Mayor Elisha McCallion addressing local refugee conference
A significant local conference ‘From Syria to Sanctuary Here?’ held in the Foyle Arena last week has been hailed as a success by conference organisers.
Speaking at the event, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion, explained that the purpose of the conference was to provide information about the Syrian Refugee Crisis and allow some time for dialogue and reflection about how it may impact the Derry City and Strabane District council area.
“We know that people sometimes fear what they don’t understand – and that a lack of information allows for rumours, myth and misinformation to thrive,” she stressed. “The conference aimed to fight fear with fact.”
The conference line up included key speakers from the UK Refugee Council, The British Red Cross, Trócaire, the Housing Executive, the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and the Department of Social Development as well as representatives from minority ethnic groups and MEP Martin Anderson.
The 170 delegates heard confirmation that it is likely a small number of refugees – possibly around 50 – 60 – will be brought to the council area in 2016 under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.
Ian Snowden from DSD explained that these will not be migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean, but will be families who are from the most vulnerable groups from refugee camps around Syria.
These are likely to include about 10 traumatised Christian and Muslim families, the elderly, disabled and the very young.
The Housing Executive explained that the refugees will present as ‘homeless’ and be housed in the private rental sector – they will not ‘jump the queue’ or the points system for public housing.
The conference also clarified that the refugees under the British Government’s scheme also come with a year’s funding so there are resources to meet their immediate needs.
The first group of about 50 Syrian refugees under the VPR scheme are due to arrive into the Greater Belfast area pre-Christmas.
They will be the 10th group brought to the UK under the VPR scheme which includes careful vetting procedures.
Audience participation mechanisms showed that around 70 per cent of delegates had never previously spoken to a refugee or asylum seeker and that many people had never spoken to a Muslim either.
Most people relied on social media and TV to provide their information on the crisis and found the conference informative and helpful as well as alleviating any concerns or fears they may have had.
Conference workshops allowed participants to briefly explore models of Sanctuary and befriending systems for how local people can welcome refugees as well as opportunities to ask questions from Black and Minority Ethnic groups or find out about legal and humanitarian issues.
By the end of the conference there was overwhelming support registered for bringing refugees to the council area, with many participants explaining that the provision of factual information had been really helpful in making their minds up on the issues.
Many delegates reflected the public interest for wanting to find practical ways of being supportive.
The conference indicated that one of the best ways locally to link in with support efforts through the Mayoral Civic Action for Refugees group is to register their interest through the Mayor’s section of the council website atwww.derrystrabane.com/Subsites/Mayor/Mayor-s-Initiatives/Derry-Strabane-Civic-Action-for-Refugees.
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