0:00:06 > 0:00:09Ballaghaderreen is a sleepy Catholic town in the west of Ireland.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Earlier this year, it saw the arrival
0:00:17 > 0:00:19of hundreds of Muslim refugees from Syria.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25For six years, war has ravaged their country.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31In all, 4,000 have been offered asylum in Ireland.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I am very happy because I come in here, in Ireland.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36This film tells the story of one of 30 families
0:00:36 > 0:00:38sent to live in a disused luxury hotel.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40It isn't the right place for them.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43The bigger centres, in my opinion, would be the place for them.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45It explores how faith can inspire charity.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50The thing is, if you really have faith,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53you won't harden your heart against anyone.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56How belief can guide people through the most difficult of times.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02And asks, when two religions meet...
0:01:02 > 0:01:04It is nothing to do with Christianity,
0:01:04 > 0:01:05it has nothing to do Islam.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08They are not right from their mind.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10..are we as welcoming as we think we are?
0:01:10 > 0:01:13- Thank you.- I am afraid of them.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15I would not go walking like I used to do.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17I'm just afraid to meet them.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Wahey! HORNS BLARE
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Very good people! Is very nice.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40The people here are very, very cute.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41But it's very cold!
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Before in Syria, it's very nice.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I am very happy before in Syria.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53With my family, and very beautiful. My city is very beautiful.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56All the Syria, very beautiful.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Now, though, I am so sad.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02The war has taken everything.
0:02:04 > 0:02:0720-year-old Muslim asylum seeker Ghassan
0:02:07 > 0:02:08arrived in Dublin two weeks ago.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15He fled the war in Syria in 2016.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19And now finds himself on his own in a predominantly Catholic culture.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38For the past six months,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Ghassan has been living in a refugee camp in Greece.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Now he's waiting to find out whether he'll be granted refugee status
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and allowed to stay in Ireland.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Along with another 200 Muslim asylum seekers,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59he's about to be bussed out to a traditional Catholic town
0:02:59 > 0:03:01of under 2,000 people in the west of Ireland.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06But their imminent arrival has divided the community.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09One of the greatest charitable acts that anyone of us can do
0:03:09 > 0:03:12is to be able to share our resources with people
0:03:12 > 0:03:15who are less well off than ourselves.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18But we as Christians, though, are doing this because
0:03:18 > 0:03:22we are respecting each person, especially a vulnerable person
0:03:22 > 0:03:27who is experiencing difficulty, as a child of God, created by God.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31They cannot look after what we have got here.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33We can't look after our own.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35I mean, look at all the people sleeping rough,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37look at all... You know.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39And then, go taking in more refugees.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I wouldn't think they'd be here long enough, that's the way
0:03:43 > 0:03:45I put it down, they won't be here long enough to integrate.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Is there a chance of integration? No.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51When you see people from a great place like Syria
0:03:51 > 0:03:53made homeless through no fault of their own,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55and they come to a small place like Ballaghaderreen
0:03:55 > 0:03:57that they've never heard of,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01of course you say a prayer for them and of course you try
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and support in a small way, you know.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Ballaghaderreen has also had its share of hard times, though.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Unemployment is high and many businesses
0:04:11 > 0:04:13were forced to close after the recession.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16One of the victims was the newly-built luxury hotel.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20But now, it's reopening as a centre to house the refugees.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Centre manager Jackie Mullen has spent a lifetime
0:04:24 > 0:04:26running large hotels.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27She's a devout Catholic.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31I think if you didn't have some kind of faith
0:04:31 > 0:04:33and you might say, "Oh, I don't believe. I don't believe..."
0:04:33 > 0:04:36But wait till trouble comes to your door.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Or you're in the hospital and someone belonging to you
0:04:39 > 0:04:42is quite ill and you're praying and praying and praying.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44And often then, prayers are answered.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Her faith has led her to years of charity work.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53I love to give. It doesn't make me anyone special, in my book.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58Because I get as much enjoyment out of giving as the receiver.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00But she has never worked with refugees before.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04It's a bit like Fawlty Towers if you ask me!
