The UK immigration minister Robert Jenrick has ordered the removal of Disney cartoons from the wall of an asylum centre. The Disney characters were there to make asylum-seeking children happier. The centre looks after children who arrive without their parents. Jenrick reportedly said the art sends a message that the UK is "too welcoming". A UK priority is to stop boats of asylum seekers from arriving.
British artists have responded by offering to repaint the centre. High-profile artists want to create art that is welcoming for the stressed children. One artist told The Art Newspaper that he was "baffled" that the original artwork was painted over. He called it "pointless cruelty". He said his artwork might make Jenrick "think twice" about destroying the artists' work, "just to deny a vulnerable child something fun".
Try the same news story at these levels:
Asylum Seekers - Level 5 or Asylum Seekers - Level 6
Sources- https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/07/06/leading-uk-artists-offer-to-create-murals-in-refugee-detention-centres-after-government-minister-orders-staff-to-destroy-welcoming-artwork
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66132158
- https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/07/robert-jenrick-has-cartoon-murals-painted-over-at-childrens-asylum-centre
Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)