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| Welsh citizens call for their country to resettle more Syrian refugees | Welsh citizens call for their country to resettle more Syrian refugees |
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| At a Baptist church in Cardiff this month, 600 members of Citizens Cymru Wales, the Welsh branch of the community organising group Citizens UK, convened to ask the leaders of the four main political parties in the upcoming Welsh elections to increase the number of Syrian refugees in Wales from 1,600 to 2,500 over the course of this parliament. | At a Baptist church in Cardiff this month, 600 members of Citizens Cymru Wales, the Welsh branch of the community organising group Citizens UK, convened to ask the leaders of the four main political parties in the upcoming Welsh elections to increase the number of Syrian refugees in Wales from 1,600 to 2,500 over the course of this parliament. |
| The Welsh government last year committed to taking 1,600 Syrian refugees, a proportionate share of Cameron’s promised 20,000 over five years. Since December, Ceredigion, Torfaen, Neath Port Talbot and Caerphilly have welcomed about 50 refugees out of the 1,000 who have so far been resettled across Britain, according to Home Office figures. Scotland has taken more than 500 and Northern Ireland has a similar number to Wales. But Welsh citizens are asking their government to take what would amount to a 12.5% share of resettled Syrians, though Wales makes up less than 5% of the UK population. | The Welsh government last year committed to taking 1,600 Syrian refugees, a proportionate share of Cameron’s promised 20,000 over five years. Since December, Ceredigion, Torfaen, Neath Port Talbot and Caerphilly have welcomed about 50 refugees out of the 1,000 who have so far been resettled across Britain, according to Home Office figures. Scotland has taken more than 500 and Northern Ireland has a similar number to Wales. But Welsh citizens are asking their government to take what would amount to a 12.5% share of resettled Syrians, though Wales makes up less than 5% of the UK population. |
| All 22 Welsh councils are now in conversation to join the UK government’s resettlement efforts, and in 16 of them, Citizens Cymru is helping to coordinate lobbying. “The UK government’s excuse was that Britain didn’t have the capacity, so the main focus of this campaign is to get the commitments locally and elevate that,” says Jim Barnaville, co-chair of Citizens Cymru. | All 22 Welsh councils are now in conversation to join the UK government’s resettlement efforts, and in 16 of them, Citizens Cymru is helping to coordinate lobbying. “The UK government’s excuse was that Britain didn’t have the capacity, so the main focus of this campaign is to get the commitments locally and elevate that,” says Jim Barnaville, co-chair of Citizens Cymru. |
| Since July only 10 refugees have been resettled into Ceredigion, a county of 76,000 people. This is not enough! | Since July only 10 refugees have been resettled into Ceredigion, a county of 76,000 people. This is not enough! |
| Over the past year the organisation has been training citizens across Wales to lobby local councils to resettle refugees. It’s a tall order, since few Welsh councils have any history of resettlement. But what many do have is available housing. Whereas many English councils cite soaring rental costs as the greatest bottleneck in resettlement, the relatively more impoverished Wales has not suffered from the same level of rising rents or house prices. | Over the past year the organisation has been training citizens across Wales to lobby local councils to resettle refugees. It’s a tall order, since few Welsh councils have any history of resettlement. But what many do have is available housing. Whereas many English councils cite soaring rental costs as the greatest bottleneck in resettlement, the relatively more impoverished Wales has not suffered from the same level of rising rents or house prices. |
| Among the organisers is Lindsey Gaunt, a business development officer at the University of Wales, who started the group Aberaid in her seafront town of Aberystwyth last summer. When local support boomed, Aberaid teamed up with partners around the county to propose a deal with their local council. Its members would collect donations of bedding, crockery and furniture if Ceredigion council would immediately resettle 50 Syrians. | Among the organisers is Lindsey Gaunt, a business development officer at the University of Wales, who started the group Aberaid in her seafront town of Aberystwyth last summer. When local support boomed, Aberaid teamed up with partners around the county to propose a deal with their local council. Its members would collect donations of bedding, crockery and furniture if Ceredigion council would immediately resettle 50 Syrians. |
| In a petition on the 38 degrees campaigning website, she described the councils agreement to take part in the Home Office resettlement programmes as a “generous and supportive move”, but added: “Since July only 10 refugees have been resettled into Ceredigion, a county of 76,000 people and 1,790 km sq, and the council has subsequently announced its plan to resettle only 10 more in all of 2016. This is not enough!” | In a petition on the 38 degrees campaigning website, she described the councils agreement to take part in the Home Office resettlement programmes as a “generous and supportive move”, but added: “Since July only 10 refugees have been resettled into Ceredigion, a county of 76,000 people and 1,790 km sq, and the council has subsequently announced its plan to resettle only 10 more in all of 2016. This is not enough!” |
