Chapel FM event helps celebrate Refugee Week in Leeds

By Helen Fay

The VOICES Network, a project of the Red Cross, has been celebrating Refugee Week across the nation.

To celebrate Refugee Week in Leeds, the VOICES Network held an event in collaboration with Chapel FM in Seacroft on Thursday.

VOICES Network have been making and recording a weekly radio show called Sanctuary Diaries, which is broadcast every Wednesday. Thursday’s celebration event showcased dance, music, poetry, a panel discussion and even a fashion show – all  of which was recorded with a live audience and will be broadcast in the near future. Sanctuary Diaries podcasts can be heard on Spotify and also via the Chapel FM website.

VOICES Participation Officer Shah Mahmood Nasiri told WLD: “We established a partnership with Chapel FM in September 2025 and one of our VOICES Ambassadors, Wan Abdullah led the process to create a radio show, supported by Tony from Chapel FM.”

Mr Nasiri added “Each week in the Sanctuary Diaries radio show, we talk about different topics affecting asylum seekers, in particular their challenges and their issues from lived experience.”

Tony Macaluso, co-director of Chapel FM said: “We make radio shows of all kinds, but one of the main things we always try to do is make it collective; groups coming together to tell and share stories that mainstream media misses and wouldn’t get heard or recorded otherwise.”

The Sanctuary Diaries radio show covers a range of subjects, but in more depth than the coverage that tends to be given by other media sources.

Mr Macaluso said “Stories about the experiences of asylum seekers, migrants and refugees tend to be superficial and one dimensional. What we try to get across is that everyone’s stories are so different. We talk a lot about the role of humour, love and romance, being creative and artistic – we try and get across these aspects of people’s stories. The more difficult things are, the more you need humour to survive and stay sane.”

Wan Abdullah has been a VOICES Ambassador since 2022. She said “I went to Parliament with VOICES Network and it has really helped me with public speaking. I also felt like I was somebody, because as an asylum seeker you always feel that you are unheard and unseen.”

Wan felt that the project needed more engagement with radio, TV and the press to share Asylum seekers’ stories, so Shah and fellow VOICES Participation Officer Miriam Tansia approached Chapel FM late last year and Sanctuary Diaries was created.

The show was originally called Asylum Diaries, but as Wan explained: “We wanted to give it some dignity so changed the title because it covers not only asylum seekers and refugees, but also everyone who is seeking sanctuary. A big salute to Chapel FM for giving us this platform to share our stories and to be able to talk about our raw, intense lived experiences.”

As well as the event launch for Sanctuary Diaries, VOICES Network are also organising another community litter pick in the near future. The project held a previous litter pick last year, as reported in West Leeds Dispatch.

Further information about the work of VOICES Network can be found here.

To find out more about Chapel FM Arts Centre, click here.

The Yorkshire & Humber area VOICES Network is based at the Red Cross offices in Armley.