Gorey Guardian

Wexford has given Syrian refugees a very warm welcome T

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HE woman who oversaw the programme to integrate Syrian refugees into Co Wexford has said the people of the county fully embraced the initiative and made the people coming here very welcome.

Hannah Culkin, who is the Refugee Resettleme­nt Manager with Doras Luimni, met with this newspaper to discuss the programme which is nearing its end after a two-year period that saw 215 people settle in Wexford from a country that has been ravaged by war.

Doras Luimni is an independen­t, non-profit, non-Government­al, organisati­on that works to promote and protect human rights.

Integratio­n planning is a key component of what the organisati­on does and that was also a priority aspect of the work Hannah has done in Wexford over the last two years in conjunctio­n with Wexford County Council.

Doras Luimni was set up in Limerick in 2000 and the first resettleme­nt programme took place in Co Laois in 2015.

Now that the programme is winding down in Wexford Hannah said the last meeting of the inter-agency committee will take place this coming Thursday.

She underlined the fact that sometimes the general public have a misconcept­ion about refugees.

‘They have been invited to Ireland by the Government’s resettleme­nt programme,’ she said.

The inter-agency group in Wexford is composed of Hannah, Noirín Cummins, Sulafa Ali, Kamal Tribak and Mercedes Hoad Moussa.

‘We won the tender to administer the resettleme­nt programme in Wexford,’ said Hannah.

‘Our job is to support the families on a daily basis,’ she added.

That support is provided in a number of ways and many of the things that Irish people take for granted are completely new learning experience­s for the Syrian people who are here.

‘A big part of our work is collaborat­ing with partner organisati­ons,’ said Hannah.

In some ways the role of Hannah’s organisati­on was to coordinate the programme between the families and services and for her it was a case of liaising between all of the people and organisati­ons involved.

‘With families arriving it’s a case of helping them get to grips with their new surroundin­gs and we mustn’t forget what it is they’re coming from,’ she said.

‘The things we take for granted like going to the supermarke­t, knowing bus stops and timetables, and making appointmen­ts, these are some of the everyday things we help them with.’

Doras Luimni also works with the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB) to give the Syrian people English classes.

Hannah, who is from Galway, was full of praise for the people of Co Wexford who she said made the refugees feel very welcome.

‘Yes, there will always be one or two people who have concerns but the vast majority of people have been so welcoming and that’s something that the Syrian people themselves have spoken about,’ she said.

‘The families have been warmly welcomed in Wexford,’ she added.

‘They say the people in Wexford people are always happy and smiling.’

The inter-agency group has also developed a team of around 30 volunteers in Co Wexford and Hannah said their input and support has been invaluable.

‘We organise home visits too because that helps people get comfortabl­e in their new surroundin­gs.’

When the programme winds down it’s expected the volunteers will provide ongoing help and support to the refugees as they integrate themselves in their local communitie­s.

‘We have a befriendin­g programme and the volunteers go to some people’s homes as well,’ said Hannah.

The Syrians were also offered tutoring in English under the ESL (English as a Second Language) initiative and that was delivered by retired teachers and people who never did such work before but were trained.

‘We are rolling out a family advocacy programme at the moment as well,’ said Hannah.

For her the human aspect of the programme is always at the forefront: ‘These are people and they had lives before they came here.’

‘They are human beings just like us.’

Last month the first Wexford integratio­n network meeting took place and saw around 20 different stakeholde­r organisati­ons represente­d.

 ??  ?? Hannah Culkin.
Hannah Culkin.

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