Hopes for more refugees to come to Harrogate district in 2022

Several new families have been welcomed into Harrogate district this year

Author: Natalie HigginsPublished 27th Dec 2021

A refugee charity in Harrogate is hoping to bring more people from overseas for a safer life in the New Year.

Ripon City of Sanctuary support six families - three of which were brought into the area in November this year after fleeing their war-torn countries.

The first three families arrived from Syria in 2016 through the Government's Resettlement Scheme.

Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. They often have had to flee with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving behind homes, possessions, jobs and loved ones.

Nicola David, chair at Ripon City of Sanctuary, said they've been inundated with support from locals who wanted to donate clothes, food and other items to welcome their new neighbours.

She added:

"The generosity from people here has been amazing. I only have to put a request on Facebook and within the hour there will be people offering their help or wanting to donate something. Just last week I asked to borrow some car seats and so many people offered their own.

"The families that arrived this year had a very different experience to our previous families. They had to spend the first 10 days in quarantine which is new, that hasn't happened before. They've emerged now and we've started to get to know them but what makes them stand out is that they're very proactive and they're very keen to get involved locally. Some of them have been learning English in their own time online even though their lessons haven't started yet."

The charity are urging people to be mindful of their new neighbours this festive period and to remember that at Christmas we celebrate the birth of one of the "most famous refugees".

Nicola, added:

"Perhaps a lot of people don't realise that Jesus was one of the most famous refugees in history. When King Herod heard there was this new 'King of the Jews' he ordered for all boys under the age of three to be killed so his parents picked up Jesus and fled to Egypt. So, there is a biblical precedent for refugees and I would hope that people who are celebrating Christmas this time of year would recognise that and the need to welcome the stranger in our midst.

"When I speak to the families here they always tell me the same things for why they had to leave their countries. The key thing is safety and opportunity. Time and again they say to me 'it's not for me it's for my children' and they mean schooling, employment in the future and they mean safety, not being exploited and not being killed by bombs".

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.