Campaigners from Horsham join demo to show support for refugees

This weekend a group of Horsham campaigners joined tens of thousands of people in a march through London to show support for refugees.
From left: Marie Campbell, Carmel Daly, Ian Campbell, Mark Daly and Bernie Daly. Photo by Leah Parker-TurnockFrom left: Marie Campbell, Carmel Daly, Ian Campbell, Mark Daly and Bernie Daly. Photo by Leah Parker-Turnock
From left: Marie Campbell, Carmel Daly, Ian Campbell, Mark Daly and Bernie Daly. Photo by Leah Parker-Turnock

Parishioners from St John the Evangelist Catholic Church, travelled to London to walk alongside thousands of people in a march through the city showing solidarity with refugees, before attending a rally at parliament square.

This month, world leaders will meet to discuss the issue of refugees and migration at two United Nations summits - including a gathering of world leaders hosted by US President Barack Obama. This rally was the biggest opportunity of 2016 to show the government that many people in the UK care about the refugee crisis.

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Geoscientist, Mark Daly from St John the Evangelist, Horsham, said: “If I had a message to send to refugees, it would be in the words of The Beatles, ‘All you need is love and love is all you need’. We should all welcome everyone into our homes to prevent suffering.

“I think overseas development is really important, I have supported CAFOD for over 20 years and I really love their campaign to write messages for refugees. It is a way of bringing everyone together and to care for our common home.”

In September 2015, tens of thousands of people marched in London in response to the refugee crisis and to tell the government that they welcomed refugees. That same week, the government agreed to resettle 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian Refugees.

In an effort to show support for refugees, a large and varied group of organisations including CAFOD, Amnesty International, and the National Union of Teachers worked together to host the march in central London. CAFOD and Christian Aid, alongside other organisations, held an ecumenical service before the march at St James’s Roman Catholic Church, to show unity and pray for refugees.

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Supporters of the Catholic aid agency CAFOD were holding hand-written messages to refugees. The charity launched an appeal in May inviting people to share their messages of hope and welcome and have so far received over 8,000 messages from over 130 different organisations, parishes, and schools. The messages will be dedicated at a special event in November to mark the end of Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy.

Contributed by CAFOD

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