Let homes to Syrian refugees, actress Walter urges landlords
AWARD-WINNING ac tress Dame Harriet Walter is backing a scheme calling on landlords to let their properties to Syrian refugees after a visit to a Calais camp.
The star, whose TV roles include Downton Abbey and who recently led an all-female cast in the Donmar Warehouse’s Shakespeare trilogy, said: “I’ve met these people face to face. I visited the camp in Calais, the Jungle, a year ago before it was torn down.
“We all have our prejudices and you think of great hordes of people but when you think about the individuals and about the people rather than statistics it is different. It is a human story, it is not even a political issue — it goes beyond politics.”
The Government has said it will take 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees by 2020 but only a few hundred have been accepted because they can only be admitted after they have a guaranteed address.
Hammersmith and Fulham Refugees Welcome Group has teamed up with the local authority to find homes for them. The actress has appeared in a video backing the scheme with local residents including Miranda Hart and Labour peer Lord Dubs, who was a child refugee from Nazi Germany.
Dame Harriet said: “As human beings, we owe it to other people to shore them up and help them out in a small way if we can.
“These are people who because of their vulnerability it is deemed they should be housed on their own rather than living with a family so what we are asking is for landlords, instead of letting a property on the open market, that same property could be let to somebody in desperate need. These people have been vetted and landlords will get the market rate and the support of the council to help deal with any issues.”
A spokeswoman for the group said: “We have two families resettled in the borough and are waiting for a third family in Hammersmith but are finding it difficult to get the word out to landlords. These families are so delighted and thankful to have been brought here to safety and are working hard to learn English and integrate.
“The council has not put a limit on the number of families it will take but are hoping this film will inspire local landlords to come forth so we can help more people restart their lives.”