Rowan Williams, who grew up in Swansea and served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 2003–2012, reflects on the humanity of refugees in a short piece for The Guardian:
…the truth is that the migrant, too, is an ordinary person. Anyone who has spent time with refugees – in Ukraine, in Syria, in Sudan, in Kent or Swansea – knows the conversations that are likely to happen. “I never thought I would find myself here.” “I only want to make sure my children are safe.” “I miss my garden.” “I don’t know how I can continue my education.” To speak as though these people are anything other than ordinary is to reinforce the violence they have already experienced, the struggle to see them humanly.
– Rowan Williams, The Guardian, 30th August 2025