As British as Fish 'n' Chips...

It's Refugee Week - a celebration of the positive impact refugees have had on our culture and heritage. America might have the easily recognisable lines "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" inscribed inside the Statue of Liberty, but the UK has been helping and protecting ordinary people fleeing conflict and persecution since around 200AD. A breakdown in society north of Hadrian's Wall then led to tribes fleeing south to the protection of the Romans, and into what might be the UK's first refugee camp.

As well as our role in protecting the poorest and those in most need, refugees have helped make the UK what it is today - fish 'n' chips, Marks & Spencer and the Mini were all created in-part by refugees...

And it looks like we're rightly proud of that heritage of protecting those most in need, wherever they happen to have come from. Polling by the Refugee Week team found that 94% of us felt that children should be taught the role we've had in protecting refugees over the centuries - see more in our short infographic, below.

You can get involved in Refugee Week as well: attend an event near you, or by add your own stories or experiences of refugees to their new timeline.