It’s full of old people waiting to die...what refugees said about their new island home
SYRIAN refugees resettled on a picturesque Scottish island want to leave after just eight months – because it is “full of old people” and they are bored.
The families arrived on Bute in the Firth of Clyde as part of a scheme to help up to 20,000 people in danger because of the civil war.
About 100 arrived in Scotland but two families sent to Bute want to move on, describing the island and its main town, Rothesay as a “place where people come to die”.
One known only as Abd, 42, who arrived with his wife Rasha and their four children, said: “At first I was really happy. People treated me really well. Scotland is beautiful. I love the weather.
“But for six or seven months there has been nowhere to go. I’m depressed now. I feel like I have one option now – to die here. If I go to a place where there are more Arabic people I can communicate, learn English and probably land a job.”
His wife’s sister, Fatima, 31, is on Bute with her husband and two children. She too said the island was “full of old people” and is a place “where people come to die.”
She added: “It’s hard to leave your country but we had to. I was worried about the kids. It was a war zone. There was no water, no electricity, no food.”
Both families had been hoping to move to cities like London or Manchester.
Argyll and Bute Council said: “We are disappointed that two families are not happy on Bute.
“These are not the views of the majority of our families who are settling in well.”