0:05:06 > 0:05:10A typical bedroom here is this one here.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Which are very comfortable.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14We've 40 rooms in the hotel.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17This is the welcome wall.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21And all the children from the local school left messages
0:05:21 > 0:05:23of welcome for the Syrian families and children.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I'm just so looking forward to embracing the people
0:05:31 > 0:05:33and make sure that they're safe and warm and happy.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37And that's the objective in all of this for all of us.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The day the refugees move to Ballaghaderreen has finally arrived.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49The Department Of Justice says it expects 80 refugees
0:05:49 > 0:05:51to be relocated to the West Roscommon town
0:05:51 > 0:05:53of Ballaghaderreen...
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Up to 80 mostly Syrian refugees
0:05:55 > 0:05:58are to be housed in the closed Abbey Field hotel...
0:05:58 > 0:06:01The Minister For State overseeing the arrival of 4,000 Syrian refugees
0:06:01 > 0:06:04said yesterday that a disused hotel would be used
0:06:04 > 0:06:06as an emergency reception and orientation centre
0:06:06 > 0:06:08for 80 Syrian asylum seekers.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- HE SPEAKS ARABIC - Thank you!
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- See you, bye-bye.- Thank you.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I have to say, I didn't know what to expect, personally.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25But it was a pleasure to see all of the people.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28And I could tell that they were tired.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Some of them have been through hell and back.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35There's a lady here, lost two sons.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Little girl here with shrapnel in her hip.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41I mean, there's a lot to do.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45And we have a ground floor for your grandmother.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- She's a wheelchair?- Yeah, yeah. - So, 101 to 104.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Will you go on bring your family, please?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53The Syrian families have each been allocated their own room.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Across the hall from Ghassan are his extended family.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58His great-aunt, her daughter Janan,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00and her two daughters, Ahlam and Judy.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06It's been 18 months since they left Syria.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08And now, they finally have time
0:07:08 > 0:07:10to reflect on what they've been through.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Ghassan travelled with his cousin Judy and her relatives.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24While his friend, Kamel, travelled alone.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27They both used smugglers to get them from Syria to Greece.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Evading border patrols along the way
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and then making the dangerous journey by boat
0:07:31 > 0:07:33across the Mediterranean Sea.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37SHOUTING IN ARABIC
0:08:48 > 0:08:51To welcome the refugees, a local volunteer group
0:08:51 > 0:08:54has organised an evening of Celtic music.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21CHEERING
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Bring them over to my car, and then I can put them up in...
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Yeah, yeah, yeah. No problem.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32The next morning, Teresa, a local volunteer,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35brings some donations collected from the community.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38You can let us know what you need.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41- So...- Clothes, clothes. Everything, all the people here?- Yeah?
0:09:41 > 0:09:43You have knitted clothes. Clothes. Clothes, clothes!
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- Jackets?- Jackets... Trousers?- Trousers, yeah.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48- Yeah.- All the people, you have clothes. Need clothes.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- Great, OK.- All the people.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54I got involved because I'm trying to put myself in their shoes
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and imagine what it would be like coming to a brand-new place,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00new country, new community and not knowing anyone
0:10:00 > 0:10:02and not speaking very much of the language.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13We figured that it would be a nice gesture to show them around,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15introduce them to the people, so they know their way
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and they have the confidence to go downtown themselves.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Make sure everybody knows where the library is.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23See? The yellow building is library.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26People at the back, did you get all that?
0:10:26 > 0:10:29The Post Office? Green building.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Hi. Hi.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38- Hi!- Hello, how are you? - Very well, how are you?
0:10:38 > 0:10:40- Thank you.- Hello.- This shop...
