Red Cross appeals to Irish communities to help bring Syrian families stranded in Lebanon to Ireland

The State has launched an appeal for Irish communities to bring 15 Syrian families to Ireland who are in a “high risk and worsening situation” in Lebanon.

The 67 Syrians, including 37 children, were among the hundreds selected for resettlement in Ireland in 2022 under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) but have not yet travelled due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the increase in Ukrainians and asylum seekers arriving here and the accommodation crisis.

The Irish Times reported last month that 375 Syrians were approved for resettlement in Ireland in late 2022 following an Irish delegation visit to Lebanon. To date, just eight selected families have arrived. Many of those still in Lebanon told the Irish Times they had had little or no communication with Irish authorities or the United Nations Refugee Agency since.

It is hoped the relaunch of the State’s Community Sponsorship Ireland (CSI) programme, which encourages groups of friends, colleagues and neighbours to join together and welcome a refugee family, will enable many of these Syrians to come to Ireland without delay, says Niall O’Keeffe, head of International Migration at the Irish Red Cross.

“We are keen to mobilise as many Irish communities as possible to step forward and offer their support,” said Mr O’Keeffe, adding that Syrians in Lebanon had been “displaced again” while struggling to access food, shelter and clean water.

The CSI programme, established in 2018, offers guidance to community groups who commit to the integration of a refugee family through accommodation, education and social supports.

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The Irish Red Cross was appointed by Government in July as the national support organisation for the CSI programme in partnership with other civil society groups.

Mr O’Keeffe said he had no concerns about anti-immigrant sentiment and pushback against the housing of asylum seekers, saying there are “huge numbers” of Irish people “looking for ways to engage responsibly”. People have already shown they want to support Ukrainians and asylum seekers “quietly in their own environment”.

He acknowledged that communities may struggle to secure housing for a family and said additional supports would be available to navigate the accommodation crisis. Additional language classes and courses on entering the Irish workforce will also be made available, he said.

Supporting a family in the long-term is challenging and rewarding and it is important for any interested communities to embark on the project “with their eyes open”, he said.

Khalil Al Shablaq from Syria, who was resettled through the IRPP in Clane, Co Kildare, with his wife and two daughters in 2019, said the local community “are family to us now”. The food truck owner says the programme worked “100 per cent” and that the local people gave his family “a new life”.

Fr Paul O’Boyle, who led the Parish of Clane and Rathcoffey’s sponsorship of Mr Al Shablaq, and brought together 10 individuals from across the community to take part in the project, urged other faith communities to follow suit and support a family.

“For me, the big challenge here is scale. There’s over 1,000 parishes in Ireland, that’s a lot of families if everybody does something. We took one family and they’ve become one of us, it’s all very doable. I’d say it’s been the most rewarding experience I’ve had as a priest.”

A Department of Integration spokesman said they expected more families from the 2022 group to arrive in Ireland before the end of this year, and that work is ongoing to ensure all families selected for travel are “brought to Ireland at the earliest possible opportunity”. The IRPP has pledged to resettle 600 refugees in Ireland, including 25 families through community sponsorship, between 2024 and 2027.