Our free basketball school we organised with the aim of making the lives of immigrant and refugee youth easier begins. The basketball school, which we initiated in order to facilitate the lives of migrant and refugee youth and contribute to their adaptation to the country, is starting. ‘Hoops for Hope: Empowering Refugee and Immigrant Youth Through Basketball’, we will provide basketball courses to 100 immigrant youth living in London for 10 months.

The project will start in July 2023 and end in May 2024, during which time participating young people will receive basketball training at least twice a month. 2-day basketball camp will be organised during the Human Rights week in December. All trainees will be offered meals on training days. In addition, travelling expenses and sportswear will be provided for a certain number of students who cannot afford it.

Hoops for Hope: Empowering Refugee and Immigrant Youth Through Basketball is a new project aimed at supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged youth immigrants living in Greater London. Our focus is on providing basketball sessions that will help them to overcome barriers to accessing relevant services, reducing social isolation, and improving their physical and mental well-being.

We have extensive experience working with immigrant communities and have observed that many youth immigrants are struggling with a lack of social interaction and sports activities, resulting in social isolation and health problems. Many of them are also facing financial constraints or a lack of connection with their community, which limits their ability to access relevant services and opportunities.

We have been helping vulnerable and poor asylum seekers and immigrants who contacted us to seek help upon their advocacy, community and social needs, and legal process. We observe that many immigrant youth are struggling with a lack of social interaction and sports activities. As a result, many are experiencing social isolation and health problems. We are receiving inquiries from their parents who would like to have opportunities for engaging in social activities such as sports and social gathering.

The project will run for 10 months starting in July 2023 and will consist of supervised basketball sessions and two intensive basketball camps during refugee and human rights weeks. Our focus is on serving youth immigrants from Greater London, especially those living in highly populated, diverse, deprived, and multi-religious parts of Enfield, Westminster, Haringey, Harrow, Barnet, and Brent.

The beneficiaries of our project will be youth immigrants who are facing social and economic challenges, including a lack of access to relevant services and opportunities for social interaction and sports activities. By participating in our basketball sessions, these youth immigrants will have the opportunity to improve their physical and mental well-being, make friends, and become more engaged with their local community.

The impact of our project will be significant, as it will help to reduce existing structural inequalities and future social issues for immigrant communities. By providing a safe and supportive environment for youth immigrants to participate in basketball, we aim to improve their self-esteem, confidence, and social skills, which will have positive ripple effects in their personal and professional lives.

Through this project, we also aim to promote social inclusion and foster a sense of community among youth immigrants living in Greater London. By connecting them with each other and with local resources, we hope to help them feel more integrated and supported, thus contributing to a more cohesive and resilient society.

Women volunteers of HRS participated in the Million Women Rise (MWR) March on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD). The action in London took place on Saturday, March 4th, to increase participation.  The participants protested against the violence against women and the pushbacks during the march, which started at Duke Street and ended at Trafalgar Square. HRS participated in the march with the concept of a refugee boat and two female mannequins symbolising a refugee woman and her daughter. The concept underlined the fact that women and girls are traumatically affected by pushback incidents even more so than men.

HRS’s concept was a response to a most recent shipwreck, which ended with the drowning of 62 refugees, 12 of them children, on a boat that sailed from Turkey toward the European Union. Refugee boats leaving Turkey often face pushback by Greek authorities. Since 2021 252 people have died as a direct result of pushback policies. 126 of these deaths took place on the Turkish Greek border. Reports suggest that more than 17.000 people died en route and within Europe between 2014 and 2021 while trying to reach their final destinations in a European country. “Pushbacks are not only causing deaths but also creating a political culture that normalises the use of force against asylum seekers and leaving them to die in unsafe waters. These policies will not diminish the number of refugees. They will only force the refugee waves to change form. The next generation will face climate migration on a much larger scale. Governments should stop pushback policies once and for all and see through that the responsible are held accountable,” said Merve Aslangoren, the Chairperson of HRS.

HRS is a registered charity operating in London and has been participating in the Million Women Rise marches for the third time this year. HRS promotes human rights with a particular stress on refugee rights and the rights of the future generations.

By Asiye Betul

This August, me and my activist friends found each other in a state of despair and overwhelmed by the events happening throughout the year. It wasn’t only a disgraceful year for our government, which would send asylum seekers to Rwanda if they had not been stopped by activists, lawyers and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). But also for British law and human rights. Also, as immigrants who have faced injustices by the state and knew what it was like to be alienated and discriminated between our communities, we knew we could never stay silent to another person facing the same thing. And we decided it was time to take action.

 We stood in Trafalgar square with our “Justice Wall”, a 1.8-meter tall wall made out of fabric, where we promote free speech and demand all human rights. This time our Justice Wall was themed after asylum seekers and refugees still facing discrimination by our Home Office and Government. We aimed not only to demand their justice but also to deliver messages of support and solidarity to them. Central London, especially Trafalgar square, which is located near Soho and Westminster, was the perfect location.

 We had children coming up to our wall and leaving welcoming messages for asylum seekers, toddlers drawing hearts and people hand to hand (which was my absolute favourite part of this project), tourists leaving messages of solidarity in their own languages, and many supportive messages such as “Do not dare give up” and “You are loved, and welcomed”.

 This project might not sound like a very big deal at first, but for me, it was London and the people of London showing their true faces. It was London telling us that, despite its government, we are welcome, and If there we were in a place of danger and discrimination, the people of London would not stay silent and stand up for us. An act of solidarity on its own.

Injustices may rise, but we will not prevail. The names of those who do injustice will be forgotten, but our strength and solidarity will always be remembered. So will we 🙂