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ASYLUM EXPERIENCE COMES TO LIVERPOOL

Tuesday March 13th

The people of Liverpool have the chance to experience the life of an asylum seeker through a unique interactive exhibition that has arrived in the city.

The 'Escape to Safety' experience is a 40-foot trailer which takes people through a series of interactive rooms representing stages of an asylum seeker's life, from fleeing their country to going through the asylum system.

The trailer will be stationed at St Francis of Assisi School in Kensington from Monday March 12th until Friday 16th (from 10am to 4pm), when it will move to the premises of Asylum Link on Overbury Street, L7. On Saturday, 17 March it will be based in Williamson Square in Liverpool City Centre.

The event has been funded by City Safe and organised by Refugee Action, Kensington Regeneration, and Time Together at Asylum Link.

Refugee Action's Lila Khodja said: "Walking through the Escape to Safety Exhibition is an incredible experience and will give people an insight into what it is like to be a refugee. It is suitable for youngsters as well as adults and we hope lots of people will come along and find out about journeys that are both harrowing and uplifting."

All visitors to the trailer will also be given a £5 discount voucher for the play 'Kindertransport', which will be shown at the Playhouse Theatre from March 13th until March 17th. The play focuses on the arrival of young Jewish refugees from Germany before the Second World War.

An exciting exhibition produced by young people exploring their perceptions of asylum seekers before and after they have visited the trailer will also be on display at the Playhouse. Following a graffiti art session as a tool to explore the issues faced by refugees both in the trailer and from the play, the young people produced three canvasses expressing the beginning, middle and conclusion to a journey requiring refugee status. The third canvas in particular highlighting their hopes and aspirations for the future.

To book tickets call the box office on 0151 709 4776.

ENDS

For more information, or to request an interview or photographs, please call Julia Ravenscroft, press officer on 07771 748 159, or Lila on 0151 702 6313.

Notes:

• Refugee Action is an independent, national charity working to enable refugees to build new lives in the UK. We provide practical advice and assistance for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement through community development work, and received 30,000 visits from asylum seekers last year. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee Action has 25 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with refugees.
• Escape to Safety is run by Global Link.

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