Hastings Community of Sanctuary celebrates 10 years of supporting refugees

As Labour escalates its anti-migrant rhetoric and legislation in a bid to emulate Reform UK and the Conservatives, the voice of those seeking to understand and help refugees and asylum-seekers receives little attention. But it has not been stilled. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the movement that gave rise to Hastings Community of Sanctuary, a leading local vehicle for supporting those who come here needing our help, as the organisation’s Pal Luthra documents.

2015 was a turbulent year. The civil war in Syria continued unabated, and ISIL – the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – and its affiliates remained active in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Nigeria. The Arab Spring, along with aspirations for democracy, liberty and equality, had been crushed. ISIL’s genocidal war against Yazidis involved the rape and enslavement of Yazidi women and girls, as well as the mass killing of boys and men. The conflict between the Turkish armed forces and Kurdish insurgent groups also escalated. Millions were displaced mainly in Syria and Iraq, fleeing conflict and seeking safety, most within their countries or nearby.

In 2015 about 1.5m sought refuge in Europe. Many, including children, the elderly, and the disabled, walked for days or weeks, crossing borders, mountains and rivers. Some faced attacks and were turned away by security forces or militias. Others undertook the perilous journey across the Mediterranean. Their hardships were televised, but tabloids often dehumanised them, portraying them as ‘alien hordes’.

On 2 September 2015, Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old boy, was found lying face-down on a beach near the Turkish resort of Bodrum. His five-year-old brother also drowned. A total of 12 people, including five children, died after two boats carrying 23 people capsized while attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos. This plight of fellow human beings inspired a group of Hastings women to unite and create a Facebook page: Hastings Supports Refugees (HSR).

Beginnings

Marta Munoz, one of the founders, described how it all began: “I was horrified by scenes coming out of the Calais Jungle refugee camp and felt a deep empathy. Unable to leave my sick mother and new baby, I started a Facebook group called Hastings Supports Refugees to help others help. The group quickly grew to hundreds, and we became a strong team of mostly women delivering shelters, food, clothes and essentials to Calais.

“We organised and stood together, proving that caring communities can make a difference. One of my proudest achievements is helping create this anti-racist, refugee-welcoming community. Celebrating 10 years of Hastings Supports Refugees will be a proud moment, thanks to Jane Grimshaw and others for their incredible work.”

Jane Grimshaw, also a cofounder of HSR, commented that, “In the summer of 2015, people worldwide watched the refugee crisis unfold on the news. Beaches were a prominent focus that summer, with many weeping at images like Alan Kurdi’s small, lifeless body washed ashore in Turkey. We listened in horror as the Prime Minister, David Cameron, described the refugees gathered in a shanty town in the Calais dunes as a ‘swarm of migrants’.

“Initially, we were a group of around 10 members, uncertain about how to deliver aid to Calais efficiently. The group expanded rapidly: by the end of the first week, we reached 60 members; after two weeks, 150; and after a month, 600.”

By November 2015, HSR had contributed £3,200 for shelters, supplied clothing and firewood to the  Calais Jungle and delivered clothes and essential supplies to families in Greek refugee camps. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of local people and businesses. Olivia Cavanagh, one of the founders, told HOT: “We will use donations from upcoming fundraising events to continue to get aid to the places where it is most needed. In addition to supporting work abroad, we hope to use some of the funds raised for refugee communities already in Hastings and St Leonards. The local project, Links, has been supporting refugee communities for many years, and we hope to support them as much as we can.”

In 2015, David Cameron pledged to accept 20,000 refugees from Syrian camps over five years. Hastings Borough Council offered to take 100 refugees, 20 annually as part of the Syrian Resettlement Programme. Since then, Hastings has housed a higher proportion of Syrian refugees than most areas.

Standing up to the far right

In 2016, in response to the threat of a far-right march through Hastings, HSR organised a celebration, as a form of protest. Hundreds of people attended, sang, and danced in the town centre. HSR collected and sent one tonne of food aid to Calais.

On 11 October, an open letter signed by 39 local celebrities, as well as local councillors and community groups, and a petition signed by 600 local residents, were delivered to the constituency offices of Amber Rudd, the local MP and Home Secretary. The letter and petition voiced serious concerns that only 100 children were being relocated to the UK from Calais, despite there being at least 387 unaccompanied children in the Calais Jungle who had a legal right to be in the UK.

