October 2nd 2023.
I was utterly appalled when I heard about Robert Jenrick's actions at a children's refugee centre in Kent. According to Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, he had seen a Disney-style mural that gave an impression of welcome which he didn't want to show, so he reportedly demanded it be painted over.
When I heard this, I got in touch with the refugee centre and offered to get a group of national cartoonists from the Professional Cartoonists Organisation together to repaint it. I was inundated with offers of tea, cake, free paint, crowdfunding and mural artists to help out. Unfortunately, due to the political tripwires and access permissions of the centre, this wasn't possible.
That's when I decided to write an open letter to express how utterly appalled I was with Jenrick's actions. It was then that the PCO, a politically neutral organisation, got our heads together and came up with the idea of a colouring book for refugee children as a token of fun and distraction.
I reached out to every top cartoonist in the country, and unexpectedly, everyone I contacted said yes. Famous names such as Monty Python's Terry Gilliam and illustrators Posy Simmonds and Sir Quentin Blake contributed, as well as comic magazines like Viz, the Beano and The Phoenix.
We were then emailed by the charity behemoth 38 Degrees, who offered to take distribution and funding under its wing. They knew some things we didn't, like how to distribute books, and they worked closely with the Refugee Council.
The first book is on its way to the printers, to be handed out to children at refugee centres across the country with a pack of colouring pencils. The second, larger book will be sold to the public at Christmas to raise money for refugee charities.
This project has become a symbol of goodwill for the public, who have sent us overwhelming support. For us, the cartoonists, it has become an assembly of like-minded outrage that had been building up for years. Together, we found a way of countering the casual cruelty of a government in humanitarian freefall.
We stood up together as one to tell people like Robert Jenrick that refugees are welcome here. It is a powerful message that I believe will not soon be forgotten.
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