Animation commissioned by Counterpoint Arts for Refugee Week 2019.
Stories told with a few cups of tea!
Made in consultation with local refugee groups DASH (Desperate Asylum Seekers Huddersfield), Sanctuary Kirklees and Kirklees Council and Yorkshire Spirit’s Carry My Story Project.
More about Refugee Week and our project here
This won the Royal Television Society Yorkshire Best Animation in 2020.
You, Me and Those Who Came Before
It’s a challenge being a refugee,
trying to live up to those who came before,
And learning how to drink your British tea.
The climate’s hostile, surely you agree?
It never rains, you complain, but it pours.
It’s a challenge being a refugee,
though we now have a flat with our own key,
no longer dread the knock upon the door
and getting used to cups of British tea.
You too, at times might feel the need to flee.
No one knows what their life has in store.
It’s a challenge being a refugee,
keen to prove how useful we can be
to a welcoming community like yours,
inviting us to take a cup of tea.
Thank you, that fewer nightmares there will be:
no more nocturnal images of war.
It’s a challenge, being a refugee,
though easier when sharing your British cup of tea.
Julian Jordon 2019