Live music from

Saidi Kanda & Mvulamandondo (Traditional East-African Music Meets New Africa)

Son Guarachando ( Cuban, Latin, Salsa Band )

 

"LOVE is in the air!

There is more to love than romance. The Sussex Refugee Migrant Self Support Group know this first hand. We had to leave all that we loved to rebuild our lives in a new country. We set up Refugee Valentine to celebrate diversity and the complete spectrum of our love. Don't have another dull date with your partner.

 

Come party with your newest neighbours and celebrate a love that crosses borders

Sussex Refugees and Migrants Self Support Group (SRMSSG) set up Refugee Valentine because forced migrants are very socially isolated and very disempowered in general. Winter is always harder, and Valentine’s Day can be especially lonely if you have no money to access traditional activities. The celebration of monogamous pair bonding can be traumatising for people who have had to leave partners, wives, husbands and family behind. It can be triggering for people whose precarity more or less precludes them from such relationships. We know from our own lived experience. We set up Refugee Valentine as an antidote to these problems. It provides an opportunity to be with others and celebrate who we are and what we have to offer. Asylum seekers, refugees and precarious migrants are people who have already crossed borders to find love in new communities. They can show us the way to transcend differences. It’s differences that bring us together, and Refugee Valentine takes love beyond monogamous pair bonding, to begin with rebuilding a community that celebrates difference. Brighton & Hove is a welcoming City of Sanctuary that celebrates its diversity. Refugee Valentine is also about experiencing some joy in the face of the hostile environment and government policy for those caught on the wrong side of the border. By supporting this event, you are not only providing a moment of joy for the asylum seekers, refugees and precarious migrants but also contributing to the creation of a more inclusive and understanding community.