About
The Refugee Community History Project has collected the previously untold stories of refugees who have settled in London since 1951 in order to highlight the enormous contributions they make to the city.
This major initiative to record refugees' first hand experiences for current and future generations to explore ran from June 2004 to April 2007. Over 150 refugees from 15 different groups have taken part. This web site contains sections -- both audio and text -- of those refugees' stories.
Refugees flee to foreign countries, like the UK, because of persecution in their home country, or because of a well-founded fear of persecution. This may be because of a refugee's race, religion, nationality, social group, political opinion, or as a result of war.
The project is run by the Evelyn Oldfield Unit as a partnership and is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the City Parochial Foundation, through the Trust for London.
The project won the 2006 Charity Award for arts, culture and heritage.
The interviews collected by the project are archived at the Museum of London and constitute an extraordinary and unrivalled collection of testimony based material on the subject of refugees in the UK, they also formed the basis of the major exhibition Belonging which ran from November 2006 to February 2007. In addition the project has produced a variety of educational resources based upon the material collected including CD ROMs, a short film collection and a mobile exhibition. These are available free of charge.
Refugee Contributors
In the first year:
Latin American Community:-
Alfredo Cordal;
Jorge Salgado-Rocha;
Octavio Lopez Garcia;
Carolina Sterling;
Javier Marin;
Juan Calle;
Sergio;
Mercedes Rojas;
Mentor Chico;
Hector Fernandez;
Berter Roque Techera;
Maria Eugenia Bravo;
Henry Bran;
Afghan Community:-
Wahida Zalmai;
Lailuma Joyan;
Nayeem Azim;
Shabibi Shah;
Fawzia Anwari;
Hooshang Paigir;
Wahed Abawe;
Mohammad Akbar Kargar;
Abdul Naser Sazish;
Zarghona Rassa;
Former Yugoslavia:-
Zlatko Pranjic;
Bekim Berlajolli;
Mebusane Hoxha;
Natasha Kocsis;
Zaim Pasic;
Tamara Janjic;
Luka Gakic;
Amna Dumpor;
Dulsa Bajraktarevic;
Iraqi Community:-
Souad Al-Jazairy;
Nawal Jebbo;
Emad Al-Hamadani;
Amani Al-Sitrawi;
Fayhaa H. Abdulwahab;
Clair Meshal;
Hameed Abid;
Mahdi Mahdi;
Ramiz Abbawi;
Arij Al-Soltan;
Sadiq Toma;
Abdul Ilah Tawfik;
Falah Hashim Ahmad;
Kurdish Community:-
Sibel Toygun;
Mehabat Salih;
Shaho Qadir;
Emrullah Ozdemir;
Sherko Zen-Aloush;
Shom Shaswar;
Berivan Dosky;
Kamal Mirawdeli;
Mina Swara;
Council for Assisting Refugee Academics:-
Marta Zabaleta;
Maknun Gamaledin Ashami;
Alexis Ndibwami;
Djordje Gveric;
Mohamud Gure;
Fatin Altuhafi;
Laszlo Magos;
Nahro Zagros;
Eva Magos;
Mohamed Abdalla El Jack;
Amna Bedri;
Lewis Elton;
Tamil Community:-
Mr. Vanchees Janarthanan;
T. Bhurana Sundararaja;
Paul Sathianesan;
Puthiyavan Rasiah;
Chelliah Ratneswary Ratnayake;
Maheswary Balasingham;
Miss T.S. Vadivelu;
Shivakuru Selvathurai;
In the second year:
Chinese Community:-
Thomas Lin;
Liu Ying;
Sally Song;
Gao Peiqi;
Dang Trinh Phong;
Tham Sit Yee;
Yu Qin;
Yang Duong;
Chen Tung;
Tibetan community:-
Kesang Y. Takla;
Somali Community:-
Abdimajid Saeed Ahmed;
Ahmed Ismail Hussein;
Faiza Mohamed;
Mohamed Adan;
Ugaso Mire;
Abdulkadir Shire Farah;
Mohamed Maigag;
Mohamed Jama;
Osman A. Hassan;
AbdiAziz Dirir;
Zamzam Dhoobaane;
Eritrean Community:-
Mercorios Haile;
Surafiel Yacob;
Fessahaye Gebregiorgis;
Tesfay Sebhat;
Radia Omer Ahmed;
Asmeret Tesfazghi;
Gherie Weldeyesus;
Kirubiel T. Abraha;
Tzeggai Yohannes Deres;
Berekti Asfeday;
Mahmoud Lobinet;
Ugandan Community:-
Hilary Nyeko;
Bosco Lam;
Johnson Charles Amone;
Patrick Opendi;
Olowang John Obalim;
Balam Oola;
Jesca Aryemo;
Jimmy Ogwok;
Rafaat Mughal;
Stella Oryang;
Ethiopian Community:-
Beleyu Muluneh;
Alebachew Desalegn;
Wondimu Mekonnen;
Aselefech Belete;
Admassu Jemere Wonde;
Mekaleya Eshete;
Tekola Workneh;
Bri Yaya;
Eyasu Woldetsadik;
Dawit Zergabachew;
Yeshi Tadesse;
Turkish Speaking Community:-
Yaşar İsmailoğlu;
İbrahim Doğuş;
Hasan Demir;
Yusuf Açıl;
Zübeyde Arabacı;
Hatice Güneş;
Zeynel Can;
Feride Baycan;
Akgül Baylav;
Kağan Güner;
Roma Community:-
Julius Balog;
Marek Tancos;
Danuta Wisniewska;
Andrzej Huczko;
Ilona Marjanska;
George Goral;
Anna Kondracka;
Marek Czureja;
Roza Kotowicz;
Patrick Neuman;
Hanna Siwak;
Latin American Community (LAWRS):-
Nidia Castro;
Teresa Perez;
Vladimir Vega;
Maria Etty Marin;
Teresa Salazar - Hope;
Elena García;
Marta Hinèstroza De La Ossa;
Asdrúbal Jiménez;
Henna Jarb de Diaz;
Sonia Roldan;
Orlando Trujillo-Bueno;
Cristina Navarrete;
Ulises García;
Other:-
Fabrice Muamba;
Anba Farhan-Ali;
A further three refugees asked to remain anonymous.
