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05 Dec 2024
Client Story: Reem & Hasan's Success
Reem, Hasan and their three children are Palestinians from Iraq and they came to the UK recently under the UK Resettlement Scheme. Here are their first impressions:
Hasan:
“When we first set foot in the UK, I was frightened and suffered from anxiety for my family’s future. We had spoken with other families who had come through the same scheme and had been settled outside Devon. They hadn’t received much help when they came here and it took them a long time to register their children in schools and register with their GP and to discover how everything works in this country.”
Reem:
“Our experience was completely different. It was obvious to us that Souad and others had done a lot of preparation for our arrival. As soon as we arrived, she gave us a bus pass, SIM cards, she took us to the job centre, registered us immediately with a GP and our children were able to start school straight away! Very quickly we knew where to go food shopping, where our mosque and college (to learn English) are.
Initially, someone from RSD rang us every day to check that we were okay. The support we have received has been so wonderful. We are happy, we feel settled, our children are at school, we have met nice people at the mosque and I have even tried talking to my neighbour, but I didn’t understand her!”
Both Reem and Hasan are keen to learn English as they realise that’s the key to them integrating in the community. Hasan was a journalist back home and also
volunteered with a charity that supported Palestinians. He’s keen to train and find a suitable job. Reem’s passion is arts and crafts and in particular crochet and painting on ceramics. Her dream is to make a living out of it again.
"We expected to be lonely, depressed and scared when we came here, but we are actually happy, settled and at peace, thanks to RSD." - Reem
"Without RSD’s support we would be drowning now." - Hasan
Stories like Reem and Hasan's rely on support from people like you, so any donations would be greatly welcomed.
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