Latest news with #SyrianFood
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The ultra woke remote Highlands towns that want more migrants to move in... despite fighting a housing crisis
Debates over the influx of migrants and refugees appearing in Britain's towns and villages continue to rage across the country. Large hotels, often in provincial towns, are being rented out to provide temporary accommodation for people from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan looking for a fresh start. While locals around the migrant hotels have complained about anti-social behaviour and overrun public services, with claims they were given next to no notice by MPs and the government. Others say that the housing crisis will only worsen with Brits missing out on a chance to live in the area they have grown up. But while some want to close the borders entirely, towns in the Scottish Highlands are more than happy for more refugees to flock to their streets. Remote towns and villages across the vast mountainous region - which is the largest local authority area in the UK - have taken in hundreds of refugee families and unaccompanied children from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine since 2016. And the influence of migration is clear to see from the likes of popular Syrian food trucks popping up on picturesque riversides and Turkish barbers on quaint high streets. And while there has been some low level backlash, Highlanders generally seem to be 'more welcoming than down South' - as one local put it. The region receives over six million tourists every year, but has a population of only 235,000 people, much of it aging. Though the positive reception of refugees is thought to be partly owed to a depopulation crisis and a desperate need for a boost in young people, many towns are in fact battling a severe housing shortage. A visit by MailOnline to the rural towns and villages hosting refugee families found most locals were keen to take on more despite facing a squeeze on resources themselves. The small town of Dingwall, just a half hour northwest of Inverness, is made up of just 5,500 people. In 2018, it took in seven refugee families from Syria, and while some have since migrated, many still reside in the rural location. On a Friday afternoon, hardly a soul could be spotted on the empty high street. One woman at Christian charity shop, Blythswood Charity Superstore, told MailOnline of the work the store has done to employ refugees. Joanne O'Brian, 62, said: 'We've employed refugees here, there are two Syrian refugees volunteering at our shop now. 'One of them is studying for a Civil Engineering degree. 'And we've had quite a few volunteering before as well. 'I think Scotland, and the Highlands specifically, is just more welcoming than maybe further down South. 'And here we want refugees to develop the skills to grow and create a life here. 'You don't want people to just be an add-on, you want to enable them so they are a part of society and contribute to society. 'The Highlands has more of an old-fashioned culture in the sense that it is quite welcoming. 'And there are certain places in the Highlands that has an aging population. So its nice when you have others come here, you embrace each other's cultures. 'The main problem here though is the lack of housing. 'The council needs to invest in more social housing. Flats are so hard to come by. 'I believe there is a housing project nearby but you have to remember council wheels do turn slowly.' Highlands Council's Housing and Property Committee recently discussed plans to seek 'council of sanctuary' status, an award which would have been the local authority recognised for going 'above and beyond' to welcome refugees. However, the plan - which would have cost the council £2,100 over three years - was halted in its tracks after councillors raised concerns it amounted to 'virtue signalling'. While the proposal did not pass, all councillors commended the work done to integrate refugees into Highlands society, and agreed the work should continue. Ms O'Brian added on the decision not to apply for sanctuary status: 'I don't think you need recognition to help out. 'The status is not necessary. We don't need a pat on the back. 'It's happening all the time and it's about being mindful to know if people need a hand and to help, whether they're British or Syrian or from any other background. 'We don't a status to show it. 'You just hope that the work you do filters through to others, cascades through and inspires young people to do the same.' Councillor Duncan McDonald, a former army major, instead proposed that the council continue to support refugees without the need to 'virtue-signal' or risk making locals feel 'alienated' and like they are pushed 'further down the pecking order'. He said: 'I would propose that we continue to support the refugees in the manner that we have done for years – quietly, meaningfully and respectfully.' The Highlands is so sparsely populated there are thought to be around nine people per sqm, similar to the population density of countries like Russia. Despite this, there is still a significant shortage of affordable homes, with many having to wait on registers for social housing. The council said last year that the area will be in need of an extra 24,000 houses over the next ten years to keep up with current and future demand. In Dingwall, 20 new homes were announced in November last year as being ready to welcome tenants as a social housing development came to completion. Around the corner from the Blythswood charity shop on Dingwall's High Street is a community cafe which is open to all and allows people to pay as they wish. Here, two woman running Sheila's Community Cafe, told of attitudes towards refugees in the town. Shona Street and Shona Maclaren said: 'We have many people come here who have come with either refugee status or just decided to migrate here. 'We try to welcome people, get to know people. If someone is struggling, we will never bill them. 'The Highlands has always been a welcoming place and people aren't awfully judgmental. And even if they don't agree with something, they wouldn't shun people for it. 