Wales, Refugees and Sanctuary

Maryam Ginwalla

Nation of Sanctuary:

Wales is a Nation of Sanctuary, which is a title given due to their support for refugees and asylum seekers, making Wales a welcoming environment for people from all around the world. The Welsh national consensus shows us how this support has increased as the decades have passed, with 2021 highlighting how just under one million people living in Wales were born outside the country.

People claim asylum for a variety of reasons, with the most common being fleeing from persecution and conflict. Wales has historically been a place where people have sought sanctuary, shown with thousands of Belgium refugees coming to Wales after WWI, setting an impressive precedent for the decades to follow.