Glasgow Syrian Refugees on life in Scotland

Glasgow Syrian Refugees on life in Scotland

At a discussion organised jointly by Migrant Voice and Maryhill Integration Network on 31 March 2016, a number of Syrians discussed their experiences of arriving and living in Scotland.

The individuals who have lived in the UK for various periods ranging from four months to three years, included professionals such as a solicitor, a recently graduated doctor, a carpenter, a nurse, and a man who had been a political prisoner for 15 years since he was a student. Two children aged 9 and 12 joined their parents and also took part in the meeting. Some of the Syrians have been reunited with their families while others were still waiting to bring their families to the UK.

The meeting was a unique opportunity for Syrians to freely discuss their concerns about what challenges they, and/or other Syrians they know and work with, have faced since arriving in the UK. Similar to our findings from our discussions with Syrians in London, the most striking point made consistently throughout the discussion was that Syrian refugees want to integrate into UK society but feel they need more support to do so successfully.

This document has been produced by Migrant Voice to inform policy makers and NGOs in order to assist in developing more effective integration strategies. Here is a summary of the participants’ key responses, concerns and recommendations:

What has worked well?

The positives in their new city
•    Syrians in Glasgow feel that there are many positives and things they value in their new homes, from security to education. One person said: “It is peaceful, there is security, people are very nice, I feel treated well. Services are good, education and law and order.”  Another said: “the social services are good. Adult education is good, everyone can go to college here.”
•    Children emphasised that being in Scotland meant they had safety and the kind of everyday comforts others take for granted: A boy of 12 said the best things were: “Electricity, no rationing, and the internet.” A girl of 9 said: “the best is that at Tesco, there are lots of things, and many toys and games.” And she thought the Barbie's dresses were very pretty

Positive treatment and support
•    There was particular emphasis on how well the Syrians felt treated: “People – including the job centre, and other service providers treat you well.” In particular they emphasised the generosity and support of community groups and integration networks that help people when they arrive including with food, clothing and transport costs. They appreciated the events organised by some organisations to allow them to meet other Syrians as well as other communities. “It is good that organisations like Maryhill Integration Network give help and clothing, furniture etc., which is given by people who care and want to support. People here go out of their way to be supportive.” And “We don't usually get together to talk about issues that are important for us. So the last week meeting [organised by Maryhill Integration Network] was helpful”
•    The Syrians felt that the understanding of diversity in Glasgow made the society more welcoming and that there was understanding of the situation for Syrians. “Because of the media coverage of the conflict, people understand the situation for Syrians and they help.” And “Glasgow is used to seeing people from all nationalities and backgrounds, so they do not discriminate against you. Scottish people have developed their capacity to welcome people.” 

Support getting back to work
•    People in certain professions e.g. the medical field, had found it helpful that there were projects to help them transition into work (Refugee Doctors' project)

What have been the challenges?

Challenges for resettled refugees
•    The Syrians who had been here the longest and worked with more recent arrivals told us that they saw a difference for those who arrived before and now. Those who came over the first few years of the war on their own found it easier to settle and bring their families than those who came as part of the resettlement schemes. The latter group came together in a larger group and so it has been harder for them.

Facing racism
•    Some spoke of racism but said that they hadn't experienced it themselves, or that  “maybe there are rare cases but it doesn't tarnish the whole population.” And “There are a few cases of racism I faced but only from junkies and drunk people. It is not a general problem. Everyone is happy to help if you ask.”
•    But it was clear that in some areas of the city individuals did experience racism, especially women with headscarves. One woman had faced racism both against her children and herself. She had felt it from the caseworker, the interpreter and the doctor. She had faced it walking on the road, when people would spit on her and yell at her and say 'No Islam.' Sometimes the bus won't stop for her and a bus conductor told her off for saying ‘please’ instead of ‘thank you’ (she had just arrived and didn’t speak English yet). She had also had whisky poured over her. She is afraid to go out now, because she doesn't feel treated well. She has only been in the UK 3 months, but says she would rather go back to Syria. She is also concerned for her children; her son is excluded by the other children and comes home crying.
•    Having heard the experience of racism raised by the woman and her family, a couple of other participants said that they are had also felt discriminated.
•    One participant was very concerned that one should not complain about these incidents, as he said “people in Scotland are already so much nicer to us than in Jordan and Lebanon. We shouldn't complain” (this was said by the former political prisoner). He was very keen to show appreciation and wanted all other Syrians to show appreciation and not complain about smaller incidents, as he saw them. But he also said that people don't understand why we are here and was keen for the public to understand.

