Communities asked to support Syrian families at risk

Communities are being asked to support and accommodate 15 Syrian families who are currently in a high-risk and worsening situation in Lebanon.

The Irish Red Cross, Doras, the Irish Refugee Council and Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre, are running a community sponsorship programme, which aims to find local groups willing to support Syrian refugee families selected in 2022 by the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) for resettlement to Ireland.

The Community Sponsorship Ireland programme encourages communities to welcome a refugee family and support them with accommodation and integration into the local community.

The programme is based on a model developed in Canada which aims to foster "meaningful connections" between refugees and their host communities.

The four charities have been working in partnership to deliver the programme since 2019.

Since then, 26 Syrian and Afghan refugee families have been welcomed into communities.

The escalation of hostilities in Lebanon has meant that 15 families are at risk of being displaced, Irish Red Cross Head of International & Migration, Niall O'Keeffe said, adding that they are experiencing daily challenges to access their most basic needs.

"We are calling on people to come together, with friends, neighbours or colleagues and step forward to offer a warm welcome and support for families arriving to Ireland. Now, more than ever, the need for safe and welcoming environments is critical," he said.

Ireland pledged to resettle 2,900 refugees from Syria over a four-year period to the end of 2023, but at the end of 2022, the Department of Equality and Integration said that accommodation pressure "together with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic during 2020 and 2021, may challenge Ireland's targets".

Since 2020, over 1,100 people have been resettled, including Syrian and Afghan nationals who were residing in a variety of countries, such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan.