Devon town’s generosity helps Afghan refugees get used to new surroundings
Afghans are being welcomed in the Westcountry following the fall of their homeland to the Taliban. reports
ALL it took was a chance meeting with a family of Afghan refugees in a park, and the community of Exmouth was spurred into action.
The arrival of 12 families in Devon from the chaos of Kabul triggered a huge outpouring of help and support from local people.
The adults and families, some with young children, were moved into temporary ‘bridging’ accommodation in a hotel in the town from a quarantine hotel in London, and will be there until longer-term homes can be found, which could be anywhere in the UK.
Exmouth is understood to be one of 60 locations around the country chosen by the Home Office for an initial threemonth stay. The group are among the 5,000 evacuees who have qualified for the resettlement scheme, including those who have worked for or with the UK authorities in Afghanistan and were at risk of reprisals after the withdrawal of western forces at the end of August.
Exmouth mayor Steve Gazzard said he had heard ‘harrowing’ accounts of their escape from Afghanistan, and said they had told him they were extremely grateful for the warm welcome they had received in Devon.
He watched as the evacuees stepped off a coach, each with just a single bag containing a few possessions, and the only clothes they had were the ones they were wearing. For some of them, their stay in Exmouth has been the first time they have seen the sea.
Mr Gazzard said: “Exmouth has always been a very generous town when people need help, and Exmouth has taken the arrival of the Afghan refugees to their hearts. I have been absolutely blown away by the generosity of all the different networks that have come together, and all the donations that have come forward. It has been a magnificent effort by all those concerned.
“The refugees themselves are extremely grateful for the generosity of local people. I was talking to some of them, and they have not seen a beach before, so to go on the beach and in the sea has been really exhilarating. It is going to take some time, but they are getting used to Exmouth, and what they said to me was that people are stopping them and saying hello and saying welcome to Exmouth, we hope everything works out. Exmouth is a caring and loving town.”
The mayor added: “I saw them get off the coach with just a bag, and I talked to some of the fathers. I asked them: ‘Have the children got any clothes?’ One father, asked about his daughter, said: ‘No, what she is wearing, that is all she has got’. It brings it home to me that, yes, we live in a wonderful place in Exmouth, and our country is a wonderful place, but we do moan about things. We have democracy, and we take it all for granted. What the refugees have gone through just makes me extremely grateful for what we have in this country.”
So far, five properties have been identified in different parts of Devon and are being prepared to be offered to the Home Office as longer-term homes for the refugees. More are being assessed. Private sector landlords have been asked to help to avoid any impact on local housing waiting lists.
A chance meeting on a Sunday morning in a park with one of the families, followed by a post in the Exmouth Community UK Facebook group, sparked a huge response from the town. Baz Roy explained that he had met a refugee family and listened to their ‘heartbreaking’ story. He bought them coffee and gave them money to buy ice creams for the children. He wrote: “I hope the people in Exmouth welcome them to our community. I hope they have a better life here in Exmouth”.
A discussion has begun about how people could help, as the families had fled with few possessions. Support is being managed by Exmouth Town Council, Devon County Council, Exmouth Food Bank, Exmouth Coastal Churches, Open Door, Exmouth Friends in Need, Exmouth Salvation Army, Churches Together, Exmouth Community UK Facebook, and East Devon Citizens Advice Bureau.