Refugee Week 2019

Overview

Every year, Refugee Week sees thousands of refugee-inspired events take place around the world, to raise awareness of refugees' experiences and celebrate their contributions to society. Taking over Australia from Sunday, June 16 to Saturday, June 22, the 2019 festival is offering a myriad of film screenings, feasts, gigs, art exhibitions, theatre shows and more. The theme is #withrefugees and, more specifically, "share a meal, share a story".

Get along to the Footscray Community Arts Centre from 6pm on Tuesday, June 18 to watch Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time, a film co-directed by Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani — who has been held in the Australian-run Manus Island detention centre since 2013. Or, over in Coburg from 6pm on Thursday, June 20, you can catch This Is Home, a documentary about four Syrian families starting a new life in Baltimore, US. All proceeds from the latter will go towards Second Stitch, a textiles studio run by refugees and people seeking asylum.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Museum Discovery Centre in the CBD will run free screenings of Meet Fadak, an intimate documentary featuring 25-year-old lawyer Fadak Alfayadh who, 16 years ago, left Iraq as a refugee.

If you're looking to feast, everything from celebration dinners to community lunches to coffee welcoming ceremonies are also on the agenda.

In Australia, Refugee Week is coordinated by the Refugee Council.

Image: Chauka, Please Tell Us the Time.