Letter Exchange, March 2021
Pious and Katrine read out their exchange of letters at the Walking Inquiry zoom gathering on 13 March 2021. Pious is a trustee of GDWG and has lived experience of detention. Katrine lives in Denmark and works supporting refugees.
Dear Katrine,
I remember us coming together early in the morning and seeing very friendly and lovely faces of different people on a walk. It was very good weather and we all walked together in conversation and when we walked I remembered those who are locked up in detention. We were walking in solidarity.
Today I walked on my own, the weather was clear and I could see sunrise. When I walked I wished I was walking with Refugee Tales and remembered how we walked together as a group and shared ideas, how we talked about so many things and how people took part. I saw lots of buildings today, people on their way early in the morning, joggers, cars, and beautiful trees along the streets. Whilst I was walking and looking at nature, I wondered what you are doing in Denmark today and how you are feeling. Are you also wishing you were walking with Refugee Tales? As I write to you, I wonder how you feel too.
I don't know if you know about the Walking Inquiry, Katrine? It looks into why people are detained and brings awareness about detention. It's important to me because the public doesn't really know much about detention. People don't realise what it is like. They hear about immigration in the news but don't know what happens behind detention walls. I think people need to know and the Inquiry needs to happen so law makers realise the impact on lives. I'm happy to be part of it and to say things I feel should be known. I'd like to find out from you if you have similar issues in Denmark about people being detained. Would you share that with me? I'm happy that people all round the world are joining with the Inquiry to help us reach a common aim.
Are you locked down in Denmark as we are in London? I've been sorry we haven't been able to walk because of the pandemic and I can't wait to walk with everyone again. Lockdown has been very stressful for me. My faith keeps me going and has brought me this far. I never lose faith and never lose hope. I believe tomorrow is going to be a brighter day. I hope others who are behind bars will also keep up their hope. I want Refugee Tales to give hope to those who are waiting, to encourage them to never give up and that one day their wait will all be over. How is it for you? I have tried as much as I can to keep busy, I took an online course, I play Sudoku, I like reading and I take an early morning walk every day to keep going. Easing lockdown is something I am looking forward to. I hope Refugee Tales will walk this year. I hope you keep well, have a lovely weekend and see you later.
Sending greetings from London, your friend,
Pious.
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Dear Pious,
Thank you for your letter. It was lovely to read about what occupies your mind these days.
Like you, I have memories of walking with Refugee Tales. I think about the mild summers, beautiful landscapes and being surrounded by caring warm hearted people and lots of happy faces! I think about the conversations we've shared and the friendships I've been taking with me back home to Denmark after.
Walking must be my preferred way of dealing with feelings of being stuck. Though walking doesn't cure pandemics or change societies it helps because it reminds me that I am always in a position to move. I am happy to hear that your morning walks are helpful too, that you keep going, though times are hard. When I received your letter I had been on a walk, alone, in the forests outside my city. It was a cold sunny day and I noticed the first signs of spring. It made me hopeful. The country has been under lock down since mid December, but things are slowly starting to turn. Children are back in school and many are now getting vaccines. What I miss the most is seeing my friends, hugging and being around lots of people without worries. Maybe we will get there soon?
You ask about the situation with detention in Denmark. We do have similar issues, though the system here looks different. When a person is waiting for his asylum case to be processed he will stay at an arrival centre managed by the Red Cross. Sometimes this takes a long time leaving people in uncertain situations with no clear vision of a future. Deportation centres are managed by the Danish Prison Centres. Here, individuals and families who have had their asylum case rejected live in the same premises as people with criminal records under prison-like conditions. For some, the restricted life appears as a life sentence because getting on a plane out of Denmark will never happen voluntarily - it is a matter of life and death. Many people in Denmark are very concerned about the conditions at those centres and their effects on mental health, especially for children. I spend my days working as a psychologist with refugees who are traumatised in ways that require specialised treatment and I am too very concerned. There are days where I feel incapable of making any difference because we are up against large scale societal issues. But your words are encouraging and I agree: We need to keep going! - say the things that need to be known. Refugee Tales always reminds me that it does make a difference when we support each other, when we talk and turn to each other for help - or a hug! - and when we walk. Let's hope we can soon again get together and do all this as a community. I am really looking forward to it.
With hope and all my best wishes,
Katrine