24 Feb 2023
Ripped from their homelands by a fear of violence or death, then thrust into a strange new country where barriers of language and culture keep them isolated, it takes a remarkable person to use these experiences to create works of art and verse.
Yet a handful of asylum seekers living in St Albans’ Noke Hotel drew on their painful pasts to contribute to a reflective and ambitious interactive exhibition at the Cathedral, providing sketches, collages, photos, poems and music as a storytelling tool.
The Seeking Asylum in St Albans project is curated by art historian and community events assistant Fiammetta Falchi as part of a year-long programme of activities focusing on the themes of hope, hospitality and migration.
She explained: “It has been designed to raise community awareness regarding the asylum seekers in St Albans as well as asylum in general. Visitors embark on a journey through the artists’ lives and experiences as asylum seekers and learn about their dreams and goals for the future.
“Tradition and new media merge to cast light on the challenges that millions of people around the world face very year, every minute, when they are forced to begin anew in a foreign country.”
Throughout November and December, Fiammetta carried out a number of preparatory art sessions with Noke residents thanks to the assistance of Rev’d Canon Kevin Walton and volunteers from the Cathedral and local community.
“These workshops soon became a safe place for them to gather and a unique opportunity to give voices to their stories which otherwise would not be heard. The outcome was 13 fantastic pieces of artwork, along with a strong relationship between the Cathedral, the community and the asylum seekers.”
Two of the contributors are university student Joel, 28, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and psychology teacher Fernando, 31, who hails from El Salvador, who met with us ahead of seeing the exhibition for the first time.
In surprisingly good English, they explained how they had ended up in the UK and what they are trying to convey through their work.
Joel was driven to leave his country because of his involvement with a political movement which worked to raise awareness of state corruption and anti-democratic activity through social media and demonstrations.
After joining a multi-agency demonstration into vote-rigging last May, the police searched Joel’s family home, intimidating his mother and urging her to give him up for arrest. Afterwards she contacted him to warn him to leave the country, and he jumped on a plane to the UK.
Following a period living in Lewisham, the Home Office relocated him to St Albans and he has been living at the Noke ever since.
“It has not been easy. I had many weeks without sleeping. I lost weight, I wasn’t eating, and I was very troubled. My GP gave me some tablets to help me sleep and now I’m improving but it is still not easy.”
After attending one of Fiammetta’s workshops in November, Joel sketched a self-portrait designed to express his internal feelings.
“Drawing helps me to put out what I have inside of me. I was thinking, ‘what can I choose to draw to express what I’m feeling?’ I was not feeling well at that time, and I thought why not show what I look like now? It’s like a desire, if you want to feel peace you need to choose a way to show what you are feeling.
“I know what I need to achieve in the future, but now I feel I am in a circle and turning around, not knowing what will happen tomorrow. I never thought that I would become an asylum seeker, the plan was to work hard and maybe travel to see some other countries.”
Regardless of where he has ended up, Joel remains keen to share his sense of optimism and hope: “If I try to go back home now I will be killed – they keep looking for me – but I’ll keep fighting, I know I’m stronger than everything I can face, I believe in myself, I believe in God and I believe in my future. Life is not only what I am facing now, it’s just a period of time.
“I know that there are other people who will face the same situation as me and I’m going to be an example to them to motivate others, because we have shared experiences. I didn’t choose to live this life, but Jesus and God planned this situation for me to motivate others to be stronger than me.
“If I succeed in getting through this hard situation then others may think, ‘why not believe in the future?’
“Even if life is not giving you what you need you have to be happy, you have to be sociable, you can’t just stay in your room and cry. The Joel I am now is not the same person I used to be.”
Fernando fled to the UK in March 2022 following the murder of his little brother by gangs caught up in gun-running. Because his body was never recovered there was no funeral, and the escalating situation eventually became too dangerous for Fernando and his family to stay.
His mother and sister sought asylum in Italy, and Fernando eventually escaped to the UK.
“The weather is very different, El Salvador is tropical and here it isn’t! It’s hard, I miss my friends and family, and I miss my home. I work in St Albans and feel secure here as it’s a good town with friendly people, but I don’t feel integrated because of the language, the culture, the food, it’s complicated because I don’t feel a part of it. It’s a different life to what I had in my country, I feel safe, but it’s difficult.
“I try to enjoy the little things and show this through my drawing and collages, like travelling on a train, the different seasons, taking photos.
“You choose how you perceive life, if you only look for the bad things you will feel in limbo, but the other option is to enjoy all the new and different things. Celebrating the differences.
“I enjoy the four seasons – in El Salvador it’s only winter or summer, the trees don’t change colour and the leaves don’t drop. This week I went to St Albans and saw the first flowers of spring, which to me are the perfect symbol of the renewal of life. I enjoy these things in the memory of my brother, who will not experience them.
“I have dreams, I hope to live in the UK and have a flat with a small bike, but it’s very complicated. I live one day at a time.”
The free Seeking Asylum in St Albans exhibition can be seen in the north transept of the Cathedral until February 26. For more information, to listen to accompanying music and find out more, visit www.stalbanscathedral.org/Event/seeking-asylum-in-st-albans
