Thousands of asylum seeker children will be sent postcards with bright and cheerful cartoons on them after ministers recently ordered murals at two reception centres to be painted over last month.
The scheme, run by Cartoons Not Cruelty, will see 9,300 welcoming messages and postcards sent to children under the age of 14 who arrived in the UK last year. They will be assisted by the Refugee Council and the platform Find Others.
It was inspired by the government’s decision to paint over murals which included Anna from the Disney movie Frozen, Mickey Mouse and Baloo the bear.
It was initially reported that the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, had said the murals at the Kent Intake Unit, which processes lone children and those arriving on small boats with their families, had to be removed because they were “too welcoming”.
He later told MPs they were not “age appropriate” for teenage migrants. It also emerged that a similar order had been given to paint over child-friendly cartoons at another reception centre for small-boat arrivals where children of all ages, along with adults, are processed – Manston near Ramsgate.
Jenrick’s order attracted significant criticism and Cartoons Not Cruelty, an online campaign, was initiated in response to the removal of the murals. A petition on Change.org calling for the murals to be restored attracted more than 120,000 signatures.
People are invited to visit the website from 9am on Tuesday and sign the postcards, selecting one of a series of welcome messages. The postcards will then be printed and distributed through the Refugee Council, which supports many child asylum seekers.
Individuals are encouraged to sign the postcards on Find Others, a free platform for people who have suffered injustices to launch campaigns and find others affected by the same issue. They will be able to choose a message from a pre-written set.
Children in City of Sanctuary UK schools who drew cartoons for asylum seeker children in response to the government’s actions inspired these actions.
Rima Amin, the Cartoons Not Cruelty campaign starter, said: “To say that the cartoons were ‘not age appropriate’ fails to recognise the 9,300 under-14s that arrived in the UK just last year. That’s why we’re sending 9,300 postcards.
“The power of a simple postcard cannot be underestimated in brightening a child’s day and conveying the message that they are seen and valued. While we continue to call for the cartoons to be restored, we understand the immediate need to ensure that no child is deprived of a warm and compassionate welcome.”
Georgina Hollis, the co-founder at Find Others, said: “Our action aims to ensure that the children who need it most receive a personalised token of warmth and kindness. These postcards are a reminder that they are not alone. This is very much needed in the moment when the government fails to show compassion and empathy.”
Following Jenrick’s order, murals at Manston and at the KIU were painted over by the Ministry of Justice’s estates team last month.