Reports indicated that the imminent demolition of the Jungle was scheduled for 15 October, putting all the children at grave risk. On Saturday 17 December, HSR organised a vigil for Aleppo to remember the victims of the terrible war in Syria. Over 100 local people participated in the vigil in solidarity with those suffering from the devastating conflict.

A Facebook posting by Jane Grimshaw on 31 December 2016 summed up the year:

HSR continued to collect essentials and raise funds to support projects in Calais and Hastings throughout 2017. For example, in August 2017, Zooms Arts held an exhibition and auction of art, which raised £340. In September the call went out for warm items:

As Syrian refugees started arriving through the Syrian Resettlement Scheme, it became apparent that refugees settling in Hastings and the surrounding areas needed additional support. In 2017, building on HSR’s extensive grassroots work, it was decided to join the national City of Sanctuary movement, which at that time counted around 100 cities and towns across the country. This initiative received wide local support, and on 13 December 2017 Hastings Borough Council unanimously passed a resolution to support Hastings’ bid to become a place of sanctuary and to implement the City of Sanctuary commitment to promote a culture of welcome for people seeking sanctuary, as expressed in the HCoS Pledges.

Currently, 346 individuals and 62 organisations have signed the pledge. Hastings Community of Sanctuary became a registered charity in October 2022. Its first chair, Felicity Laurence, comments: “Hastings’ formal status as a City of Sanctuary has in the intervening years become an accepted point of reference, constantly mentioned in many contexts.

Most recently, during the HBC council debate (16 July 2025) on the twinning of Hastings with the village of Al Mawasi in Gaza, HBC’s commitment to Hastings as a designated place of sanctuary was alluded to more than once as reflecting the wider values held by our town. As Cllr Yunis Smith put it: ‘That means something: it means we strive for a better community’.”

Initial projects

Initial projects carried out by HCoS included a series of talks, the Hastings Debates, from September 2017 until June 2018, starting with Rohan Jayasekera of East Sussex Freedom from Torture, followed the next month by Nadene Ghouri, a journalist and writer who had spent time in Syria. Other speakers included Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais, who criticised the UK’s refusal to accept responsibility for the crisis in Calais. She noted that the UK caused the problem by shutting its border in France and not allowing safe, legal routes for asylum seekers.

During 2018-2023 HCoS campaigned actively on the right to work of people seeking asylum, as part of the national Lift the Ban coalition which argues for the opportunity for people to work and contribute whilst their claims are being assessed, something they remain unable to do.

HCoS also campaigned on immigration detention, including the use of Napier Barracks; on the Nationality and Borders Bill (passed into law in May 2022) and the Illegal Immigration Bill (passed into law in May 2023); and the Rwanda scheme. HCoS has been active at both local and national level, collaborating with partners including Asylum Matters, Together With Refugees, the national Detention Forum and local organisations working with and for refugees and people seeking asylum.

HCoS aimed to expose and oppose the government’s racist asylum policies, including deportations to Rwanda and criminalising small boat arrivals. It engaged in outreach via street, church, shop and community efforts, contributed interviews, letters, and articles to media, held public meetings and rallies both in person and online, and organised a petition with nearly 1,300 signatures. In March 2022, it presented a petition and an open letter to MP Sally Ann Hart, calling for humane asylum policies.

Beach response

In September 2021 HSR established the Beach Response Group run by volunteers to welcome traumatised newcomers arriving in our town after being rescued from small boats crossing the channel by the RNLI. This provided immediate humanitarian aid, in the form of dry clothing and blankets. Local shops and bars helped by providing snacks, hot drinks and food. The people of our town helped and supported this essential venture every step of the way by donating to our crowdfunder and providing the much needed supplies.

In 2021 the People’s Boutique offered free clothing with fun, respect and dignity for children and adults seeking asylum and refuge in Hastings. The boutique event was repeated in 2022 and 2023. In the winter of 2022, the Home Office booked hotels in Hastings to house asylum seekers. HSR and HCoS supplied basic clothing, personal hygiene items and games, working closely with the Refugee Buddy Project throughout 2023.

The Home Office announced in March 2023 that a disused prison in Bexhill would house asylum seekers. Several demonstrations under the rallying cry ‘No to Northeye’ opposed the proposals, mainly on community safety grounds, claiming that asylum seekers pose a threat of increased criminality. In reality, detention centres like Napier Barracks and Manston had been disastrous, with reports of poor conditions and mistreatment.