0:10:40 > 0:10:42- Right? Is...- Here 73 years.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- Well, I hope you'll be very happy. - Good to know.- Thank you.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- Yeah?- They're happy to be here. - Oh, good!- Thanks, Allie.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50- Yeah. You should be, yeah. - Relieved, relieved to be here.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52And the place is beautiful. Your accommodation is lovely.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- Thank you very much. - Beautiful. Right.- Thank you!
0:10:55 > 0:10:56Well, enjoy it. Bye, God bless, bye!
0:11:00 > 0:11:03This is your neighbour. She lives down by the Abbey Field.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05We're just giving them a little bit of a tour around town.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08- Lovely. You're very welcome. - Thank you.- Enjoy your walk.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12- Thanks.- I'm just bringing some of the Syrians for a walk around town.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And I just wanted to give you the option of saying hello
0:11:15 > 0:11:17- outside the door.- How do you say hello in Syrian?
0:11:17 > 0:11:20- Oh, you can say marhabaan. - Say it again?- Marhabaan.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23- Marhabaan!- Yeah.- Marhabaan!
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- Hello!- Hi. How are you?
0:11:26 > 0:11:29- Marhabaan!- This is...- Marhabaan!
0:11:29 > 0:11:31- This is Mary.- Mary.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Cead mile failte!
0:11:33 > 0:11:35I'll tell them what cead mile failte is?
0:11:35 > 0:11:37100,000 welcomes!
0:11:38 > 0:11:40And behave yourselves! Behave yourselves.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43- We will be watching you. - THEY LAUGH
0:11:45 > 0:11:48These people are coming here and if they're asking us,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50and you know, have you a place for us?
0:11:50 > 0:11:53What we say? "No, we haven't."
0:11:53 > 0:11:55"Oh, no. I'm sorry.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58"We don't take anyone who speaks Arabic or...
0:11:58 > 0:11:59"We don't do that."
0:11:59 > 0:12:01How do you like our climate?
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- The weather?- Weather! Very good.- Rain, rain, rain.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07- No problem!- No problem? No problem?
0:12:07 > 0:12:09The weather in Ireland is very amazing.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Amazing is one word. We don't call it amazing!
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- No, we have other words! - We have other words for it!
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Are you human? Does your humanity and your heart outweigh your fears?
0:12:21 > 0:12:22That's the question to ask.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- Say welcome to our friends. - Welcome to everybody!
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Do we let our sense of fearfulness triumph?
0:12:28 > 0:12:31I hope not. I hope not.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32I hope it doesn't rain.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- You're welcome.- Nice to meet you, thank you!
0:12:35 > 0:12:37- Goodbye.- You're very welcome.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47I always kneel there. I always kneel there.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Right there. I'm a bit proprietorial about it.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Which is...not a very good sign of Christianity.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58This is an era where faith is kind of,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01"Oh-ho, you don't really believe in that, do you?"
0:13:01 > 0:13:03You know, if you're cool, you don't really believe in that.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06I just know that outside yourself
0:13:06 > 0:13:08and outside this world, there's something very special.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12The thing is, if you really have faith,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15you won't harden your heart against anyone.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20How could you say I believe in somebody who created us
0:13:20 > 0:13:24and then take a dislike to part of that creation?
0:13:24 > 0:13:27How could you do that? You'd be an utter hypocrite.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31When you see people from Syria hoping that they will meet
0:13:31 > 0:13:36a kindly hand, do we turn our backs and say, "Oh, I'm all right"?
0:13:36 > 0:13:38It's their own fault they're like that.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Do you want to do that? Or do you want to say here's half a loaf?
0:13:42 > 0:13:43You know?
0:13:48 > 0:13:49That's it.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55But not everyone in Ballaghaderreen feels the same.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57This is our house here.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01And the hotel is directly in front of us.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04We...
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Say we walk out our driveway and we walk...
