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Five Wandsworth-based organisations who work with and for refugees sent a letter to the leaders of Wandsworth Council on Tuesday 24th August, asking for a meeting to discuss the borough's plans for aiding Afghan refugee families.
In the same vein as a previous open letter from MPs Fleur Anderson, Marsha de Cordova and Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who all have constituencies in the borough, the charities were urging the council to engage with them so that they could maximise the efforts to help refugee families from Afghanistan.
Council leader Ravi Govindia said: ”The unfolding events in Afghanistan have touched us all and Wandsworth is ready to play its part in welcoming people displaced from Afghanistan into the borough.”
Govindia detailed the borough’s longstanding history of welcoming migrants into the community and noted its support of the Syrian Refugees Vulnerable Persons Resettlements Scheme, which facilitated the resettlement of 12 families between 2014 to 2020.
He added: “The council is now waiting for more detail from the Government to arrange whatever assistance is required.”
However, members of the borough’s experienced voluntary sector believe that they have the skills, knowledge and volunteer numbers to not only assist in the resettlement efforts, but become a borough of Sanctuary.
Sue Knowles, chair of trustees for Just Shelter said: “We need the council to act, set some tangible targets and work with us early.
“Our organisations are very experienced working with refugees and the earlier we work together, the greater opportunity we have of helping to find housing and providing safe haven to desperate Afghan people.
“We believe that you need to truly welcome refugees into the community, they shouldn’t just be housed and left to fend for themselves.
“They’ll need help navigating paperwork, accessing GP’s, mental health support, faith groups, schools, food and we have a whole network of people able to help with those different areas.”
Knowles expressed her disappointment with the borough’s efforts during the Syrian Refugees Vulnerable Persons Resettlements Scheme and a desire to resettle more people in the borough.
She noted that during the same time period Lewisham Council and Greenwich Council resettled 33 Syrian refugee families.
Knowles said: “Given the urgency of the current crisis we believe that Wandsworth could have the capacity to take on at least 30 refugees a year for the next five years as part of the Afghan Resettlement programme.”
Just Shelter was set up six years ago with the aim to bring justice and shelter to refugees around the world.
Prior to the pandemic, the charity would send groups of local volunteers to Calais to take donations and meet with refugees there.
These groups would consist of local primary and secondary school teachers who would give up their weekends to give lessons to the refugee children there.
During the pandemic, the charity was able to provide hot food for refugees across south London, hosting meals and working to create a sense of shared community for those that had lost theirs.
Knowles added: “We’re privileged to have these meals because we get to hear the stories of refugees and they are wide ranging.
“I truly believe that if more people could spend time with others, they would get a great benefit from it, like we do.”
If you are interested in getting involved with Just Shelter’s volunteering efforts visit: https://www.justshelter.co.uk/get-involved
People who want to help can also contact the Refugee Council, the British Red Cross or Refugee Action to find out more about volunteering to support asylum seekers and refugees already in the UK.
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