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| The refugees being sent to Coventry are welcome | The refugees being sent to Coventry are welcome |
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| Before Ahlam Kinjo, Khalid Abdulrahman and their three children boarded a flight from Iraq to Birmingham in June, Coventry’s resettlement team had started a checklist. The Kurdish couple’s five-year-old daughter, Vian, suffers from a blood condition, so the team lined up doctors who could treat her and leased the family a house with a direct bus to the hospital. They also assigned the family a caseworker, Nael Nsemwa, who would show them around the city. | Before Ahlam Kinjo, Khalid Abdulrahman and their three children boarded a flight from Iraq to Birmingham in June, Coventry’s resettlement team had started a checklist. The Kurdish couple’s five-year-old daughter, Vian, suffers from a blood condition, so the team lined up doctors who could treat her and leased the family a house with a direct bus to the hospital. They also assigned the family a caseworker, Nael Nsemwa, who would show them around the city. |
| Until recently, only three councils in the UK had welcomed refugees through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme, which was launched in January 2014. Coventry was one. By this summer, the West Midlands city had quietly received 78 of the 216 Syrians who came to the UK through the programme. Now, as dozens of local authorities scramble to plan for new Syrian refugees – a promised 20,000 by 2020 – Coventry offers a model of resettlement for other councils. | Until recently, only three councils in the UK had welcomed refugees through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme, which was launched in January 2014. Coventry was one. By this summer, the West Midlands city had quietly received 78 of the 216 Syrians who came to the UK through the programme. Now, as dozens of local authorities scramble to plan for new Syrian refugees – a promised 20,000 by 2020 – Coventry offers a model of resettlement for other councils. |
| Related: Life as a Syrian refugee: ‘We will be good people. We will build the country’ | Related: Life as a Syrian refugee: ‘We will be good people. We will build the country’ |
| Each local authority can develop its own approach to resettlement, and Coventry relies on three non-profit organisations to cover the nuts and bolts. The local Citizens Advice bureau, Coventry law centre and the Coventry refugee and migrant centre between them enlist private and social landlords to house refugees, provide interpreters and English classes, collect donations of clothes and household goods, register the refugees with GPs and schools. Staff from the three organisations also serve as caseworkers, linking each family to the services and support they need during their first year. | Each local authority can develop its own approach to resettlement, and Coventry relies on three non-profit organisations to cover the nuts and bolts. The local Citizens Advice bureau, Coventry law centre and the Coventry refugee and migrant centre between them enlist private and social landlords to house refugees, provide interpreters and English classes, collect donations of clothes and household goods, register the refugees with GPs and schools. Staff from the three organisations also serve as caseworkers, linking each family to the services and support they need during their first year. |
| “We had suffered through so much in Syria, in the refugee camps and in Erbil,” says Abdulrahman through a translator. He recounts how their search for treatment for Vian pushed the family out of Syria, into Iraqi Kurdistan, and here. “We were overwhelmed to find everything that we needed when we arrived, and Nael, who helped us with our home, the bills, hospitals, doctors, school – everything.” | “We had suffered through so much in Syria, in the refugee camps and in Erbil,” says Abdulrahman through a translator. He recounts how their search for treatment for Vian pushed the family out of Syria, into Iraqi Kurdistan, and here. “We were overwhelmed to find everything that we needed when we arrived, and Nael, who helped us with our home, the bills, hospitals, doctors, school – everything.” |
| Since arriving in Coventry, Vian has been receiving regular blood transfusions as she awaits a bone marrow donor – her only shot at a cure. She has more energy than her seven-year-old sister, Lian, and her nine-year-old brother, Bilind. Just last week, Vian won an award in school. Her mother pulls open her purse and unfurls a small sheet of white paper. “Best Respect to Our School,” it reads. | Since arriving in Coventry, Vian has been receiving regular blood transfusions as she awaits a bone marrow donor – her only shot at a cure. She has more energy than her seven-year-old sister, Lian, and her nine-year-old brother, Bilind. Just last week, Vian won an award in school. Her mother pulls open her purse and unfurls a small sheet of white paper. “Best Respect to Our School,” it reads. |
