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Refugee Week celebrations come to The Mall Marlands Shopping Centre, Southampton

12 June 2007

A combination of music, drama and performance will bring The Mall
Marlands to life on Friday (June 22nd) as part of Southampton's
Refugee Week celebrations.

Shoppers will be entertained by Carribbean Lites, a youth steel band,
and by R & B group Knife Tricks.

Two ten-minute dramas penned by Nigerian refugee Frank Okey Collins
will also be performed, highlighting the experiences of people who seek
refuge in the UK and of women who are trafficked.

The event has been organised by Refugee Action, a national independent
charity that helps refugees build new lives in the UK. It marks Refugee
Week (18th to 24th June), a UK-wide festival that celebrates the
positive contribution that refugees made to the UK.

Mike Brown, deputy manager of Refugee Action's Portsmouth and
Southampton office, said: "We hope that this event will provide people
with both information about the plight of refugees and trafficked
people, as well as entertainment through the music and performance. We
hope that shoppers will feel they can enjoy the event and have their
questions answered."

The event will run from 11am until 4pm and will be situated in the
centre of the shopping centre.

Ends

For more information please contact Julia Ravenscroft, press officer at Refugee Action, on 0161 233 1956 or 07771 748 159.

Notes to editor:

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.