Town prepares to welcome 77 refugees from African Congo

Jan 3 2007 By Fay Winter, Wishaw Press

PREPARATIONS are underway for Motherwell to welcome 77 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) soon.

North Lanarkshire Council, along with partner agencies, Strathclyde Police, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, NHS Lanarkshire and the Scottish Refugee Council, formally agreed to participate in the Gateway Protection Programme last September.

Sergeant Alan MacAuley of Motherwell Police has been assigned to work full-time on issues arising from the imminent arrival of the refugees.

Sergeant MacAuley, along with Chief Inspector John Young, from Wishaw Police office, visited Sheffield and Bolton recently to share the experiences of refugees through the Gateway Protection Project.

They returned with the reassuring message that Congolese refugees have worked hard to integrate with local communities, are overwhelmingly law-abiding people, and have had no problems in settling in to life in the United Kingdom.

The main issues faced by the Congolese families are language barriers, with translators required as most do not speak English; cultural differences; integration; and training and awareness of workers in the agencies on hand to help the refugees adjust to life in Scotland.

The international resettlement programme provides some of the world’s most vulnerable refugees with a safe environment in which to live.

Mass rape, brutal killings and widespread torture are just some of the horrors that the refugees fleeing DRC will escape.

The conflict in DRC is one of the deadliest in African history and since it began in August 1998, it is estimated to have claimed nearly four million lives.

Mary Castles, assistant chief executive of North Lanarkshire Council, said: “North Lanarkshire is the fourth largest local authority in Scotland. If we can’t do this for the most deprived people in the world — where else will they go?

“We have taken a careful and considered approach and I totally believe this is the right thing to do.”