**SWANA South West Asia and North Africa, used instead of Middle East, a colonial Eurocentric term for the region
*People of colour encompasses BIPOC (black, indigenous, and/or people of colour) and we also welcome people of colour from/linked to other parts of the world affected by similar events outside of the Western Asia conflicts.

This Week’s Theme - New Year; what intentions are we setting for ourselves and for our community? How would we like to see it change and grow over the next few months?


Whilst we may be aware of the conflict, genocide and famine happening in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Yemen and other parts of SWANA and the world, we often don’t talk about the individual stories behind the numbers. We are so connected to the news and the changing situation yet many of us often feel alone in the resulting emotion. Many of us have been dispersed and fragmented from our families and culture, whether as refugees or as European-born second generation migrants, dealing with a variety of emotions like sorrow, guilt and helplessness.

My name is Omar (he/him) and I was born in the UK and have Syrian heritage. I have lived here my whole life and used to visit Damascus often when I was younger. I have not visited Syria since 2008. I am self-employed as a practising psychotherapist. I speak Arabic and welcome Arabic speakers to this space (although our discussions are mainly held in English). ‏ ‏ ‏

In this group, I hope to bring us together to share our personal stories of loss, guilt and sadness or whatever else may be coming up for us. Whilst our people and cultures are under attack, I believe our stories and memories keep the memories of our loved ones, our cultural heritage and solidarity alive. Learning about our differences and connecting to the emotion behind it only highlights the common experiences we all may be having. It’s not feeling pain or sadness that is the hardest part, it is doing it alone.

We encourage you to bring any items of personal value to you if that helps you to share your story. It can be photos, a book or a toy. If you want to share in another format, like poetry or song, that is welcome too.

We will also be sharing such stories while eating together. Food is such an intrinsic part of our cultures and it opens us up to each other when we sit down to eat together. I invite you, if you can, to bring a dish from your culture to share with the group. If you’re not able to, it is not a problem at all, there will be plenty of food to be shared.

This space is offered on a donation basis to make it accessible to all. If you feel like you want to donate to the hiring of the space, it is welcome but not obligatory. Any profits will be invested back into the group or to the causes that we are here to talk about.

If you can no longer come to the event, let me know so I can give your space to someone else, as capacity is limited.

Please arrive on time. We open the circle at 6.30

This is a sober event

This event will take place on:
Thursday the 23rd of January at The Connection Centre (the building opposite where the animals are kept) at
St.Werburghs City Farm, Watercress Rd, BS2 9YJ from 6.00 – 9.30pm.
Structure of the evening:
6.00 – 6.30 – Arrive and Settle
6.30 – 7.45 – Theme Discussion, Storytelling and Group Shares
7.45 – 9.00 – Dinner
9.00 – 9.30 – Final Reflections
9.30 - End

Accessibility information about the venue: This venue is wheelchair accessible.

Food: A mixture of Vegan, Vegetarian and Meat based food is usually brought by each participant. If you have any allergies or dietary requirements before the event, please let me know.

What3Words: https://what3words.com/dirt.arts.cases

Google: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Horticultural+Training+Centre/@51.4740895,-2.5783864,72m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x48718e172e511999:0x50d0e2e7abfa2399!8m2!3d51.4740199!4d-2.5785056!16s%2Fg%2F1v41zxmc?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Entry requirements: no age restrictions — Read more — Read less