Welcoming refugees to Newcastle

With nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people in the world, a small few are forging new lives on Tyneside, and finding that a little help from a friendly face can go a long way.  

Today (June 20) is World Refugee Day, marking the beginning of World Refugee Week, designated by the United Nations to recognise and honour refugees around the globe.  

The plight of refugees arriving on UK shores has never been more stark, as human traffickers pocket life savings to force families into perilous Channel crossings through busy shipping lanes, and the UK Government struggles, quite literally, to get its controversial Rwanda resettlement policy off the ground. 

The majority of UK refugees arrived from Syria in recent years, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has led to an increase in displaced people, with the UK hitting a 20-year high for asylum applications. 

Newcastle is a “City of Sanctuary” and YHN has been providing support to refugees since 2004 and works closely with other local and regional organisations to help people to resettle in the city. YHN provides support to Afghans settling in the city under the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) and ACRS (Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme) – under the two schemes, the housing organisation has welcomed and settled 12 Afghan families in YHN properties since July 2021. 

All families receive a three-year support package from YHN’s Support and Progression Team that goes well beyond housing support. People receive guidance and direct support around health, education, language and settling into life in the North East. 

Tina Drury, YHN Managing Director, said: “Often when families arrive here, they are fleeing a horrendous situation, and our number one priority is to ensure they feel safe, secure and that help is on hand. 

“It is more than simply putting a roof over people’s heads. It’s helping them create a fulfilling and happy life, successfully integrating into communities and helping many learn skills that will give them a leg-up when searching for a job. We organise events, lessons and even take families for days out to take in Newcastle to help them orientate themselves in their new home city. 

“Newcastle was one of the first core cities to accept Syrian nationals fleeing the war in their home country in 2016,” added Tina. “Newcastle is recognised by the City of Sanctuary programme and, along with our colleagues at Newcastle City Council, we work hard to make Newcastle a welcoming place for all. 

“There is a misconception among a small minority of people that refugees arrive here for the benefits and rent-free homes, but that could not be further from the truth. Most want to work, integrate and start a new life, fully appreciating the opportunity to start a new life.” 

YHN has a dedicated team of support and progression workers, often the first experience of genuine professional support that families get once landing in the UK. Since 2014 around 100 people have been helped under the Afghan Interpreter, Afghan Spouses and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy Schemes. 

Since 2015, 400 people have been supported under the UK Resettlement Scheme, including migrants from Syria, the Middle East and the North African regions. And this year YHN has accommodated 32 households granted refugee status. 

Mohitor Rahman, support and progression manager for YHN, said: “When people arrived because of the Syrian crisis, we were literally meeting them off the plane. They were wide-eyed and disorientated and we had to go back to basics and explain how tap water was drinkable, it was not normal for the electricity to go off, but now people are usually accommodated in a hotel for a period of time before they come to us, so are slightly more aware of the UK when they arrive in Newcastle. 

“We work with the Home Office liaison officers to ensure that when a refugee arrives, they have a home, furniture, specialist provisions. We then take them around the area to show them where to buy food, register them with a GP, find school places for children, show them their church or mosque...it can be an intensive first year, but after that people do tend to find their way. 

“There are various measures of “success” for us, but if that customer ends up happy, settled and contributing to the local community and UK community, then that is a good outcome.” 

This year’s theme for World Refugee Week is “Healing – celebrating community, mutual care, and the human ability to start again”. 

“Refugee Week helps us celebrate the strength and courage of these families and people forced to flee their home countries to escape conflict or persecution,” added Tina. “They enrich our communities and add so much to our understanding. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognise their resilience in rebuilding their lives."

Abdul’s story

“If I’d stayed in Afghanistan, my family would not be safe. The Taliban would have come for me...if I was there, I would be killed.”

Abdul Jalalzai (pictured above) was a marked man. He will never again be able to return to his family home in Khost province, Afghanistan, while the Taliban controls the country of his birth.

From his new home in Byker, Newcastle, Abdul cuts a relaxed figure, but just under a year ago, his life and the lives of his wife and four children were thrown into chaos when the US and UK began withdrawing from Afghanistan...and the Taliban began to establish control.

“If I had not left, things would have been very bad,” said Abdul. “I have four brothers in Afghanistan and the Taliban still come to their houses to ask about me. If I had stayed in Afghanistan, my family would not be safe. The Taliban would have come for me.”

As an official British Armed Forces interpreter, Abdul, 33, worked closely with UK soldiers for several years, providing a vital link between the forces and non-English speaking Afghan people. He also worked at Lashkar Gah Police Training Centre, in Helmand province, providing a base for the British Army to help recruit and train police officers.

Life was not without danger - Abdul and wife Baswalijana were targeted by Taliban soldiers who blew up the door to his garden while he was working – but he lived in relative peace until the withdrawal, last month labelled a "disaster" and "betrayal" that will damage the nation's interests for years, in an MP inquiry, that started a chain of events that would see Abdul, Baswalijana, their three sons and daughter arrive on Tyneside.

“My family is so relieved and happy that we have found a new home where we are no longer afraid for our safety,” he added.

“We could not have known what would happen in Afghanistan, but when things started to change last year, I would get a lot of phone calls from people threatening me, saying they knew I’d worked for the British Forces, it was no longer safe for us.”

Abdul applied for resettlement via ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) scheme, created to help Afghans who worked for the British Government and Army. And within days was flown to the Midlands and then up to the family’s new home in Newcastle.

The Jalalzai family is integrating well into its new community and enjoying life in Newcastle. Your Homes Newcastle has provided them with a home, English classes, school places and offered Abdul the chance to learn work skills via its employability service, supporting him with training, helping him with interviews and getting him employment ready.

“My family and I are so relieved that we found a home. My children and wife are learning English, and I am learning new skills to make furniture at the Palatine factory (a mattress production factory operated as a not-for-profit supported employer), which is helping me a lot.”

“I cannot go back to Afghanistan to see my family there until things change in the country, but thankfully we have our new home here in Newcastle, where we have been welcomed and helped to settle. Things are very good, and I look forward to the future.”