'There's a refugee family that live close to me, and what I've seen is very positive. Everybody says hi to them and speaks to them, and I've not seen any kind of negativity. 'You do hear negativity out and about sometimes, if people read something somewhere. But we challenge people here. 'It's usually to do with council houses and benefits, but we challenge and discuss it. 'I guess you could say population has something to do with it. But then that's historical. All the young folk leave because there's nothing here.' The pair told of how the community had welcomed refugees: 'We always have a vegetarian option here, so if there's a religious reason or something that someone can't have meat, there's an alternative. 'We've got various groups that use our event space here, and we have a crafts group that come in on a Thursday. 'Some refugee women started coming and enjoyed it, so they restricted the group to women's only so that it was a safe space for them. 't's a bit disappointing that they didn't go ahead with applying for the sanctuary status. 'It says something doesn't it to have the status? 'It makes a statement about the Highlands.' About 10 miles northeast of Dingwall, just a quick drive up along the Cromarty Firth, is Alness, a town of less than 6,000 people. It is known to have a high level of deprivation, with locals saying there is a pressing social housing challenge. Between 2016 and 2020, they took in six refugee families from Syria. Peter Phelps, 66, and Thomas Grant, 70, who live in the area, said: 'We have no objections to refugees being housed here, everyone is quite welcoming of them. 'It must be strange for them you know, to come here and it be very different to where they are from. 'We've never heard anyone complain around here about them.' The one concern, however, that they and many other locals raised was the lack of housing for those 'born and bred' in the towns. They said: 'The only thing is we've not got the property for it. 'We need more homes. 'So many locals are looking for houses and can't get them. 'I think that's the only problem, people come in from other countries and they get houses straight away but locals can't get them. 'It's not about colour or anything like that. 'They just need to build more houses to house more people.' The Highlands is part of the UK's Afghan Resettlement programme which aims to take in Afghans who worked with or for the UK government and as such put their lives at risk. Historic army base Cameron Barracks was used to relocate these Afghan families beginning in 2021. Many Syrian and Afghan refugees have since enrolled on college courses, found jobs and taken up English-language classes after resettling in the Highlands. Many from Dingwall and Alness also travel to the 'capital' Inverness for work and college. Speaking to MailOnline at a newly-opened Afghan food truck along the River Ness in Inverness, an Afghan refugee who did not wish to be named said: 'We've been here for about four years now. 'Everyone has been very friendly, the people have been good here, I like it. 'I was 18 when we moved here. My husband was working but I was finishing school. 'When we moved here my son was only 10 months old. He is in nursery now. 'The council and people are nice here and gave good support, like English classes, college, like making hobbies for us, especially for women. 'They offered a lot of support to the refugees, especially the women. 'We opened this [food truck] three days ago. My husband sometimes work here but he is at college. He is studying mechanics.' Meanwhile, Ibrahim Al Hasan, who was part of the first five Syrian refugee families to arrive in the Highlands, spoke to MailOnline about his experience. The father-of-four said: 'I moved here from Syria in 2016. I have four kids, when we came here the youngest was little age, just seven months. 'First when I came here all I thought was it is a safe place. 'Then I looked for a job. For about two or three years I struggled because I don't speak English then. 'I worked at a charity shop for about five years before starting taxi. I've done this for three years. 'Now I have been here about nine years. Here is okay, I am happy for the safety and for my kids. 'And for the work I have I am so happy.' Speaking of how and his family adjusted when they arrived, he said: 'I had no idea how I would come and actually struggle for language, for culture, for food, everything. Especially since I was part of the first group to come here. 'After me, after one year other Syrian people came here and it was bit easier for them. 'But when I came I didn't know anything. 'The council supported us and the local mosque. If we needed anything, they always help, not just me, for everyone. 'It was hard to find like halal food and things. The council woman would drive us and help us. 'The locals are friendly, not too much contact, but they say hi. 'I like it here more than to go to London or Glasgow. Here I don't need to worry. 'With big cities, there's more problems. My friend in Glasgow, he's struggling with the kids. 'Here you have more option, the kids can go outside to play. In Dingwall, my kids are always out. Every morning and evening friends are knocking on the door. 'My kids speak English very well now. My daughter is in Primary 4, they say she speaks very well, her writing is perfect, for spelling and everything.' A trustee at the local mosque in Inverness, where many refugees from Syria and Afghanistan attend for prayers, told of how 'credit goes to Highland Council' for supporting refugees. He said: 'If you try and bring refugees into a very crowded city, the problems that affect that city sometimes harms them. 'It was organised better here. 'There was less pressure, less public outcry, and they did it so the local community were involved and almost like mentors or buddies to the refugees. 'The housing is a problem everywhere, there's no exception here. 'But Highland Council did a lot to support the refugees, integrating children and families into the community is a difficult thing to do.' 19-year-old Khalid Khan told MailOnline of how he fled Afghanistan 'by foot' when he was 15 and was settled in Inverness. He said: 'I didn't fly here. I walked from Kabul, through Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, France. I was in France for about one year then I came to London. 