Londoners urged: 'meet some refugees'

10.53.59am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 20th Jun 2006

London's Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Baroness Sarah Ludford is urging Londoners to get involved in the many events taking place around the capital to mark "Refugee Week." She said:

"This week's events provide an excellent opportunity to challenge the negative stereotyping of refugees that has become all too common in this country, and recognize the positive contribution that refugee communities have made to British culture."

"I hope Londoners will get involved, find out more about the challenges faced by those forced to flee their homes, and hear some personal stories."

Speaking ahead of a visit this week to Serbia and Kosovo with the European Parliament's Balkans delegation, Sarah added:

"As well as working towards a fair and compassionate asylum system, the EU must also fully use its power to prevent the kind of crises which force people to leave their homes, nowhere more so than in the Balkans."

"Less than 20 years ago we saw refugees from the Balkans pour into the EU as a result of the bloody civil war in the former Yugoslavia. Now the EU is able to use its leverage to ensure similar situations do not arise in the future. "

Notes

-Refugee week runs from 19th-25th June 2006

-To view the full list of events planned go to http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/Events/calendar.htm