On Monday, 30th January, representatives from 4 organisations met with the Chief Minister, Howard Quayle, and Minister for Policy & Reform, Chris Thomas. They presented a petition of over 1000 signatures which requests that the government reconsiders offering to take our fair share of Syrian refugees that have fled war and persecution through the UK’s Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme. This would mean a commitment of approximately 25 refugees (4 or 5 Families) coming to live here by 2020.
The 4 organisations, and their representatives are One World Centre (Phil Craine), Amnesty International IOM (Phil Matthews), Refugees Welcome IOM (Ona MacTavish) and Manx Support Refugees (Zoe Thompson).
Background
This is the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. The conflict in Syria has resulted in ? million civilians killed, 13.5 million needing assistance in Syria, 6.3 million internally displaced and nearly 5 million have fled the country, with most ending up in vast refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq & Egypt. The conditions in many of these camps are desperate and, despite huge amounts of foreign aid, they cannot cope with the magnitude of the crisis particularly as these camps are in relatively poor countries with severe needs for their own populations.
The U.N. Refugee Agency has advocated that 10% of the 5 million in these camps should be resettled in a 3rd country, particularly the most vulnerable. So far, countries around the world have pledged to resettle nearly 250,000, which is less than half of the estimated target. In 2015, the UK committed to take 20,000 over 5 years and by the end of 2016, 4,500 have arrived so far. The Isle of Man’s 25 refugees would be our pro-rata share of the UK’s commitment, according to population.
The situation today
Despite recent events, including the ending of the Aleppo siege, the humanitarian situation is still severe in Syria. Fighting continues, millions have nowhere to live and innocent people are dying every day. The refugee camps are full, many have no choice but to keep moving, E.U states have closed their borders and refugees are stranded as freezing temperatures have hit these regions this winter. The crisis has not gone away; children are still drowning, teenagers going missing and many thousands are losing their lives at sea, in deserts and in the mountains.
Manx response
Over the past two years there has been a fantastic response from Manx residents to the distressing images of refugees fleeing the horrors of war and looking to Europe for help. Individuals and groups supported (and, in some cases, organised) aid projects to help those in refugee camps and some have volunteered their services returning to the Island with first-hand experiences of how desperate the situation really is. The Manx Government has also given ?544,417 over the past 4 years to some of the large charities that are working in these camps, but we also think it should be possible to help with the resettlement scheme and take a very small, but fair, share of the people who are been given this opportunity to start a new life in a safe place.
Why the Isle of Man?
Towards the end of 2015, both the Cabinet Office and the Council of Ministers expressed a willingness to help with the resettlement scheme and promised to seek clarification as to how the Island could take a small number of Syrian refugees. In June 2016, in response to a question in Tynwald from the Lord Bishop, the then Chief Minister replied that “these issues are still being considered in different forms” and, in conclusion, he did say that "if there is an opportunity for the Isle of Man to review the situation through the UK’s own immigration and refugee processing systems. If there are opportunities, then certainly we will look at them.”
Over 4,500 have already resettled successfully within the UK and we are now asking the new administration to reconsider offering to participate in this scheme. By the end of 2016, 175 English Local Authorities had accepted Syrian refugees – just recently Cumbria (the closest county to the IOM) made a commitment to accept 285 over the next 3 years. In Scotland over half of local authorities have received more than 1000 refugees in total. Syrian families have also resettled in villages and towns throughout Wales and Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland has a target of 5000 under a scheme that was previously used to respond to the Bosnian and the Vietnam War refugee crises. Surely we could offer to take up to 25 people over the next 3 years and help, in a small way, with this desperate crisis that has reached our borders? This is an opportunity for the Island to actively demonstrate we can offer sanctuary to innocent victims of this tragic war and truly show international cooperation. As in the UK, core funding could come from our existing international development budget.
Public support
We have also compiled a list of those on the Island who are offering to help with this initiative. We already have over 50 individuals, charities, church groups, businesses and other organisations that have committed to help either in a practical or a financial way. They include many people who can offer professional support or practical assistance, including language tutors, psychologists, counsellors, financial advisors, assistance with transport, clothing and food. We have people who have experience of working with refugees and there are others who can simply help them settle in and deal with every day practicalities through a long-term “buddy” system.
Such partnerships between government departments, local authorities and civil society have worked successfully in the resettlement schemes throughout the British Isles. If the Manx government was able to participate, we would like to see a similar partnership that utilises this support and help that has been offered by local people and the Third Sector.