'In London there was a big camp, I was there two months then they changed me to another camp, then to here. 'Inverness is beautiful. I love the weather. I can't believe the weather here. Sometimes really cold, sometimes really nice.' Khalid, whose family are still in Afghanistan told of how he has felt welcomed into Highlands society: 'I like it here. The people are really nice, I love them. 'The people are kind, they speak to you. It's really nice. 'I have a social worker that takes care of me. There are a lot of people from different countries and everyone is supported. 'Here, the locals are always coming to see me, asking "are you okay, do you need anything?" 'I applied for college last year, they didn't accept me, so I applied for this year and they've accepted me. I'm going to study Computer Science. 'They really helped me with English when I came here. 'My family are all in Afghanistan, I have two younger brothers. 'I do miss them. I miss Afghanistan. I love my country but now it is under the control of the Taliban. Now I don't know what has happened to my country.' Meanwhile, though the majority of those MailOnline spoke with were positive about the Highlands as a safe haven for refugees, some felt it had gone too far. Diane Jeffrey, 66, who works at Alan's Taxis on Alness High Street, said: 'This is why you get people asking well what about the locals struggling for housing? 'Over the last few years you've had people coming in, they set up businesses here, and it's just taken over. 'I just think you've got to look after your own before you let others into the country. 'The council is giving them money, everything, even driving courses. But locals don't have that. 'To then get the status as well is not needed.' Her thoughts were echoed by Donnie Beaton, who also resides in Alness. He said: 'I've never seen so much misuse of money. Put it in the people who are from the local area. 'I'm not racist in any manner and I don't disagree with people coming here if they are putting back into society. 'But they're not. They don't care about the local people. 'And we've got no say in it. 'And there's no housing for being born here. People are waiting so long for housing but they are given it straightaway.' Councillor Glynis Campbell Sinclair, who is Provost of Inverness, told MailOnline about how she was proud of the work the council staff had done to integrate refugees into Highlands society. She told argued she believed the motion to apply for 'sanctuary status' would have been a way to 'acknowledge' the work that had been done. The Housing and Property Committee chair said: 'The team have been working with refugees for over a decade. 'I am really proud of the work they have done. Not a lot of people know of the amount of work the Highlands have done for refugees. 'And sometimes it's really nice to acknowledge in a formal way your appreciation for the work that they are doing, and applying for the City of Sanctuary award for me was an apt thing to do. 'I was disappointed that several members of the committee felt that they couldn't do that. 'I'm disappointed for the staff because I think that any kind of award is an acknowledgement for the work they do. 'It's perception as well. Applying for the sanctuary award sends out a message, it's basically saying to the UK and beyond, this is the sort of place the Highlands is, this is how we support vulnerable people who fled conflict. 'It should have gone through with a nod.' The proposal was beaten by nine votes to seven in a committee meeting last Wednesday. In the committee meeting, Cllr Mr McDonald, said of his experience with army-employed Afghan civilians: 'I went to the front gate in Kabul with my team with full body armour on to bring these people into the camp — I know how scared they were. 'So I understand wholeheartedly what these people go through, what they went through, and what they are suffering now. 'I would propose that we continue to support the refugees in the manner that we have done for years — quietly, meaningfully and respectfully. 'Can we achieve the same result by working alongside the scheme without signing up? 'We do not need to virtue-signal our support. 'We certainly do not want our citizens to perceive that they are being alienated and pushed further down the pecking order.' Late last year, the Scottish Human Rights Commission warned that the Highlands had a serious shortage of affordable housing in rural areas. There was said to be a significant number of people who are homeless, and the lack of affordable housing, including social housing, was said to be a factor in young people not moving back to the Highlands after leaving for further education. Cllr Sinclair told MailOnline of how despite there being low population density across the Highlands, a lack of housing and infrastructure for jobs and education was a key challenge in keeping young people in the area. She said: 'The problem we've had for generations is that young people go to school, but then 17, 18, they probably travel far afield to Glasgow, Edinburgh, the big cities, for further education. That's been happening for generations. 'But there's a new university in Inverness so a lot more younger people are staying at home and doing their degrees here. 'The problem we do have here in the Highlands is that there is a housing challenge, every year the Highlands have got a long waiting list because we just don't have enough houses. 'And that is contributing to the depopulation challenge.' Speaking of the council's work to house refugees, she added: 'The Highland Council has a strong track record in supporting refugees and displaced persons fleeing war in their own countries. 'The people who are now living across Highland are individuals and families supported because of national programmes which have determined they have a legal right to reside, work and claim statutory entitlements. 'The people of Highland have shown enormous empathy and compassion which has been of great comfort to the people beginning new lives here.'
