Positive Images Festival calling…
Positive Images Festival invites you to enter our competition, which we have linked to this year’s Refugee Week theme “Imagine”.

Who am I: an online activity for Refugee Week

The winner of our competition Who Am I, which formed part of Coventry Welcomes Festival 2020, is Kim Hackleman.

The following are descriptions of people who fled their war-torn countries and sought refuge here.

Some are the children of parents who felt compelled to leave because of risks to their lives. They ended up doing great things. Some are no longer with us. We are rightly proud of their achievements.

1. Rita Ora - I came here from Kosovo, with my mother Vera, a GP. Both of us and my sister, Elena, have joined the nationwide battle to beat Covid-19. As volunteers, we are delivering prescriptions and checking on the elderly. Just imagine the difference we volunteers are making!
2. Mo Farah -  I was born in Somalia and came here as an eight year old. Keenly interested in athletics, I have specialised in distance running. My most memorable moments were being spurred to victory by home crowds at the 2012 London Olympic Games. I have led fundraising campaigns for charities such as Global Malnutrition Initiative, UNICEF, etc. Can you imagine how these charities have changed people’s lives?
3. Hassan Akkad - I moved to London from Syria. I won a BAFTA for my film Exodus, which describes my difficult journey to Europe. During Covid-19 pandemic, I have volunteered as a cleaner in a hospital in London. My job is to disinfect the hospital. You simply can’t  imagine the number of thank you messages I have received. 
4. Freddie Mercury - I was born in Zanzibar. My family came to England in 1964. I joined the rock band Queen and became its lead singer. In 1985 I was privileged to perform at Live Aid, which raised vast sums of money for relief of the Ethiopian Famine. Just imagine how pleased I was to learn that the concert was watched by 1.9 billion people – a quarter of the world’s population at that time. I donated to charities anonymously.
5. Judith Kerr - I was born in Germany. When times were bad, my parents fled to Switzerland, then to France, and finally settled in Britain in 1936. When you were a child, did you enjoy reading the Mog books and The Tiger who came to tea? I wrote and illustrated all of them. I know what it means to be a refugee. So I supported several refugee children to give them a good start in life.
6. Shappi Khorsandi - I was born in Iran and was only 6 years old when my parents sought refuge in London. I am a stand-up comedian, a writer and an actress. Besides making people have a hearty laugh, I have helped to raise thousands of pounds for Great Ormond Streeet Children’s Hospital.
7. Alek Wek -  fled Sudan in 1991. After studying Fashion Business and Technology at the London College of Fashion, I started modelling and have been on the catwalk for several fashion houses. Recently, I branched out into acting. I have worked as an ambassador for the United Nation’s refugee agency UNHCR, creating awareness about the plight of refugees.
8. Fabrice Muamba - Born in Zaire, I moved to England at the age of 11. As a footballer, I have played for Arsenal, Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers. In March 2012, I suffered a cardiac arrest during a match. Although my heart had stopped for 78 minutes, I recovered, thanks to the availability of a defibrillator. After my recovery, my wife and I launched Caribbean cooking sauces. A small donation from the sale of each jar goes to the Hearts & Goals Charity, which aims to increase the availability of defibrillators.
9. Rashmi Thakrar - Do you enjoy eating Tilda Basmati rice? I was the one who founded the Tilda Rice empire, a few years after my arrival here as a Ugandan refugee. Why did I call my company Tilda? I named it after my two sisters, Tila and Daksha. The Thakrar Foundation, a charity I founded, helps to fight poverty and provides educational and medical help and supports deserving causes in UK and worldwide. My family continues to be one of the benefactors of Leicester University.
10. Shukria Rezaei - I arrived in Oxford as a 14 year old refugee from Afghanistan. At my school, Oxford Spires Academy, I was encouraged to join a poetry group and enter a poetry competition. Just imagine my surprise when I learnt that I was the winner! My work has been published in Oxford Poetry. I came to this country, speaking very little English. But I was lucky enough to be taught by a very inspiring and supportive teacher. It is because of her that poetry helped me to find my path in England. I now run reading and writing groups for young migrants in an Oxford School. 

List of names:
Freddie Mercury
Hassan Akkad
Judith Kerr
Fabrice Muamba
Alek Wek
Mo Farah
Rita Ora
Shappi Khorsandi
Shukria Rezaei
Rashmi Thakrar

To enter the competition, please fill in the attached competition entry form and send it back to us by 20th June. In the event of multiple
correct entries, the winner will be decided by lucky draw.