2016 Resolutions

In September 2015,

the UK government made a commitment

to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees into the UK.

Scotland responded with a 2,000 pledge of people

and Aberdeenshire Council pledged to resettle up to 50 Syrian families

over the next four or five years.

Were you here last week?

SHE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

OK.

'When the families first arrive in Aberdeenshire,

'they are absolutely terrified.

'They don't know how to access any of the essential services they need.

'All the families that we have are here

'through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme'

so they have real emergencies, real urgencies.

They have medical conditions, serious medical conditions.

Others have been victims of warfare or torture.

HE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

His son has got haemophilia

and now currently he lives in Dubai on his own

and he doesn't have the right medication,

it's not provided there.

So they're trying to bring him here so he can be with the family.

Just have a look. You know when you're steaming,

make sure there's no marks.

They were absolutely adamant

that they didn't want to just be in receipt of support,

that it was always about what they could contribute,

what they could give back.

Everybody wants to work, a number of people are volunteering.

-Can I get one apple juice as well?

-Apple juice.

And that's super because they're volunteering,

it's real integration, they're in environments where

they may still not be speaking an awful lot of English

but they're getting by and they're functioning

and they're meeting English speakers every day.

-What's your name?

-Jakey.

I am Bassel.

Refugee resettlement is brutal, absolutely brutal.

It's just another...

another step in a very, very difficult,

emotional, arduous journey.

It's not an end result.

People are incredibly grateful, they couldn't be more grateful,

more thankful to be safe, to be receiving medical treatment,

to be given support

but they still have to live every day with the realities.

SHE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

They used to be a very happy family,

small family, happy, content,

medication is available for their children.

Then the war started and they had to move,

they were displaced, even within Syria from one place to the other.

For some, they had to flee immediately,

their houses were destroyed.

For others, it was more fear of what could happen.

The one thing that did happen was that many families separated

and, in particular, families with young sons tended to be separated.

HE SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE

Although they're safe and happy here

and everything is available for them

and they feel secure but still,

there is a big part missing from their life.

He goes to bed every night thinking about his son.

What is he doing, is he feeling all right, is he safe,

does he have his medicine?

And it's the case for every single Syrian family here.

No matter how much they progress here,

they love their sons and daughters when they were five and 15,

now that they're 25, they don't love them any less

but because they're adults,

they're not necessarily allowed to have them with them.

We've learned a huge amount about how people live their lives,

how similar we are in lots of ways and actually our differences,

they aren't the ones that we think they are.

They're not about religion, politics,

they're about whether you like

four spoonfuls of sugar in your coffee or two.

They're simple things that separate us, not the big things.

But it's an experience that's been an honour to be part of.