| Alun Williams, a Plaid Cymru councillor in Ceredigion says: “A clear message was coming from the community, and that gave me a very clear lead on how to act.” The council agreed to resettle 10 Syrians a year for five years to test the waters, making it one of the first areas in Wales to welcome families last December. And as donations and pledges of support continue to roll in, Aberaid is now pushing for another 40 refugees each year. “We’ve seen way more people wanting to help than actual refugees, which reinforces how disproportionate the response of resettling so few people here is,” says Gaunt. “We should, and can, do so much more.” | Alun Williams, a Plaid Cymru councillor in Ceredigion says: “A clear message was coming from the community, and that gave me a very clear lead on how to act.” The council agreed to resettle 10 Syrians a year for five years to test the waters, making it one of the first areas in Wales to welcome families last December. And as donations and pledges of support continue to roll in, Aberaid is now pushing for another 40 refugees each year. “We’ve seen way more people wanting to help than actual refugees, which reinforces how disproportionate the response of resettling so few people here is,” says Gaunt. “We should, and can, do so much more.” |
| Salman Malak has lived in Cardiff since he was granted asylum in July last year – before the government’s resettlement programme kicked in. He had fled north-east Syria in October 2014 to try to reach his sister based in the Welsh capital. | |
| Malak, 35, has also spent time in Pembrokeshire, practising his English and helping villagers with household chores such as chopping wood, plastering walls and decorating their homes, after he read, on an internet forum for Syrians, about a woman hosting getaways for refugees in her farming village. Vicky Moller, welcomed him into her home for a stay last November, and Malak soaked in the countryside, its sheep, hills, mountains and rivers. | Malak, 35, has also spent time in Pembrokeshire, practising his English and helping villagers with household chores such as chopping wood, plastering walls and decorating their homes, after he read, on an internet forum for Syrians, about a woman hosting getaways for refugees in her farming village. Vicky Moller, welcomed him into her home for a stay last November, and Malak soaked in the countryside, its sheep, hills, mountains and rivers. |
| After months of hosting respite trips for refugees, Moller is advocating for the UK government to legalise private sponsorship and allow locals in her farming community to cover the costs of hosting refugees long-term. These days, some asylum seekers and refugees like Malak travel to Pembrokeshire. “There are so few youths in the village, and the area needs young people to work on the fields and farms,” says Malak. “And for people who want to go to the countryside and learn English, it’s quite an opportunity to integrate and work together.” | |
| Villages near Snowdonia national park in north Wales have not seen the same level of asylum seekers as the mid and southern parts of the country in recent years. Support there has taken many by surprise. Michelle Jones, who runs the volunteer-led North Wales Refugee Support, says this is new terrain for her network of volunteers who collect donations and negotiate for resettlement with their councils. “Generally, the response has been mind-blowing,” she says of the local generosity and political will. “But we do have the odd person mouthing off at us in the pub.” She is not the only organiser who has stumbled across opposition over a pint of ale – and like many others she has seen a slew of residents objecting to her group on Facebook. | Villages near Snowdonia national park in north Wales have not seen the same level of asylum seekers as the mid and southern parts of the country in recent years. Support there has taken many by surprise. Michelle Jones, who runs the volunteer-led North Wales Refugee Support, says this is new terrain for her network of volunteers who collect donations and negotiate for resettlement with their councils. “Generally, the response has been mind-blowing,” she says of the local generosity and political will. “But we do have the odd person mouthing off at us in the pub.” She is not the only organiser who has stumbled across opposition over a pint of ale – and like many others she has seen a slew of residents objecting to her group on Facebook. |
| Sonia Khoury, 45, has lived in Wales since she came from Syria to study for her PhD at Bangor University in 2011. She expected to head back to her homeland after the three-year course. But as the war escalated, Khoury had no choice but to apply for asylum. When she received refugee status in 2013, she settled in the northern seaside town of Llandudno with her then 16-year-old daughter. She now works as a domestic abuse adviser at Bawso, a charity delivering specialist services to people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds who are affected by abuse. She is also helping her council of Conwy and neighbouring Denbighshire prepare for refugees. The north Wales councils have asked for her assistance in translation, assessing Syrian children’s education levels, and briefing their members on cultural needs they could otherwise overlook. | |
