Help the Hamlet support refugees

On Wednesday 2nd March we shall be staging a fundraising match against Middlesex County Leaguers FC Assyria.

The game came about after Southwark Councillor Jasmine Ali made an initial approach to the Chairman of the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Trust Duncan Hart, to see if our club could help to highlight and fundraise in some way, after being approached by some of the local people, originally from Syria, who she represents as their local councillor.

Duncan then passed on her details to fellow Trust Board member Mishi Morath, who could take the idea forward, as a member of the Football Club Committee.

So why are we playing FC Assyria? Well they compete one division above Stonewall FC, who you may recall we had a match with, in a special ‘Anti-Homophobia’ encounter a year ago. This sort of game, as well as raising much needed money & resources, gives one of the higher London non-league clubs the chance to work with one of the many unsung lower level teams further down the pyramid.

FC Assyria was set up in the late 1960's to represent the Assyrian Society of United Kingdom in Ealing, West London. Over the past thirty years or so, the team have successfully competed in the local leagues, challenging for both league and cup honours. These traditions are still alive today with the team playing at Step Seven, four rungs below The Hamlet

A number of our fans have asked: ‘Who are the Assyrians?’ Well the answer to this the Assyrians of today are the indigenous Aramaic-speaking descendants of the ancient Assyrian people, one of the earliest civilizations emerging in the Middle East, and have a history spanning over 6750 years. The Assyrians are Christian, with their own unique language, culture and heritage living mainly in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey. Unfortunately due to War and ISIS attacks, many Assyrians have had to flee their homelands and become Refugees.

This game gives ourselves an opportunity to reach out to both the local refugee community in Southwark, and across London, as well as using our Club as a medium to counter much of the discriminatory nonsense that is scaremongeringly covered by the media, in general. As well as making a practical difference to those who have not managed to find places of safety yet.

All of the money raised at the match will be split between two very important charities, one local & one national.

The Southwark Refugee Communities Forum are one of our match partners, with the other half being donated to the much larger national British Red Cross Syria Appeal.

Already we are pleased to have the local Southwark UNISON branch of the trade union as our official match sponsors; and the official match ball sponsor slot has been filled by the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust. We thank them both for their generosity.

Further to this, our Supporters’ Trust will be heavily involved in promoting the match; as will the ever excellent independent fans’ podcast ‘Forward The Hamlet’.

Dulwich Hamlet Football Committee member Mishi Morath, responsible for leading on community matters, said:

“When Duncan [Hart] initially approached me, I was more than happy to help with the idea. In fact it was something we had be tentatively planning already. As always the hardest part, in my eyes, is getting [first team manager] Gavin Rose to agree, as it’s slap bang in the middle of our promotion challenge. But, as always, this was the easiest thing! As a Football Club we are extremely fortunate to have a Football Manager who is not only supportive of what we try to do, but he also gets it all totally.” Mishi went on: “It’s great to have our Supporters’ Trust being so supportive of the match, too. And the backing from Southwark Council shows how much they appreciate the community aspect of our Football Club.”

He also went on to praise everyone who will publicise the game: “A game like this probably wouldn’t have happened before the advent of social media & the internet. The Trust & the Forward The Hamlet team will be spreading the word of the game, as well as our official Club outlets, such as Facebook & Twitter. And there’s also the publicity that money can’t buy, with the coverage we get in the ever excellent ‘Brixton Buzz’ community website. This really is a case of each & every one of us pulling together & all mucking in, doing something that’s appreciated & backed not just by our own fans, but the whole of our wider community in SE22 & beyond.”

We will give you more details about the evening over the next week or two, more announcements to follow.

In the meantime feel free to put the date in your diary - Wednesday 2nd March kick off 7.45pm.

Admission is only £5 for adults, £2 concessions & all Under Twelves FREE.