- Families from a refugee camp in Jordan. Credit: Central FM
Stirling’s representatives at Westminster and Holyrood, Steven Paterson MP and Bruce Crawford MSP, have issued statements condemning the recent terrorist atrocities in Paris, while chiding those looking to blame refugees or Muslims.
A number of Stirling constituents have contacted Paterson and Crawford’s constituency offices to register concern over plans to welcome Syrian refugees to the Stirling area starting in December, as Brig reported 3 days ago.
Others from Stirling have expressed their objections through social media.
Steven Paterson MP said:
Whilst we mourn the tragic sudden loss of so many, it is vital that we acknowledge who the perpetrators were. It was not refugees, who have desperately fled their war torn home country, nor was it a religion that callously murdered innocent people in cold blood; it was an extremist hate group. The banner that this group act under, and the community they claim to represent could not be further apart.
“Similarly, the complex situation in Syria has led people to flee their homeland to seek refuge elsewhere. Many of the horrors they have fled from were at the hands of the same hate group who carried out attacks over the weekend, and it is families of these people that Stirling and Scotland will be welcoming over the coming days and weeks.
“The Home Secretary has made assurances that all refugees being granted asylum have been subject to appropriate screening checks and I look forward to welcoming these families to our communities and offering them a safe and happy place to live. I am confident that their contribution to our society in the years to come will be one that we will all be grateful for.”
Bruce Crawford MSP said:
What we shouldn’t and mustn’t do in the face of such horrific attacks is turn on each other. Our Muslim community here are a highly valued and integral part of our society. In the aftermath of the Glasgow Airport bombing people rallied around, to make it clear that they were not responsible. And the same applies now.
“In that light in the coming weeks we will be welcoming Syrian Refugees to parts of Stirling. The Syrian refugees that are resettling in the UK are from some of the most vulnerable refugees and they are taken directly from the region…
“Scotland is a diverse, multi-cultural society and this diversity is our strength.”
There is now a Facebook page for the ‘Stirling Welcomes Refugees’ initiative, part of a wider national campaign designed to support refugees who are part of the resettlement program.
by Dan Vevers
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