In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland on 29 January, we clarified that the Syrian opposition's preconditions to attending the Geneva talks are simply a request for the international community to honour decisions that it has already made and accepted.
On Wednesday 27th January Stephen Hale, Refugee Action’s CEO and Julie Kashirahamwe, the National Resettlement Manager visited Rethink Rebuild Society. RR’s Managing director and the Refugee Support coordinator explained to their guests the work of RR in general and the refugee support work in specific.
Speaking on Victoria Derbyshire programme on 28 January regarding the UK's decision to allow some unaccompanied child refugees into the UK, we stressed that countries have a dual responsibility: first in taking in more refugees, but second in resolving the Syrian conflict from its source so that refugees are protected in their own countries.
Our Refugee Support coordinator participated in a conference on 28 January held by the Home Office, where speakers from different departments related to the Resettlement program for Syrian vulnerable persons shared their experiences and and impressions about this process and how it could be made more efficient for both refugees and local authorities.
The Syria All-Party Parliamentary Group organised a public event in Parliament on 27 January on civilian protection. We were one of four groups represented, and spoke about the need for civilian protection in Syria, not just from a Syrian point of view, but from a British point of view as well.
Rethink Rebuild Society, along with ten other Syrian groups across the UK, released a statement on 26 January calling for the dignified treatment of refugees. This statement comes in light of the use of brightly coloured wristbands or red doors in the UK to identify refugees or their dwellings.
A community-led initiative in Warrington led by a group of volunteers took off on 22 January in the form of a pack-a-thon. After collecting clothes and other items for some time, these items were ready to be organised and packed into a container to be taken to Syria, where it would provide much-needed aid.
RR hosted a book launch on 22 January for the book 'Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War'. We were joined by the author, Robin Yassin-Kassab, who captivated the audience for almost two hours as he examined some of the issues that appear in his book and took questions from the audience.
A group of women met in the office of Rethink Rebuild Society on Thursday 21 January to discuss community initiatives that they are interested in organising. The women agreed on a number of projects and assigned team leaders for each one. These projects include:
The US has announced changes to its visa waiver program which allows British nationals, as well as the nationals of 38 other countries, to travel to the US without a visa.