Refugees who fled war-torn Syria have publicly thanked people in Dumfries and Galloway for giving them a safe home.
There are now 20 refugee families – including 36 adults and 41 children – living in council accommodation across the region.
They have found safety and shelter thanks to the authority’s resettlement programme and are adapting to life as “New Scots”.
Following on from Refugee Week on June 14-20, two Syrian refugees living in Dumfries, Sarab and Mariam, spoke on video at Thursday’s full council meeting.
Naomi Spicer, a resettlement worker, was supported by an interpreter and interviewed both women to hear their reflections on life in Dumfries and Galloway, and the support they have received.
Sarab said: “I’ve been here for eight months because of war in my home country. I came with my husband.
“I am an assistant pharmacist. I worked there for 16 years in the hospital and seven years in the clinic.
“We are happy here. We feel safe and secure here.”
Naomi asked: “How do you feel about your resettlement here?”
Sarab replied: “We are safe here and we feel secure. There isn’t war, it’s good for us. It’s a grant from God to us.”
Speaking through an interpreter, Sarab added: “To begin with, it was the council who helped us. It’s the council who gave us the house, safety and security.
“I’ll never forget when we met at the airport. We met Naomi, the interpreter, and you were holding signs with our names written in Arabic.
“I cannot describe our happiness at the time to see our names in Arabic. We felt that this was something so close to us. It was a nice gesture.”
Sarab also explained how council resettlement workers went that extra mile to help them settle by picking them up and cooking them dinner one evening.
The couple were treated to foods very similar to what they would eat in their homeland, such as moussaka, flatbreads and Turkish delight – a favourite with Syrian people.
“They were so kind,” said Sarab. “They were so generous with us and that was an enormous, wonderful gesture.”
Mariam is a Syrian mum who has been living in Dumfries for two years under the resettlement programme.
She explained that it took a lot of time to adjust to life in a new country but she was given invaluable support by a woman in the town.
Mariam said: “I have met her by coincidence. I believe I was destined to meet her in this life. She has supported me mentally and emotionally since my first days in Dumfries.”
Council leader Elaine Murray said: “I had the privilege of meeting some of the Syrian families living in Dumfries and Galloway, including Mariam and her husband Ali, early last year, before the Covid lockdown.
“We have been delighted to offer a new home to 20 families through this scheme. We have 36 adults and 41 children here, which includes six births since 2016, and we expect to go up to 42 children in September.
“The theme of this year’s Refugee Week was ‘we cannot walk alone’, and the global nature of the Covid pandemic certainly demonstrates its appropriateness.”