| There was a 'getting-everyone-to-jump-at-once' moment | There was a 'getting-everyone-to-jump-at-once' moment |
| Simon Brake, Coventry city council’s director of primary care, sustainability, and integration, masterminded Coventry’s approach in early 2014. He found political support from the Labour council leader Ann Lucas, and then consulted local non-profit organisations and community leaders. “There was a getting-everyone-to-jump-at-once moment, which had to be wrangled,” says Brake. “But this was a common purpose of public good that everybody got behind.” | Simon Brake, Coventry city council’s director of primary care, sustainability, and integration, masterminded Coventry’s approach in early 2014. He found political support from the Labour council leader Ann Lucas, and then consulted local non-profit organisations and community leaders. “There was a getting-everyone-to-jump-at-once moment, which had to be wrangled,” says Brake. “But this was a common purpose of public good that everybody got behind.” |
| Brake entered into negotiations with the Home Office, which funds the refugee relocation scheme, and the Coventry programme was up and running within months. The council estimates the first-year cost of the scheme has been about £300,000. Funding follows individual refugees’ first year. Since some will have been in the city for a year and others just a few weeks, it is not the total cost for all the relocated refugees. For housing costs, the Home Office pays the rent until housing benefit kicks in, usually within a couple of months. | Brake entered into negotiations with the Home Office, which funds the refugee relocation scheme, and the Coventry programme was up and running within months. The council estimates the first-year cost of the scheme has been about £300,000. Funding follows individual refugees’ first year. Since some will have been in the city for a year and others just a few weeks, it is not the total cost for all the relocated refugees. For housing costs, the Home Office pays the rent until housing benefit kicks in, usually within a couple of months. |
| Case files on vulnerable Syrians now pass from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to the Home Office in London, and then on to receiving councils. In Coventry, the three not-for-profit organisations work as a trio to ensure the city can support the refugees. The caseworkers quickly realised they could work faster and more effectively under one roof, and one supervisor. Now they are all based in the same office, where they can trade tips and share language skills with ease. When Nsemwa needs to send a quick text to the Abdulrahmans, she just taps the shoulder of an Arabic-speaking colleague. | Case files on vulnerable Syrians now pass from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to the Home Office in London, and then on to receiving councils. In Coventry, the three not-for-profit organisations work as a trio to ensure the city can support the refugees. The caseworkers quickly realised they could work faster and more effectively under one roof, and one supervisor. Now they are all based in the same office, where they can trade tips and share language skills with ease. When Nsemwa needs to send a quick text to the Abdulrahmans, she just taps the shoulder of an Arabic-speaking colleague. |
| Julie Faulkner oversees the programme’s caseworkers from the office of Citizens Advice. In the early days of the programme, she, alone, furnished the homes, made the beds, and hung the curtain rails in preparation for each family’s arrival. “It wasn’t your classic project management,” she says. It still isn’t, but at least she has hired a staff member to make the flats and houses ready. | Julie Faulkner oversees the programme’s caseworkers from the office of Citizens Advice. In the early days of the programme, she, alone, furnished the homes, made the beds, and hung the curtain rails in preparation for each family’s arrival. “It wasn’t your classic project management,” she says. It still isn’t, but at least she has hired a staff member to make the flats and houses ready. |
| Over the course of the year, caseworkers help families register for services, advise them on employment and career goals, and teach them where to find help when the year-long programme ends. “For these people leaving Syria, it isn’t always a glorious new start as they get off the plane,” says Faulkner. “They’re thinking, ‘Well, what’s happening now?’ Their calmness only comes after a few months.” | Over the course of the year, caseworkers help families register for services, advise them on employment and career goals, and teach them where to find help when the year-long programme ends. “For these people leaving Syria, it isn’t always a glorious new start as they get off the plane,” says Faulkner. “They’re thinking, ‘Well, what’s happening now?’ Their calmness only comes after a few months.” |
| Coventry has a long history of receiving refugees. For years it has been an active member of City of Sanctuary, a UK-wide organisation born in Sheffield in 2005. The organisation now has 40 active groups across the country, dedicated to building a culture of hospitality for refugees. Tiffy Allen, the network’s coordinator, says that more than 20 towns and cities have called up to start new Sanctuary groups in the last two months alone. “We’re calling it a revolution in generosity,” she says. | Coventry has a long history of receiving refugees. For years it has been an active member of City of Sanctuary, a UK-wide organisation born in Sheffield in 2005. The organisation now has 40 active groups across the country, dedicated to building a culture of hospitality for refugees. Tiffy Allen, the network’s coordinator, says that more than 20 towns and cities have called up to start new Sanctuary groups in the last two months alone. “We’re calling it a revolution in generosity,” she says. |
| As Coventry begins to welcome 100 new Syrian refugees each year, dozens of councils across the country have recently agreed to resettle Syrian refugees too. The swell of local government support comes on the heels of local residents’ efforts to arrange homes and services for Syrian refugees following high profile press coverage and shocking images of their plight over the summer. | As Coventry begins to welcome 100 new Syrian refugees each year, dozens of councils across the country have recently agreed to resettle Syrian refugees too. The swell of local government support comes on the heels of local residents’ efforts to arrange homes and services for Syrian refugees following high profile press coverage and shocking images of their plight over the summer. |
| According to Citizens UK, the nationwide community organising group, 40 councils have committed to host more than 3,000 Syrian refugees. But Charlotte Fischer, a community organiser at Citizens UK, says local authorities are quite nervous and feel they haven’t got the guidance they need. “So we have organised teams of local people who said [they] will help assemble private landlords, surgeries, and the local community to make sure this can work well,” she says. Citizens UK reports that their local organising has been the driving force behind 10 of the councils that have agreed to resettle refugees. | According to Citizens UK, the nationwide community organising group, 40 councils have committed to host more than 3,000 Syrian refugees. But Charlotte Fischer, a community organiser at Citizens UK, says local authorities are quite nervous and feel they haven’t got the guidance they need. “So we have organised teams of local people who said [they] will help assemble private landlords, surgeries, and the local community to make sure this can work well,” she says. Citizens UK reports that their local organising has been the driving force behind 10 of the councils that have agreed to resettle refugees. |
| Despite the groundswell of support from councils, negotiations between the Local Government Association (LGA) and the government for extra funding drag on. As councillors meet with local non-profit organisations and individuals to plan for newcomers, the LGA is asking the Home Office to fund councils beyond the first year of each refugee’s arrival. | |
| “We are pressing for a detailed commitment so that communities can welcome refugees knowing that they will not be left with an unfair burden,” says councillor David Simmons, chairman of the LGA’s asylum, refugee and migration taskforce. In the meantime, Brake is fielding phone calls and attending meetings with other councils to share the lessons he has learned from his resettlement work in Coventry. | “We are pressing for a detailed commitment so that communities can welcome refugees knowing that they will not be left with an unfair burden,” says councillor David Simmons, chairman of the LGA’s asylum, refugee and migration taskforce. In the meantime, Brake is fielding phone calls and attending meetings with other councils to share the lessons he has learned from his resettlement work in Coventry. |
| The Abdulrahmans say that for the first time in years they feel they are respected and treated as if they are citizens. “In Iraq, we had nothing,” says Abdulrahman. “We’ve been here three months and we feel like we have everything, and all the rights that we wanted.” Kinjo nods in agreement. “I just hope now for my family in Syria and Iraq to be safe,” she adds. “The UK saved us, but our families are not saved yet.” | The Abdulrahmans say that for the first time in years they feel they are respected and treated as if they are citizens. “In Iraq, we had nothing,” says Abdulrahman. “We’ve been here three months and we feel like we have everything, and all the rights that we wanted.” Kinjo nods in agreement. “I just hope now for my family in Syria and Iraq to be safe,” she adds. “The UK saved us, but our families are not saved yet.” |
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