Seeing a doctor, meeting with interpreters
•    Some had experienced long waits to see a GP. Although one child was very ill, the parents had to wait two weeks for an appointment. Another person has shrapnel in his body and they still wont treat him.
•    For the new families arriving through the resettlement scheme the issue is the interpreting. Some interpreters are not professional and at other times a personal relationship develop between the interpreter and the client which impact negatively on families. E.g. the interpreters start telling people what to do or not to do, acting like solicitors.

Language
•    Language was seen as a challenge. All the Syrians said it was so important to learn. “Once you learn you can find a job. You need language for all aspects, including helping your children at school, etc. Once you have this, all other barriers can be removed.” Many felt that they wanted to study more, that it was not enough to have classes only a couple of hours a week, they wanted to learn English faster. They were concerned that all the classes are full. “If you want to register for a course there is a long waiting list. It you can learn English only for 2 hours and you have to pay for transport to do so it is not worth it. It is not the same as a long term course.”

The journey, the asylum process and immigration policies
•    Syrians expressed that the biggest challenge is getting to the UK, and all the challenges and fears along the journey. 
•    There was also concern about the process of claiming asylum and about family reunification. It was felt that there wasn’t a consistent process. The Syrians said that "The Home Office rules change and you are not guaranteed status. Some people I have met have been refused because of the misspelling. Or you refuse family reunifications for these kinds of reasons.” Also they found it difficult to bring their families and going through the process e.g. having to pay lots of money for DNA tests when challenged and requested by the Home Office to prove family links. Not being able to be reunited with your family was a huge issue for everyone. They felt unable to really get started in their new lives: “you feel you can’t settle till your family is here”.
•    Dispersal is an issue. Syrians are worried about being sent to a small village and have found from their contacts that it is a barrier to integration when you are asked to settle in a small place where there are fewer community groups to support you. “I met a guy placed in a small village with only 3 refugee families there and there is no chance to learn English there.” 
•    The waiting times before you get a decision on your asylum case was raised as an issue. In particular the impact this has on mental health as it leads to depression and worry. “It took me a year to get my status. I could only learn English 2 hours a day sometimes, there was not enough to do.”

Transportation costs
•    The cost of transportation is making it difficult to access education and other services for those only receiving asylum support. Some are dispersed to areas where there are few English classes or community groups so they need to travel far. One family had travelled 1 hour and 50 minutes to get to our meeting on three buses. One person said that where he was living he had to walk one and a half hours just to get food shopping. “As an asylum seeker you have 5 pounds a day so you can't get a bus and food. So either you stay where you are and learn nothing or you take transport.” To help with transportation some people are able to get bus passes from their college. 

Lack of information for integration
•    Syrians would like more central guidance on how to integrate and what to know about their new country. There was a sense that there was information, but in many different forms and places and it was difficult to access or know where to start. Some had tried Migrant Helpline but found it difficult to get information there. “There is no specific website or a manual to understand how to live over here. There is no one to tell you 'okay you need to take these three steps.” 

Impact on mental health
•    Depression was seen as an issue. It was recommended that the people who work with Syrians need to remember the mental health issues. It is particularly an issue while you are waiting for a decision and waiting to find work.

What would work – suggestions to facilitate integration
•    Regarding dispersal, the Syrians suggested that people need to be dispersed to places where there are groups and networks to help. Or that it would be better to prepare people for integration in larger cities first, before you could disperse them to other places.
•    It was suggested to create a multilingual website for migrants to advise them on their first arrival. Some suggested there could be online communities inside this. “People are good at using new technology, that's how they made their journey to Europe.”
•    Participants expressed the need to find work fast to help them integrate and that what would enable them to re-enter work faster is to learn English skills ‘on the job’ while learning the specific phrases needed for their professions. “We met with a Minister before to explain that what would help is instead of each of us learning general English for maybe 2-3 hours per week we would learn faster if we could learn the words for our own profession. What you need is to learn the specific language that helps you find a job. For doctors they have set up a special project but not for other professions e.g. catering, business, food, carpentry – we need specific language. Things need to go in parallel. Not to stop learning English, but to teach them special words to find work faster and then to learn more English alongside work.”
•    Projects helping with providing bikes for asylum seekers (such as the Govan community bike workshop) was seen as a big help towards transportation costs, but the projects are small and have a long waiting list so we need more of these.
•    Overall the two most important things mentioned to help with integration was to find work as well as family reunification as both helps people settle. “You need to speed up this process [family reunification], you can't relax until this[has happened].”
•    It was suggested to organise ’integration tours’ of the city to allow for new arrivals to learn where to find everything and to know more about their new city."
•    It was important to the Syrians for the public to know and understand their situation more accurately. “What we want is to get the message out to the public that we didn't come for the welfare etc. We were rich in our country we only came because of the war.”