UNHCR at Glastonbury
It’s not all about then music. But then you know that already, as Glastonbury’s association with good causes is as important to the organisers as picking the headlining acts. And though Water Aid adverts are hitting the Pyramid Stage’s screens, there are multiple other tents and information points around the site dedicated to similarly worthy efforts.
Hannah Lily, Legal Protection Assistant for the United Nations Refugee Agency, is heading their onsite team for the weekend. She summarises the role of the UNHCR as ‘a watchdog, the job being to make sure that the governments that have signed up to the Geneva Convention are properly carrying out their obligations to refugees.’
Based by the Pyramid Stage, the focus of the Glastonbury weekend is about raising awareness of the plight of Sudanese refugees. Kids camps will be running to encourage youngsters to take an interest in the issues faced by refugees through various activities, and the Camp Challenge, a short quiz which draws comparisons between Glastonbury and a refugee camp in Chad, is available to all. It’s a real eye-opener, especially after learning that the happenings in Sudan have been described by the UN as, ‘the worlds worst humanitarian crisis’, but has had only very little or selective news coverage around the world.
It’s the second time the UNHCR have been at Glastonbury, and the only festival that they attend. And why? Hannah explains, ‘The reason we think Glastonbury is a great place to be for us to be, is because of all the comparisons we can draw between the site and refugee camps in Chad. It means we can make people think; by pointing out that the conditions at Glastonbury are glorious in comparison to these camps- where refugees are living indefinitely. And we even had the rain- when people were cold and miserable here, it makes you realise how much worse things are for others.
She concludes; ‘Glastonbury has a great reputation, not only for the music but for attracting a crowd that have a social conscience and are interested in what’s happening around the world.’ And they seem to be having a great response so far,
‘We’re finding people are receptive to our message, and are asking questions and are surprised at what they’re learning. They seem to be grateful for the insight into these issues. I think we’ve only had one person making derogatory comments about asylum seekers, apart from that I’ve been overwhelmed by how people are prepared to take the time and effort to think about these serious issues.’
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