are problems in the system that can mean that Social Justice for this group is hard to access. Campaigning for change is part of our charitable responsibility, but we also want to highlight the amazing stories from people we meet along the way.’