Refugees: Cardiff choir event shows creativity

Modupe served tea and cake for the latest refugee apparel sporting her new Cardiff and Wales hoodie

Modupe fled Nigeria to come to the UK three years ago.

She sought asylum here, due to fears over the life of her eight-year-old son who has a brain condition and needs constant care.

"From the father's side, they believe it's a curse and they believe he will be sacrificed," she said.

She is still awaiting a Home Office decision on her family's status, which is proving difficult.

"I am the only one caring for him and I sleep just four hours in 24 hours."

In Modupe's new home in Wales, her two children accompany her at a special refugee event with the Oasis One World Choir, her arms outstretched as she joins in a specially composed song, Home Away from Home.

"Every time I come, I feel very elated and I'm always happy," she said.

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Refugees need support

“There are people in other countries struggling and they need our help”

Featuring at the same event at Cardiff's Temple of Peace, an art exhibition by asylum seekers who were housed at the ex-military barracks in Penally in Pembrokeshire. That site has since stopped housing asylum seekers.

Eduardo, a refugee from El Salvador, was sent there. "It was a military camp, not a place to accommodate people. It was a mistake."

His artwork depicts a representation of the universe. "I was trying to relieve the symptoms of frustration," he says.

When he came to the UK, he thought he could do a lot of things.

"The whole world right now is realising refugees need support in so many ways. We cannot just keep thinking about ourselves but what we can do to change their lives."

“I was trying to relieve the symptoms of frustration,” he says. “To have a universe of possibilities.

Community musician Laura Bradshaw stresses there are people in other countries struggling and they need help.

"We're OK here. We can be the kind people and help. It might be us next. Who knows?" she said.

"I think it's something that needs to be shouted from the rooftops - the Ukraine thing has brought it into our living rooms more."

This project aims to promote the idea of Wales as a nation of sanctuary.

Laura is working with people who've gone through extreme difficulties.

Refugees from Ukraine

As Wales and the rest of the UK lays out plans to accept refugees from Ukraine, one woman who has already made the journey talks about her experiences.

Lora fled eastern Ukraine for the UK in 2014. She was finally granted leave to remain last year.

"It took seven years to prove to the Home Office that we were not in a safe place" she said.

Her heart is back home in Ukraine she adds, where her parents still live.

"It is very hard especially for those in eastern Ukraine who had to flee their homes and now they have to flee again," she said.

But she clings to the hope that the torment will end.

"If I didn't have optimism, I wouldn't be here today.

"There is a lesson we need to learn - a better future for the next generation."

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