The National
6 days ago
- Business
- The National
From Syria's war to US uncertainty: A refugee caught in Trump's aid freeze
On a rainy afternoon in Maryland, Mohammad Saaid Abdalnabi and a few fellow refugees pitch a tent in the corner of a car park and fire up a grill. The rich aroma of sizzling kebabs fills the air as they prepare traditional Syrian food for an event to thank donors who helped their families to begin new lives in the US. Born and raised in Damascus, Saaid had dreamt of moving to the US since he was 12. When Syria's civil war broke out in 2011 and pro-democracy protests spread across the country, calling for an end to president Bashar Al Assad's authoritarian rule, his desire to leave grew stronger. 'I left Syria because I was at the age of joining the military,' Saaid tells The National. 'When I turned 18, I tried to get my passport and come here as I did not want to fight my people, because the military was fighting our people." Saaid, 27, spent several years in Cairo, Egypt, where he met his wife, Reham Allahham. In October, his long-held dream finally began to take shape. He arrived in Maryland with Reham and their daughter Mirna, 5. He had nothing – no money, no home, just the will to start over. The family was supported by Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a refugee resettlement agency that covered their hotel stay on arrival. By December, with the agency's help, they had moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Calverton, with three months of rent funded. For decades, the federal refugee resettlement programme has supported people fleeing war, disaster and persecution, offering limited cash and medical assistance along with case management, English-language classes and job placement services. But for Saaid, rebuilding his life came with unexpected hurdles. Just as his family began to settle, the Trump administration froze refugee resettlement funds, leaving tens of thousands of newly arrived families in sudden uncertainty and hardship. 'We were honestly upset that unfortunately [the funding] stopped but we hope that the situation will get better,' Saaid says. The funding freeze led to delays in his rent payments, leaving him anxious about how long the support would last. Families who arrived after him received no assistance at all. Many were at risk of eviction. That is when the non-profit Homes Not Borders stepped in, using private donations to help several refugee families keep food on the table and roofs over their heads. The organisation also furnished apartments, including Saaid's, with beds, sofas and other essentials, helping refugees make a fresh start. 'We had been doing about seven to 10 home setups a week. But then the refugee resettlement stopped when President Trump took over,' says Laura Thompson Osuri, executive director of Homes Not Borders. 'Now we've been doing about four home set-ups a week, mostly for Special Immigrant Visa holders that used to work for the US government in Afghanistan. They're not getting any support from the US government. They're coming here on their own dime or sponsored by a non-profit here.' With the funding freeze, resettlement agencies nationwide were forced to lay off hundreds of staff. So, Homes Not Borders hired some case workers part-time to help refugees connect to their benefits. The group has also helped many refugee families pay their rent. 'We used to be vendors of the resettlement agencies and get money from them for doing home set-ups. That has stopped, so that has been a hit to our budget,' Ms Osuri says. With fewer new arrivals, the organisation has decreased the number of home set-ups it conducts. While this has reduced the need for staff time and resources, the group continues to seek donations and grants to support continuing resettlement work. Refugees are an important part of the fabric of America, Ms Osuri says. 'We need to start resettling all these people, especially the Afghan people that we promised that we'd bring them here.' Navigating a new life In April, Saaid began working at a slaughterhouse in Baltimore, earning $2,500 a month. It was a step forward, but it came at a cost. The new income made him ineligible for food stamps and cash assistance. With $1,850 going towards rent each month, there's little left to support his family. Reham has enrolled in free English classes in Prince George's County and helps Saaid improve his language skills, as his work hours prevent him from attending classes. 'When I first came here it was hard, but each month I feel that I'm improving and so is my English, hopefully,' he said. 'I'm really happy that I came here and as I said it was my dream. I wish my home rent was lower so I could live a better life.' Despite the challenges, Saaid remains hopeful. He expresses gratitude to Mr Trump for lifting sanctions on Syria – a move he believes may ease the burden on his parents and siblings still living in Damascus. 'I wish I could send money home but my current situation doesn't allow me as I can barely pay rent and cover my expenses,' he said. Although the future remains uncertain, Saaid dreams of becoming a chef and building a stable life in the US. He continues to hold on to hope — for himself, for his family and for the people of Syria.