0:14:07 > 0:14:09We look straight into their window.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Anne and her husband Martin have lived here most of their lives.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Yeah, that's them going by now, yeah.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19While I agree with them coming to town,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22I don't agree with them all in their own area.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25We'd love to see them mix with the community.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29But not so many together.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Michael Mulligan runs the local ironmongers.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34They're all very, very welcomed.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38But the town itself is approximately 1,800 people.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And 240 people in on top of...
0:14:43 > 0:14:46..1,800 people is way too much.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48I'm a Catholic, Martin's Catholic,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50we have Protestants, we have everything.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52We all get on so well, so religion doesn't come into it.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57But I think that if you cannot talk to them, you'll get afraid of them.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00If you cannot say hello to them, you'll get afraid of them.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01You don't know what they're like.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05And I am afraid to walk out of the street now.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06Because they go in bunches.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Ten at a time, maybe 11 at a time up the street.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Big lads, like...
0:15:12 > 0:15:15You know, they have done nothing to me.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17And I hope they won't. But I'm afraid of them.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20I would not go walking like I used to do.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I'm just afraid to meet them.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28- How are you?- Salaam alaykum. Assalaamu Alaikum. Looking good!
0:15:28 > 0:15:29- How are you?- Good, good, good.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Even though Ballaghaderreen is predominantly Catholic,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34the Syrians aren't the only Muslims in the town.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- Have you been good?- I'm good, thank you very much.- Please.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39All right, come on. Have a cup of tea or something, maybe.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Saj came over with his family from Pakistan 15 years ago.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45And runs the local barbershop.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49- So, you like the town?- Yeah. - You OK?- It's nice.
0:15:49 > 0:15:50- You're from Pakistan, huh? - Pakistan, yes.
0:15:50 > 0:15:5215 years in Ireland.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55But ten years, I'm bringing business barbershop.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- Yeah?- Yeah, five years this place.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Five years, I used to have other place.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10In Islam, you need to... You have to look after other people.
0:16:10 > 0:16:11If you're not looking after other people,
0:16:11 > 0:16:14that means you're not a good Muslim.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17You know what I mean? These people, they didn't do anything wrong.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19I mean they were just normal, ordinary people just like us.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22They were living nice with their families, with their families.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24And with the kids and everywhere. And I...
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Some of them were living a better life than us!
0:16:26 > 0:16:30Their nice big houses and nice work and nice businesses and jobs.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32And they're all gone.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35So, they are in trouble and I think we should go and help them.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Since a group of Pakistani men came to work in the local meat factory
0:16:41 > 0:16:4515 years ago, Muslims and Catholics have lived side by side in the town.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51But there are signs that attitudes have started to shift.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58..some of the people hear about that and they throw the leaflet,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00some of these hate leaflets in the town.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03The leaflet shows some graphic images
0:17:03 > 0:17:06as well as some inflammatory views on Islam.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08It has nothing to do with Christianity.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10It is nothing to do with Islam, nothing to do with any religions.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Just there are some people, they are not right from their mind.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17They're sick people and they're trying to spread the hate.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49- Morning!- Good morning!
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- Morning!- Morning.- That's nice!
0:17:52 > 0:17:53I like to do this.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56I walk around each morning just to see things are going to plan.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59And they are. They're all enjoying a healthy breakfast.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05It's taking Jackie some time to get the refugees settled.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Duvet cover, duvet...
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- Big bed or small bed?- No...
0:18:10 > 0:18:11It's been very busy.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Hard-going at times and they can try your patience.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16But at the same time,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19I let them know that this is the way it is here in Ireland.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21And there's no problem, then.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24As the hotel is to be their home over the next few months,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28it's important that the refugees are able to keep up with their routines.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31For Kamel, his faith is a source of comfort.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32And he prays daily.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49For others like Ghassan, it's staying in touch with the family
0:18:49 > 0:18:51he has had to leave behind in Syria.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22THEY CONTINUE SPEAKING IN ARABIC
0:19:46 > 0:19:49- Are you scared for your mum and dad? - Yeah.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Because in Syria, it's very difficult.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54All of Syria, not... You have...