HCoS campaigned against the plan, arguing that detainees would be held in terrible conditions with little support.  In March 2023, HCoS organised a public meeting, Communities Not Camps, in partnership with The Refugee Buddy Project. The new Labour government finally shelved the Northeye plan in 2025.

Sanctuary Festival

One of the most significant milestones for HSR, which is now under the umbrella of Hastings Community of Sanctuary, a registered charity, is how a one-off Picnic by the Lake became the Sanctuary Festival.

Polly Gifford, an inspiration and driving force, explained: “In 2017, Sanctuary Festival, then called The Picnic by the Lake, started as a one-time event to welcome Syrian refugees after Hastings embraced the City of Sanctuary movement. It was held at Ashburnham Place near Battle, a beautiful country estate. Our goal was to promote sanctuary and provide a joyful day for traumatised newcomers without emphasising their pasts. The first festival drew 500 people and grew with acts like Liane Carroll and John Hegley, thanks to support from Ashburnham Place and many volunteers. Funding from The National Lottery helped cover rising costs.

“During the pandemic, the festival moved online. In 2021 the festival found a new home at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery. It felt right to come into the centre of the town, making the event more accessible, and to be part of a renewed commitment by Hastings Museum to work for and with local communities, leading to them becoming a Museum of Sanctuary in 2024.”

The event now showcases refugee talents and engages local communities through stalls and activities. Over 2,000 people attended in 2024. After a break in 2025, Sanctuary Festival aims to continue fostering a welcoming community and celebrating the things that bring us together.

In 2023 and 2024, an extra Comedy night was added to raise funds for Freedom From Torture and the Refugee Buddy Project. HCoS helped East Sussex Libraries and Hastings Museum & Art Gallery earn Library of Sanctuary and Museum of Sanctuary designations, showing their commitment to welcoming refugees and people seeking asylum.

Future challenges

The Labour government, elected in July 2024, promised change. After a year, positives include shutting the Bibby Stockholm barge and dropping the Rwanda plan. However, safe routes are still needed, and no new ones have been added. The focus on deterrence and ‘smashing gangs’ overlooks why people turn to smugglers and dangerous journeys. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement schemes are closed. Meanwhile, thousands of Syrians await asylum reviews, paused by the Home Office. Keir Starmer’s ‘Island of Strangers’ comment was harmful and regressive.

In February 2025, the Government introduced the second reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. It has since passed through the report stage and third reading in the House of Commons and will next proceed to the House of Lords. The Bill concentrates on border security, aiming to ‘smash the gangs’ and take action. It repeals the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, abolishing the ‘Rwanda Plan’.

Despite some positives, the Bill still includes troubling provisions. It does not amend or repeal the provisions of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 that criminalise asylum-seekers based on their mode of arrival. It permits the detention of children and denies protection to trafficking victims. It also retains many provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, barring nationals from specific countries from applying for asylum. It prioritises security and deterrence over protecting vulnerable groups, with no mention of creating new safe routes for seeking asylum.

The Bill is a departure from the UK’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights and foundational principles of fairness and justice.

Since the racially motivated attack at a hotel in Southport housing asylum seekers in September 2024, there have been numerous threatening and violent protests, infiltrated and supported by extreme right-wing groups, outside hotels in Belfast, Norwich, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Leeds, Epping, and London, causing fear. Recent anti-migrant demonstrations near asylum hotels have been followed by reports of vigilantism, with people of colour subjected to abuse and attacks.

These developments emphasise the importance of HCoS’s efforts to promote a welcoming environment for refugees and asylum seekers in Hastings and to build an inclusive community. It remains committed to working towards a fair and compassionate asylum system, which includes safe and legal routes for seeking asylum in the UK. HCoS will also continue to offer practical support and raise funds for local and overseas projects. It will work with local organisations, businesses, schools, and colleges to promote a culture of welcome and solidarity, alongside encouraging community cohesion and ‘hope not hate’.

The last 10 years of action have been driven solely by volunteers. If you would like to get involved, email info@hastings.cityofsanctuary.org.

 

A vigil to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi will be held on the Warrior Square sea front at 6pm on Friday 5 September, called by Hastings Supports Refugees, the Refugee Buddy Project Hastings, Rother & Wealden and Hastings Stand Up to Racism.

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