Legendary singer launches campaign for child refugees

Yusuf - screen shot

Yusuf, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, has launched a campaign to help Syrian child refugees with a new song and a special concert in London later this month. The campaign is called You Are Not Alone, after a quote by Pope Francis on his recent visit to a refugee camp in Greece. Yusuf was inspired to share the song and start the campaign after visiting a refugee camp himself at Gaziantep on the border of Turkey and Syria in April.

He said: "The song is a small effort to try to take people's attention away from the crime of reductionism, where human lives become numbers and statistics, and refocus on the plight of a single young soul who never had a chance to live and play in his own home."

Yusuf's charity, Small Kindness is partnering with charities Save the Children and Penny Appeal to raise funds to help people who have made the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe in search of safety. More than one million people arrived on European shores in 2015, including 95,000 children who were registered as travelling alone without their parents to care for them. Many thousands are missing. Many have died.

Yusuf said: "While the world faces incomprehensible numbers and statistics created by the refugee crisis the tragedy and story of a single soul gets missed. It was difficult to stand by just watching this tragedy without trying to do something.

"I simply decided to help humanise the narrative and lend my voice to the call for keeping hearts and doors open to every refugee, especially youngsters, who have lost what future they might have once hoped for."

Yusuf also announced he will play a charity show at Central Hall in Westminster on June 14.

You can help the campaign by using the hashtag #youarenotalone on social media, buying a ticket for the concert or simply donating whatever possible towards the appeal at the following charities:

Small Kindness www.smallkindness.org.uk/

Penny Appeal www.pennyappeal.org.uk/

Save the Children www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/emergencies/child-refugee-crisis-appeal

Watch the song He Was Alone here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGthQ73VPHQ

To book tickets see: www.ticketmaster.co.uk or Tel: 084 844 044