At Thousand for 1000 we are thrilled to see the outpouring of support and practical solidarity offered to assist people needing to flee the war in Ukraine. This is not a new phenomenon. We were thrilled by the response of our communities to the long summer of migration in 2014, the ongoing horror that is Calais and, most recently, the willingness to support an evacuation from Afghanistan.
It is great that there is a legal route for Ukrainians who need to flee the invasion of their country. We wish to see that extended to people trapped in Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and to anyone anywhere who needs to go into exile. We also wish to see it expanded so that there are no bureaucratic barriers whatsoever to prevent people from reaching our shores. There is no need to make people have to arrange accommodation with a kind stranger before granting them the right to travel here. As we are seeing right now in eastern and central Europe, communities will come together to find solutions if large numbers of people arrive on our doorstep. As our neighbours KRAN like to remind us, it has even happened here.
We are committed to supporting people who have been made homeless for the non-crime of crossing the border. We aim to practice a form of radical hospitality that starts from the recognition that we share a world with others. We have to find a way of making that work regardless of differences of opinion, religious persuasion, taste or skin colour. War is not politics by other means. It is the refusal to find a way to live with difference at its most brutal.
On a practical note, we are not able to facilitate the government scheme. If you do want to be part of it and you have a spare room, we urge you to get in touch with our partner organisation Room for Refugees. They have been organising hosting for forced migrants since 2002. We have worked with them for the last six years and are always in need of more hosts in Brighton.
If you do not have a spare room, and even if you do, and would like to help find homes for people, we urge you to make a small monthly donation. Together, out of our small change, we can make space for all.