0:19:54 > 0:19:56All of Syria the very problem.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I miss my mum very much.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00My mum, my heart...
0:20:00 > 0:20:02I need my mum.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04I need my mum.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Four years ago, Kamel's mother was shot dead
0:20:43 > 0:20:46by a bullet which came through his bedroom window.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48He was 20 years old at the time.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Jackie was hoping that English classes would have started.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44But the building work is running behind schedule.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49For now, all that Ghassan and the other Syrians can do is wait.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51It's a waiting game. We're waiting for specs in the beginning.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Then we got the specs and we're waiting on approval
0:21:54 > 0:21:58from both the Department of Justice and the Department for Education.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00By the time it was approved and married,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03now we're on a race to get them finished.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05This is one of the classrooms here.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06The floor will be painted,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09so that will be ready at the end of the week.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12And then, just the furnishes go in then, and a good clean-up.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17CHILDREN SOB
0:23:19 > 0:23:21The refugees aren't allowed to work
0:23:21 > 0:23:23while they wait for their status to be decided.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24But they like to keep themselves busy.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- Hello!- Is this the boy from all the way from...?
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- Yeah.- Syria!- From Syria, hello. - You are very welcome.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Today, Ghassan has come to Mary's shop
0:23:32 > 0:23:34to show her some of his great-aunt's knitting.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39- Oh, crochet?- Crochet. - Crochet! Oh, my goodness.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Oh, if I were 16 again!
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Oh! That is lovely!
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Oh, my goodness. Your Excellency!
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- Excuse me.- No, no. Oh, it's very beautiful!- Really?
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Let me see.
0:23:54 > 0:23:55Oh, yes! I love it!
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Tell your grandmother that the crochet is beautiful.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Now, I've never heard anything more from Syria.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05And then, when I heard of all this upheaval and everything else...
0:24:06 > 0:24:07And it's terrible.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Because down here in this part of the country,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14we had experiences similar to that many generations ago.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19- Yeah.- We had famine and we had people on coffin ships.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21They used to call them coffin ships.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27So, we can share that sense of loss, that sense of separation,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29the sense of strangeness, all that kind of thing.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31- And if we don't...- Yeah.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Well, then we're just... I don't know what!
0:24:33 > 0:24:36If something doesn't touch our hearts
0:24:36 > 0:24:40when all that happens in Syria, we are not human.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Thank you, thank you.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Thank you so much!
0:24:44 > 0:24:45Thank you for everything!
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Oh, no. I did nothing. I'm...
0:24:49 > 0:24:52- Thank you.- No.- Thank you.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56You know, if it doesn't touch our hearts, what are we?
0:24:56 > 0:24:58- Thank you.- What are we? We are all people...
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- Yeah, thank you.- Coming and going, different language...
0:25:00 > 0:25:02- So happy.- Thank you. - I'm so happy to meet you.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Me too, me too. I am come here, and we are...
0:25:04 > 0:25:06- I'm so happy to meet you. - And I speak with you.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- And to say hello to Syria for me. - Marhabaan.- Yeah, yeah.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- What's it?- Marhabaan. - Marhabaan.- Yeah, good.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- Marhabaan!- Yeah, good! Hello!
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Keeping up with Friday Prayers
0:25:31 > 0:25:34has become even more important to Kamel since his mother died.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40The hotel has laid down a coach to take the refugees
0:25:40 > 0:25:42to the nearest mosque, which is 20 miles away.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Saj has helped organise the trip.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Friday Prayer is very important in Islam.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56Friday is the main prayer.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59So, Friday's not a prayer that everybody can do his own.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01This is many people that get together
0:26:01 > 0:26:03and know each other in that prayer.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08THEY SPEAK IN ARABIC
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Allahu akbar...
0:26:39 > 0:26:41HE CHANTS
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Out! Out!
