Over 620 Migrants Attended the Event
A Community Centre in Sheffield has made history by hosting an event which was attended by over 620 EU Migrants.
The Community Open Day, hosted by the Pakistan Muslim Centre, ( PMC ) Sheffield was a direct result of ‘The Community Cohesion, Building Initiative’. This was an initiative which witnessed the centre voluntarily opening its building up to Darnall and its immediate vicinity. This involved putting on recreational activities for children, adults and families alike.
Indeed a bulk of the live performers at the community open day had been trained under the auspices of the PMC.
The event consisted of live performances from members of the Roma Slovakian, Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian and Polish Communities. With Speeches from the Lord Mayor of Sheffield Vickie Priestley, Clive Betts (MP) , Police and Crime Commissioner , Shaun Wright amongst other dignitaries. Attendees were given opportunities to benefit from information which was readily available courtesy of the various information stalls. Some of the more notable stalls providers included DACT, SASS, Sheffield University Life Long Learning, South Yorkshire Police and Fire service, Amey , Viola, Royal Bank of Scotland. etc , etc.
Bouncy castle, face painting and availability of various Eastern European Cuisines provided the gathering a fun fare and carnival like environment.
The Pakistan Muslim Centre has been engaging with the local EU migrant Community, particularly the local Roma Slovakian Community ever since tension flared in firvale. The Chairman Mohammed Ali said “ I observed a television programme portraying a negative image about the Eastern European Community residing the Eastwood area. This left a bitter taste in the mount of the locality. With pockets of negative private meetings taking place citywide we were clearly entering dangerous waters. Somebody had to do something, to intervene and rescue Darnall and other areas from falling victims of failing community relations.’’
Congratulating the Pakistan Muslim Centre, Lord Mayor Vickie Priestley commented on how something constructive had been achieved and this messaged of hope was echoed by the honourable MP Clive Betts and Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright.
Commenting on the success of the event the project manager Mukhtar Tufail stated “community relations had never been so fragile, misconception, fuelled by recession, high unemployment, coupled with fear of crime have all contributed towards erection of a wall of misconception that is mounting against EU Migrants, this event which was attended by migrants from all over Yorkshire will go a long way towards building bridges, enhancing and bolstering community cohesion. “
The initiative has particularly proven beneficial for Sheffield in terms of creating a safer and stronger communities and opening the PMC to the community has provided the said communities an opportunity to showcase their skills talents and passions. This event will work a long way towards dismantling the misconception engulfing the Eastern European Migration argument. The Centre is now looking towards likeminded partners to work towards providing some form of continuity.
