Backpack display unveiled to mark World Refugee Day

A backpack display has been unveiled in central London to "encourage empathy" towards refugees and asylum seekers.

In commemoration of World Refugee Day, the art display features a number of backpacks and luggage tags with testimonies of people who have journeyed to the UK.

In London, more than 26,000 asylum seekers receive support from local authorities, according to the latest government figures.

Commissioned by the charity Migrant Help, the artwork can be seen at London South Bank Riverside West until Thursday.

Behind the artwork, called Bags of Hope is Sophie Cunningham.

She hopes passersby will see "the personal narratives behind the statistics" and obtain a greater understanding of the plight of refugees.

The backpacks, which are stitched together at the seams, will eventually be unstitched and used.

Ms Cunningham says she was drawn to using backpacks after listening to stories from her partner who fled Afghanistan as a child.

'Unimaginable trauma'

Macbis Maldonado, who is waiting for a decision on her asylum claim, is hoping to study for a master's degree in teaching

Caroline O'Connor, CEO of Migrant Help, hopes the display will bring the stories of refugees to life.

She says "no-one chooses to be a refugee" and people seeking asylum are "forced to leave their homes through unimaginable trauma".

According to the charity Refugee Council, more than 75,000 asylum applications to the UK have been made in the past 12 months.

It also estimates that nearly 175,000 people are awaiting an initial decision on their asylum claim.

Among these is 32-year-old Macbis Maldonado, who attended the artwork's unveiling.

She is seeking asylum after fleeing political persecution in Honduras.

Speaking ahead of the event, Ms Maldonado said some people felt she wanted to "live off the government" but this was wrong.

"I just want to live a normal life and feel safe; everybody should be granted that right – to build a life again."