Frome Syrian Refugee Support Group would like people in the town to know that three refugee families, displaced by the civil war in Syria, will be arriving in Frome during May and June, under the government’s Vulnerable Persons Scheme.
Locally this scheme is administered by Somerset County Council, but it relies on volunteer support in specific towns to help the re-settlement of refugee families. There are now about 20 families re-settled in the county, from amongst the 6,000 Syrian refugees who have been admitted to the UK as a whole since the scheme began in September 2015.
Frome has a support group who have worked extremely hard to make it possible for Syrian refugee families to be re-settled here. That means finding suitable rented accommodation with sympathetic landlords, then preparing for the arriving families. This includes furnishing and equipping the houses, and planning how best to help the families integrate in the community following their traumatic experiences and arrival in a completely new country, which is often an additional trauma.
Everything is based on the goodwill and generosity of local people, for which the group – not to mention the refugee families – are very grateful.
The support group would like to encourage everyone in the town to welcome these new residents, many of whom have very little English. If you happen to encounter them in shops or the street, perhaps accompanied by a volunteer, you are invited to greet them. Hospitality and friendship are very important in Arab culture. The Arabic word for hello or welcome is “Marhaba.”
John Careswell, who helped form the support group says, “We cannot disclose personal details about the families, but there are several school age children amongst them. The schools they will be attending are preparing carefully for their arrival. There is excitement and anticipation about making a small contribution to the effects of the humanitarian tragedy in Syria, which has caused the greatest exodus of people from a single country in modern times.
Of course, many in our support group are also involved in local schemes to support vulnerable and displaced people who already live in our town, especially Fair Frome, the Credit Union, and the newly-formed Fair Housing initiative. Human compassion has no boundaries.”