| Local people often have questions on what to expect when refugees arrive, so Khoury gives talks to inquisitive neighbours. “Some people are afraid,” she says, “but I feel like the country is trying to prepare so they don’t later feel as if they should have done things differently.” | Local people often have questions on what to expect when refugees arrive, so Khoury gives talks to inquisitive neighbours. “Some people are afraid,” she says, “but I feel like the country is trying to prepare so they don’t later feel as if they should have done things differently.” |
| At the Welsh Refugee Council, policy manager Hannah Wharf says: “There’s been a massive spotlight on Syrian refugees, and that’s incredibly important.” She hopes the compassion shown for Syrians will extend to others fleeing persecution around the world. “We also want to look in the shadows of that spotlight so the needs of all asylum seekers and refugees are met.” | At the Welsh Refugee Council, policy manager Hannah Wharf says: “There’s been a massive spotlight on Syrian refugees, and that’s incredibly important.” She hopes the compassion shown for Syrians will extend to others fleeing persecution around the world. “We also want to look in the shadows of that spotlight so the needs of all asylum seekers and refugees are met.” |
| Yet, the campaign for 2,500 Syrians in Wales is hampered by the fact that the UK government, rather than the Welsh assembly, controls foreign immigration policy. Wales could lobby to take more than its proportionate share of Britain’s welcomed Syrians, but that would likely require support from Labour party leader and first minister Carwyn Jones. | Yet, the campaign for 2,500 Syrians in Wales is hampered by the fact that the UK government, rather than the Welsh assembly, controls foreign immigration policy. Wales could lobby to take more than its proportionate share of Britain’s welcomed Syrians, but that would likely require support from Labour party leader and first minister Carwyn Jones. |
| On stage at the Citizens Cymru event, Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood and the Liberal Democrats’ Kirsty Williams committed to lobby the Home Office amid audience cheers, but Jones and the Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, wavered on the figure. Some suggest that their reluctance to expand resettlement is due to the rise of Ukip, which is polling at 15% in Wales and on latest projections is expected to win seven seats in the Welsh assembly at the local elections in May. At the last elections, in 2011, Ukip won 5% of the votes and no seats. | On stage at the Citizens Cymru event, Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood and the Liberal Democrats’ Kirsty Williams committed to lobby the Home Office amid audience cheers, but Jones and the Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, wavered on the figure. Some suggest that their reluctance to expand resettlement is due to the rise of Ukip, which is polling at 15% in Wales and on latest projections is expected to win seven seats in the Welsh assembly at the local elections in May. At the last elections, in 2011, Ukip won 5% of the votes and no seats. |
| In a BBC Wales survey this month immigration concerns polled third on the list of voter priorities and just under half of those surveyed (47%) said they thought the number moving from outside of the UK into Wales was too high, while 37% thought it just about right and 8% thought it too low. Jones and Davies may fear that welcoming more Syrian refugees could lose them votes. All party leaders agreed to meet with Citizens Cymru after the May elections, marking what many believe is the first time a Welsh first minister will work directly with a citizen-led organisation. | |
| Even though any increase in the number of Syrian refugees in Wales would still pale in comparison with countries such as Germany, which has welcomed more than a million refugees from a wide range of countries, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees representative to the UK, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa says the Welsh are on the right track. “The extraordinary mobilisation of citizens across the UK around the refugee cause played a key role in influencing the UK government to increase the number of Syrians to be resettled to 20,000,” Vargas says. “I’m sure that they can do it again.” | Even though any increase in the number of Syrian refugees in Wales would still pale in comparison with countries such as Germany, which has welcomed more than a million refugees from a wide range of countries, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees representative to the UK, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa says the Welsh are on the right track. “The extraordinary mobilisation of citizens across the UK around the refugee cause played a key role in influencing the UK government to increase the number of Syrians to be resettled to 20,000,” Vargas says. “I’m sure that they can do it again.” |
| • This article was amended on 31 March 2016. An earlier version referred to Llandudno as a village rather than a town. |