Formentera celebrates World Refugee Day

cartell 2021 refugiadesThe Formentera Department of Immigration has put together an extensive programme of cultural and social activities to commemorate World Refugee Day on 21 June. Standout features of the activities bill include the exhibition Los Refugiados Olvidados from Palestinian photographer Mustafa Abualthanin, a concert from composer-musician-activist Nabil El Mansour and a performance from Bloco Colubraria infused with African dance courtesy of Jara.

In 2001, on the anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the United Nations General Assembly designated 20 June World Refugee Day. Social welfare chief Rafael Ramírez will present an official proclamation for approval at local government’s June plenary. By Councillor Ramírez’s lights, “Refugees and displaced people endure incredible hardship, and World Refugee Day is an opportunity to foster empathy and show our solidarity; this day is also a chance to recognise their capacity for resilience in rebuilding their lives”.

The calendar is as follows:

Monday 21 June at 10.45am: Talk with Ràdio Illa’s Far a Far. Participants: Fina Darder (Fons Pitiús de Cooperació) and Margarita Isabel Asensio Pastor (PhD in Social and Human Sciences, graduate in Spanish and Arabic Philology, representative of Open Arms).

21 June–4 July in Sant Francesc’s Plaça de la Constitució: Mustafa Abualthanim (Amman, 1977) presents Los Refugiados Olvidados. Abualthanin’s 30-piece “photo essay” chronicles the lives of the forgotten Palestinian refugees in two camps in Jordan, offering an intimate and autobiographical vision of his own condition as a Palestinian refugee in that country. Show opens Monday 21 June at 6.00pm.

Wednesday 23 and 30 June at 6.00pm in the Casal de Joves: Screenings of films Monsieur Lazhar and Elysium.

Thursday 24 June at 5.00pm at CEIP Sant Ferran de Ses Roques (Bob Baldon Park): Field day—Put yourself in their shoes. Presented by Fons Pitiús de Cooperació and Formentera Marxa.

Friday 25 June from 8.30pm in the Sant Ferran church square: Hanging a banner made by local youth at the Casal de Joves; Bloco Colubraria perform and Jara offers a demonstration of African dance. Reading the poem “Home” by Somali writer Warsan Shire.

Saturday 26 June from 9.30pm at Casa del Poble de la Mola: singer-songwriter Navil performs to a limited-capacity crowd. A Barcelona native of Palestinian origin, Navil has made defending his rights his life’s mission, with a repertoire of songs that speak to everything from racial discrimination in Israel and illegal settlements to the separation wall between Arabs and Israelis.

Thursday 1 July in the Sant Ferran church square: in association with Cinema a la Fresca, screening of In This World (2002).

16 June 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera