Shining the light on Comfort Angels’ safe space and community with shado mag and Amnesty

Partnerships

Shining the light on Comfort Angels’ safe space and community with shado mag and Amnesty

Comfort Angels are a Liverpool-based football team formed by Comfort Etim. Dedicated to providing support for women seeking asylum in the city, the sense of community it provides is more important than ever.

With the Conservative government’s recently passed Nationality and Borders Bill, the UK’s hostile environment policy continues to advance, making the immigration process evermore difficult to navigate. For people escaping war, conflict, and a lack of safety in their own countries, it means that displays of solidarity and support once they reach Britain are more valuable than ever.

Having gone through the asylum system herself, Comfort Etim was motivated to set up a safe space for women in similar situations, and started her Liverpool-based football team, Comfort Angels, in the process. Working with the support of Amnesty and the LCFA, the sessions started small, and have grown to have a group of around 30 women regularly in attendance. Comfort’s initiative and persistence empowered her to find and cultivate a community of her own, in a time of potential isolation.

08.04.22

Words by BUILDHOLLYWOOD

In defiance of the pervasive and restrictive changes coming to the UK’s immigration laws, and the difficulties it presents for those who want to set up new lives in the country, shado mag set about supporting Comfort Angels and their incredible work in Liverpool. With the magazine’s broader dedication to social justice, shado aims to let people advocate for themselves and take control of their own narratives – their work with Comfort Angels is about exploring “the power of football and community inclusion for refugees and women seeking asylum” – and with Liverpool’s rich and enduring football culture, the team is right at home in the city.

To bring the partnership to the city it stories, we teamed up with Comfort Angels and shado to share portraits of some of the team across the city. While capturing the serenity and beauty of solidarity and community, QR codes linked each poster to shado’s feature page, providing passers-by with the opportunity to donate directly to the team and help secure its future.

We were delighted to help support Comfort Angels on the street, and to platform the work done by Comfort and those who’ve assisted her. Knowing that sport truly has the ability to unite people and break down barriers, it’s vital that campaigns like shado’s continue to show the value of grassroots clubs and support networks, that all have the capability to transform lives.

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