On rainy Scottish isle, Syrian families struggle to adapt

ROTHESAY, United Kingdom — From war-torn Syria to a windswept island off the west coast of Scotland, nine newly-arrived refugee families are struggling to adjust to new lives in a very unfamiliar world. “It's hard. We don't know anyone!” said a woman from Aleppo, who was helping a fellow refugee from Homs pick out tea cups and bowls in a charity shop on the seafront in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The other woman, who wore a black headscarf, said she could not find Arabic coffee, roast pumpkin seeds or “Mate”, a caffeine-rich drink popular in Syria. Heavy winds and rain have lashed the island this month and several refugees said they were struggling with the Scottish weather. The Syrians — around 40 of them in total with six more families expected to arrive in 2016 — were previously living as refugees in Lebanon. The Syrians were flown to Glasgow last month and took the one-hour boat crossing from mainland Scotland to the island, population 7,000. At the Co-Op supermarket near Rothesay Castle, a man from Daraa looked dazed as he wandered along the aisles with his crying two-year-old son. A local woman jovially pinched the little boy's cheek saying: “I live next door to you!” The refugees spent their first few days on Bute registering children for school and signing up for doctors, working out currency conversions and how to top up their new mobile phones to keep in touch with friends and family left behind. Under a government scheme, the refugees are given five years humanitarian protection status, free housing and social welfare, as well as permission to work from the day they arrive. Some locals are skeptical as to whether the Syrians will stay on their island and others harbor darker concerns, reflecting wider preoccupations about Syrian refugees in Europe and the United States. “It's OK as long as they don't fight,” muttered one bearded local man. Zavaroni's Italian ice cream shop on the shore speaks to an earlier wave of immigration in Scotland, but the arrival of a large group of Muslims from the Middle East in Rothesay is unheard of. “It reminds me of when my parents moved to Scotland,” said Tariq Iqbal, a volunteer with the Scottish Communities Initiative who is trying to help with cultural mediation between refugees and islanders. Ahead of their arrival, Iqbal — whose parents immigrated from what is now Pakistan — traveled to Bute from Glasgow to prepare the volunteers and there have been classes on Syria and Islam in local schools. Iqbal said he was planning a much-needed halal meat shipment to Bute, and to set up a regular supply. The first delivery finally arrived on Tuesday. “They don't even know what baked beans are!” he said, referring to a British culinary staple. He said one of the main reasons for picking Bute was the availability of housing — a reflection of the island's economic decline in recent decades. Once known as the “Scotland's Madeira”, the island was a seaside resort for Glaswegians until cheap air travel made warmer destinations more affordable. — AFP