0:27:27 > 0:27:31It's Easter Holy Week, and Father Joseph Gavigan,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34the local priest, has brought treats for the refugee children.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40It's an opportunity for him to explain the significance
0:27:40 > 0:27:42of Easter for Christians.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46I'd just like to say we're delighted, Father Paul and myself,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49to visit with you here this afternoon,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52to exchange some little gifts with you.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55We want to give you these little Easter eggs to give you
0:27:55 > 0:28:00a symbol of new life, to be able to begin something very special
0:28:00 > 0:28:04for your lives here in Ireland, Ballaghaderreen and in Ireland.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05Say thank you!
0:28:05 > 0:28:08- CHILDREN:- Thank you! Thank you!
0:28:08 > 0:28:10- LOUDER:- Thank you!
0:28:10 > 0:28:12APPLAUSE
0:28:19 > 0:28:21It's wonderful to see the young children running around
0:28:21 > 0:28:24enjoying themselves, playing, doing exactly what young children
0:28:24 > 0:28:27should be doing, and to have that sense of peace.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31Recently on my visit here, I met one of the residents
0:28:31 > 0:28:37and she told me, in a very dramatic way, "Thank you for the peace.
0:28:37 > 0:28:38"Thank you for the peace."
0:28:38 > 0:28:42She was experiencing peace here in Ireland and in this centre.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46And that was a very joyful sense for her.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49And I'm delighted that she is able to have that sense.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11THEY SING IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Even though Easter is not recognised in Islam, in parts of Syria,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Muslims and Christians would often join together
0:29:23 > 0:29:25during religious festivals.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Ghassan's great-aunt is hoping that they will be invited to the
0:29:28 > 0:29:30town cathedral for Easter celebrations.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:30:46 > 0:30:49But Ghassan's great-aunt and family didn't know what time the Mass
0:30:49 > 0:30:51was held and so they missed the service.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:31:30 > 0:31:31- Hello.- Hello, how are you?- Hello.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33- Hello.- Very good to see you.
0:31:33 > 0:31:34- You're very welcome. - Thank you so much.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38You're very welcome. Hello, how are you? You're very welcome.
0:31:38 > 0:31:39- Hello.- You're very welcome.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44Hearing of their disappointment,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Father Joseph has invited them to visit the cathedral.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51It's a moment for the family to say a prayer
0:31:51 > 0:31:53for Janan's missing husband.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15When Jesus lived on Earth,
0:32:15 > 0:32:19he was approached by many, many people seeking help.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24And he has asked us as Christians today to continue to follow
0:32:24 > 0:32:27his example of supporting and helping people
0:32:27 > 0:32:29in their times of greatest need.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37I would like to express my gratitude to you for visiting our cathedral
0:32:37 > 0:32:38this afternoon to pray.
0:32:40 > 0:32:46And I hope it has been a time of peace for you and your family.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51We are very, very happy here because seeing people is very friendly.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Thank you, very, very much for you and for all the people in Ireland.
0:32:54 > 0:32:55Thank you.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06After living nearly three months in the hotel,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08connections with the town are starting to form.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Ameet, we are going there right now.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Saj has come to collect some of the Syrian young men
0:33:14 > 0:33:17to play Gaelic football with the local team.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21One of the town's firemen, James, has also come along
0:33:21 > 0:33:23to see how they get on.
0:33:23 > 0:33:24Move it out!
0:33:24 > 0:33:26There's no culture clashes with kids, really,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29with these young fellows. So, they're getting in on the game,
0:33:29 > 0:33:30and they're just teenagers,
0:33:30 > 0:33:32they're doing what teenagers do, they play football.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34And they mix well with each other.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36OK, have you any idea of what you're doing?
0:33:36 > 0:33:37JAMES LAUGHS
0:33:37 > 0:33:38OK, right.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40We'll know in a minute!
