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Hundreds of people have been enjoying music with an international flavour in Birmingham during the 'Celebrating Sanctuary' free open air festival in Victoria and Chamberlain Squares as part of Refugee Week. Video and pictures The Celebrating Sanctuary festival was on June 16th and 17th and hosted a wide range of festivities to mark National Refugee Week, celebrating refugees’ contributions to Birmingham’s cultural life and promoting understanding in our community.
Celebrating Sanctuary offers people the chance to enjoy the different cultures refugees bring to Birmingham and helps people understand why people are forced to flee their countries. "The festival has been a great success over the last years," says Fatima Happy, chair of the Celebrating Sanctuary committee.
“Historically Birmingham has a long tradition of accommodating refugees and they have contributed to our society". World music and dance Artists who took to the stage on Saturday (June 19 2006) included Son de la Vie - a Congolese band from Wolverhampton, Albanian band Shipte Lira, Cameroon dancers, Daholl Kurdish Ensemble and African music and dance group Hohodza.
The music drew people together, with people from different, countries, cultures and races coming together to dance and to find out a little more about each other. "It isn't a crime to want to live" As well as enjoying the music and dance, people were reminded by the festival compere that, "Being a refugee isn't a crime. It isn't a crime to want to live. It isn't a crime to escape torture".
Visitors were invited to sample Iranian and Vietnamese cuisine, Cameroonian dance, have therapeutic massage by refugees volunteering for the British Red Cross, or sit down and talk with local refugees and workers to find out what it is really like to claim asylum in the UK. Refugees in Birmingham Did you attend the Celebrating Sanctuary event in Birmingham? Tell us about it here. | 
