Glasgow ready to take Syrian refugees

The city council has concluded an agreement with the Home Office to identify and bring families to the city to begin anew life.

Weeks of negotiations and ensuring accommodation and services are in place have been completed and the first families will start arriving in the coming weeks.

Duncan Campsie, from Glasgow City Council’s Asylum and Refugee Service, told MSPs the council had a list of 63 people in camps in Lebanon and Iraq who would come by the end of the month.

He said as well as the accommodation it needed to be ensured health education and other support services were available before people could be accepted.

While the city was willing and able to take refugees, Mr Campsie warned the Home Office will need to look at long term funding for refugees.

He said the current arrangement of funding per batch of people is not sufficient to plan for the future.

He said: “We need to speak to the Home Office for funding. It needs to be a five year thing.

“It’s not just about taking the numbers in and putting them in a flat. It’s schools health benefits arrangements.

He added: “We will continue to do our bit.”

Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UK representative of the UN High Commissioner for refugees praise the effort from Scotland in helping address the need.

He said: “Long before the tragic picture of little Aylan forced many European leaders to take a more humane approach there were senior politicians asking for this to happen. That takes courage and we appreciate it. In that sense Scotland has led rather than followed.2

He said that the number one reason people were leaving Syria was because they felt there was no chance of peace.

He said: “From the viewpoint of a Syrian refugee, we ask why have you decide to leave.

“The answer is almost always because we have lost hope peace will come to Syria soon or ever.”

He said the material benefits of Europe are not a consideration.

He added: “They don’t cite possible state benefits or job opportunities.”