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Saj can still remember what it was like when he first came
0:33:44 > 0:33:47to a small town and how difficult it was to integrate.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51I am Muslim, so I know what it feels if somebody said
0:33:51 > 0:33:54a small little comment. If you have somebody hit you,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56maybe sometimes you don't feel it, you know?
0:33:56 > 0:33:58But sometimes this small little word maybe
0:33:58 > 0:33:59just goes straight inside.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02Whoa!
0:34:04 > 0:34:07And he's discovered that helping the refugees
0:34:07 > 0:34:09has had an unexpected consequence.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12I was just thinking to put a smile on their faces because,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15obviously, they came from distress and from the hard times.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17But I notice a different thing.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19I feel really good myself!
0:34:19 > 0:34:20I'm enjoying myself with them.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Like, they're part of the community now, really.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29So, like, get them up to the pitch,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33a few kicks, a bit of training, I'm sure they'll pick it up in no time, then.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37Oh, yes!
0:34:38 > 0:34:39Oh, yes.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41And back in the town, friendships have been growing
0:34:41 > 0:34:43between the old generation, too.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Do you make them winding round and round and round?
0:34:48 > 0:34:51It feels like a great sign of hope to me.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55Here was this lady who had been dispossessed of so much,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58and yet she was able to have this continuity of life.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03This optimism, in a sense, to make something, to create something.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05And I thought, "While there's all this in the world,
0:35:05 > 0:35:07"there's hope for us all."
0:35:07 > 0:35:10Ghassan's great-aunt's passion for knitting has seen her join
0:35:10 > 0:35:11the local knitting group.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14You have one, two, three, four. So you're going to...
0:35:14 > 0:35:18We have integrated them into our community by inviting them
0:35:18 > 0:35:20- to the knitting group.- Yeah.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26I feel if you have that faith and you have that goodness deep in
0:35:26 > 0:35:28your heart, that you will reach out to other people.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30- Correct.- And I think that's what we're doing now.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32We're reaching out to the Syrians.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53We find it very rewarding and it's a treat to have them.
0:35:53 > 0:35:54They are the loveliest people.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02And Janan is relieved because school has started for the children.
0:36:02 > 0:36:03- CHILDREN:- S.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Even the neighbours who were worried about the Syrians have started to
0:36:10 > 0:36:14come round. Including Anne, who is undergoing cancer treatment.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16The most important thing is, we're not afraid of them.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19So, they'll blend in all right after a while.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23What made me change my mind was when they spoke to me,
0:36:23 > 0:36:24when they said hello.
0:36:25 > 0:36:26I wasn't afraid then.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31And, you know, when they look at you in the two eyes
0:36:31 > 0:36:34and say hello, and in their own language or whatever,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36and to just keep going. You know, and...
0:36:37 > 0:36:39That's what made me change my mind.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47After five long months of waiting,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51some of the families have had their refugee status confirmed.
0:36:51 > 0:36:52It's a special day.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Two of our families and other residents will receive
0:36:55 > 0:36:56their refugee status.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01So they'll have rights and benefits of any people like ourselves.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04So, I think it's a great day. Yeah.
0:37:04 > 0:37:05Very happy.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14After today, Ghassan and his family will be able to work,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16travel and live freely in Ireland.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:37:34 > 0:37:38It's been 588 days since Ghassan and his family left Syria.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42And today, they are finally able to call somewhere home.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46This is it, guys.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49The last step is to get their photos and fingerprints done,
0:37:49 > 0:37:51and then they'll get their official ID cards.
0:37:54 > 0:37:55That's it.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Thank you so much! Finished?
0:37:57 > 0:37:59- Yep.- Thank you so much!
0:37:59 > 0:38:00- And you too.- Thank you so much.
0:38:05 > 0:38:12After this, I am Irish person and Syrian person together.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17I feel the relief that they feel,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20that all is going to be well in Ireland.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22And that's what I feel today, and I hope I'm right.