Diss in Norfolk has a long history of welcoming people fleeing violence and persecution including those fleeing religious oppression, antisemitism and war. In 2023, its Park Hotel became a temporary home for asylum-seeking families. Earlier this year, a group formed with the aim of making Diss a Town of Sanctuary within the City of Sanctuary movement.
What is the City of Sanctuary movement?
Its UK incarnation was founded in Sheffield 20 years ago, inspired by the sanctuary cities of the United States. It is dedicated to welcoming and supporting people forced to flee their homes and seek asylum in the UK. In Diss, a newly formed steering group is working to ensure that asylum seekers feel supported and integrated into the community.
The movement offers a counter to the right-wing media portrayal of migrants in a negative light. This portrayal tends to make any work in support of refugees and asylum seekers appear misdirected, wasteful and crime-enabling.
Demo and counter-demo
In Diss, the conversion of Park Hotel was by no means uncontested. When five anti-migrant protesters and their dog stood outside the hotel, they were met with an overwhelming show of support for the migrants from 150 local people in counter-protest. This stark contrast underscores the growing community-led movement to challenge negative stereotypes and build a more inclusive town. Ironically, it was this protest that was one of the triggers for the formation of the Town of Sanctuary group.
City of Sanctuary’s claim is: “We are building a movement of welcome by supporting and encouraging sectors to embed solidarity, compassion and inclusion within their work.” Sectors it has touched so far include schools, universities, colleges, local authorities, arts, libraries, health and maternity bodies, faith groups and charity shops. It encourages these to take good practice into their own work and maintain it in a dynamic process of “learn, embed, and share”.
A set of relevant resources and websites for those sectors can be found at cityofsanctuary.org together with a link to generic criteria that any organisation can take up. Around 600 in the UK have already done so.
Around the islands
Many towns and cities in Britain and Ireland have local City of Sanctuary groups. The one in Norwich thrives. It boasts the favour of over 35 local organisations, and its activists encouraged and supported the movement to make Diss a town of sanctuary. If they succeed, it will not be their first town win with the message. Thetford Town Council, encouraged by activists from Norwich, agreed to support City of Sanctuary in 2019.
During Refugee Week in June 2024, the library in Diss hosted a glass mosaic workshop, a display in the library of refugees’ stories, and a photography exhibition on the theme of Home. The town’s United Reformed Church hosts a fortnightly friendship club, where Park Hotel residents can have a drink and a snack, talk about their lives and seek help with issues that have arisen for them and their families. Local authority support services come too. The ever-changing hotel population of about 40 residents include Afghanis, Syrians, Kurds and Iraqis making it a bustling hub of cultures and languages.
Local artist Teri Lockton said:
Diss has been receptive to the idea of becoming a town of sanctuary. Having had the experience of being able to meet and work with the residents of the Park Hotel on an art project, I have found it very rewarding. The residents are enthusiastic and the feedback has been incredibly positive. Although many have limited knowledge of English, this activity gives them an opportunity to come together as a community.
“Schrödinger’s Migrant” is the one who takes other people’s jobs and somehow, at the same time, lives idly on benefits at their expense. City of Sanctuary’s narrative, as exemplified in Diss, looks a lot more coherent and truthful than that. They are quietly proving that another way is possible. In aiming to become a Town of Sanctuary, this small community’s ‘commitment to welcome’ is rewriting the story of migration, one act of solidarity at a time.
East Anglia Bylines wishes the movement well.
With thanks to Brian Guthrie and Gail Arnold. Disclosure: Aidan Baker is active in the City of Sanctuary Faith Groups stream in Cambridge.
