Fun in the Park

By Daphne Liddle

GLOBAL Fusion Arts last Saturday celebrated World Refugee Week with a programme of song, dance and cultural demonstrations in General Gordon Square, Woolwich to demonstrate a small sample of the rich cultural contributions that refugees and other immigrants have brought to this south-east London town over many centuries.

Woolwich is now home to a rich and diverse mixture of communities from all over the world – but it has always been a very diverse place. In the Middle Ages it was a thriving market selling wool from local North Downs sheep to merchants from Lombardy, who were barred by City of London merchants from entering the Port of London further up the river. Now it has an Irish community from the 19th century and a Jewish community from the early part of the 20th century, plus communities from many other places all over the world. If you live in Woolwich you don't need to pay to travel the world, just sit on a public bench for a bit and the world comes to you.

The Russian Souvenir Ensemble singers in traditional dress treated us to all the old favourites such as {Kalinka} and the real version of {Those were the days}. Other performers included the Pangea steel drum and jazz band from the Caribbean, Nepalese musician Amit Magar with his band {Daju Bahi} playing a fusion of rock and traditional Nepalese music, the West African Francis Fuster and his  band, and South African Singer Minouche Kapel. There were also demonstrations of Ugandan Bantu arts, Chinese Tai Chi and how to play African drums.