Crossroads: Martin Stepek on His Family’s Journey | World Refugee Day 2025

Martin Stepek delivered a World Refugee Day talk on 20 June at Fairhill Library, focusing on his family’s experiences during and after World War II. He recounts how his Polish family was uprooted by the war and eventually found refuge in Scotland. The talk highlights pivotal moments and chance events that influenced his family’s survival, such as the kindness of a stranger who provided food when they were starving. Stepek also describes the hardships his family endured and explains how they built a new life in Scotland after the war, sharing a factual personal account of their refugee journey.

In the context of World Refugee Day, the talk offers timely insight into the importance of empathy, the dismantling of stigma, and the human reality behind forced displacement, reminding us that today’s “other” could easily have been any one of us.

World Refugee Day – United Nations (UNHCR)

https://www.unhcr.org/uk/get-involved/take-action/world-refugee-day

Official site with information on the day, themes, and refugee statistics.

The 1951 Refugee Convention

https://www.unhcr.org/uk/1951-refugee-convention.html

UNHCR page on the foundational legal framework protecting refugees.

Scottish Refugee Council

https://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk

Information and services supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland.

Jan Stepek: Part 1 – Gulag to Glasgow (2024)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jan-Stepek-Part-Gulag-Glasgow/dp/B0CZDB8BK2

Martin Stepek’s biography of his father, tracing the family’s deportation, survival, and journey to Scotland.

Martin Stepek – Author and Mindfulness Teacher

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors/martin-stepek

Official profile from Scottish Book Trust, with publications and biography.

Ten for Zen – Martin Stepek’s Mindfulness Organisation

https://www.tenforzen.co.uk

Mindfulness training and resources co-founded by Martin Stepek.

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