Journalists reach out to help refugees in the North East

Union members have reached out to show support and offer help to their fellow news-gatherers from overseas, and others who have had to flee their homeland.

After hearing of the difficulties facing refugees relocating to the North East members of the Sunderland, Shields and Hartlepool branch of the National Union of Journalists wanted to help.

The branch has made a donation of £100 to support the work of the North of England Refugee Service which as offices in Newcastle and Sunderland.

Kurdish Iraqi photojournalists Ako Ismail and Shaho Omar , are both freelance journalists who fled their homeland in Iraqi Kurdistan to seek refuge in Britain.

They have been closely supported and mentored by the branch.

Both now live and work in the North East and for the past two years have worked in collaboration Newcastle-based Skimstone Arts to use their creative skills to promote great understanding and awareness of the impact of war and conflict on refugees forced to flee oppression and persecution.

Their latest work is a thought-provoking exhibition Fear or Freedom? consisting of fragments of real stories, poems, songs, photographs, drawings and lyrics that have been contributed by artists, photographers, musicians, and also young people living in the North East of England. It was exhibited in the Newcastle City Library until January 24, 2024.

In 2022 they created a powerful short documentary film “The Smell of Apples” and a photographic exhibition titled “One Day Changes,” showing human stories about the long-lasting impact of war and its consequences on their homeland and border Middle East.

The exhibition and film was shown in three cities in England and was acquired by Durham University.

 Ako and Shaho accompanied branch chairperson Tom Fennelly to hand over the donation to Dr Mohamed Naseldrin, director of the North of England Refugee Service, who gave a short explanation of the history and work of the NERS  which is an independent charity working to support people seeking refuge in the UK.

They have been invited to work with NERS to help celebrate the organisation’s 35th anniversary later this year as well as getting involved in Refugee Week and other activities.

Ako said : “It is not just about the money although this is important to support the work of NERS. It or more about networking and understanding the needs of refugees. I am pleased that our NUJ branch decided to help as this can only lead to better integration.”

Dr Naseldrin thanked the NUJ for the donation saying :”It is important that we can work with local organisations to ensure that we can support refugees on every step of their journey, as well as speaking on their behalf, defending their right s and making sure that they are treated fairly.”