Sir,

Next week, 18th to 24th June, is Refugee Week. But we now seem to have a whole plethora of special days or weeks, each highlighting one cause or another, so why this week dedicated to refugees?

Refugee Week started back in 1998 as a response to the hostility that was being reflected in the media and society in general towards refugees and asylum seekers.

It aims to challenge negative stereotypes, and to offer myth-busting facts in the face of the widely peddled media misinformation that deliberately sets out to fuel anxiety and distrust in host communities.

Refugee Week is an opportunity to get a better understanding of why people have to seek sanctuary in another country.

A refugee is defined as someone who is forced to leave their country and who seeks protection in another country because of "a well-founded fear of persecution in their own country for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion".

Just imagine: what must it be like to be forced out of your familiar surroundings, leaving behind your family and friends, and having to abandon your work or education?

This year, Refugee Week has the theme of 'different paths, shared future'. Many refugees have overcome extreme difficulties and made a huge contribution to their sanctuary countries. Some are famous.

Modern science would be unimaginable without the refugee Albert Einstein. Then there's the comedian Omid Djalili, or the architect Richard Rogers, both from refugee families. Or the children's writer Judith Kerr, the list goes on.

But many other refugees are not so famous, and may never become household names. However, that does not mean that they have no contribution to make.

With the Olympic Games now almost upon us, Refugee Week will be focussing on some unsung heroes – and heroines – from widely differing paths, all quietly making their own contributions.

There's Cynthia, who fled Zimbabwe in 2005. She worked for an organisation that successfully campaigned for more than 1,000 Olympic workers to be paid the London Living Wage.

During the games she will be leading a team of catering staff. Another is Téa, a musician who fled the Bosnian war. She will be performing at the Olympic opening ceremony.

Monmouth's local Amnesty International group will be highlighting some of these unsung stories at its coffee morning on Saturday 23rd June.

Amnesty will be serving at the Priory coffee shop from 10am to 12.30pm.

Everyone is welcome to come along. It's a chance to help in a very simple way, just by signing a card, or writing a letter – or just have a coffee.

Amnesty will also be collecting dry grocery goods for a local refugee centre.

Marian Fretter

(Amnesty International, Monmouth & District Group)