Story Swap: Discovering and Remembering Stories of Migration and Refuge

On the 4th October, CHAWREC (Cheshire, Halton & Warrington Race & Equality Centre), Cheshire Archives & Local Studies, and staff from the University of Chester organised ‘Story Swap: Discovering and Remembering Stories of Migration and Refuge.’

People who have experience of crossing borders came together with historians of migration to share their stories, their food, and their research into the lives of people who have made Cheshire their home.

To complement this event, we are working to develop a photo display at the Unity Centre. We need your help to make this happen.

We want to make sure that the display is developed from photos and personal items which reflect individuals’ experiences of migration.

This display is inspired by the ‘Journeys to Cheshire’ oral histories collection, which was recorded some 10 years ago and features interviews with migrants to Cheshire. If you have images, documents, or items related to any of the following themes, we would love to see them, scan them, and potentially include them in the display:

• The emotions of travelling to Cheshire
• The feeling of first arriving in a new country
• Food that reminds you of home or makes you feel at home
• Clothing and how it can help you feel connected to, or divided from, a community.
• Weather and surroundings
• The feeling of belonging both to Cheshire and another place.

If you have digital photos: 

Please email them to Daniel.edmonds@cheshiresharedservices.gov.uk, along with a message about what or who is in the picture, when it was taken, and why it is important to you. You will receive a digital copy of a permission form, which will allow us to use your images as part of the display.

If you have physical photos: 

Please drop them off at the Unity Centre reception. There is a permission form which you will be asked to sign, and on which you can write the details of the picture(s)- for example, when and where it was taken, what is in it, and who is pictured.

If you don’t have any pictures but you would still like to help:

Please feel free to write something about one or more of these topics, or you can even share a document or object with us. Get in touch to arrange how.

If you know someone who may be interested in sharing a picture or photo with us:

Please feel free to either send them the link to this blog post, Daniel’s email address, or the flyer included on this page.

If you would more information about the project, the photo display, or how your data will be handled, please get in touch- we’d love to hear from you!