Eight Afghan families get refuge in Kirklees

Councillor Carole Pattison

Kirklees Council has confirmed that it has welcomed five Afghan families under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme and three others under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) scheme, which were introduced by the UK government to provide aid to Afghan refugees who fled the country after the Taliban came into power in August 2021.

Councillor Carole Pattison has mentioned last September that Kirklees had a 21-year history of providing assistance to refugees through the Asylum Seeker Dispersal programme. She had mentioned that Afghan asylum seekers were guaranteed security and shelter in the borough. But, the Russian invasion in February this year quickly trumped the devastation caused in Afghanistan. This news is a welcome development towards providing aid to Aghans arriving in the UK.

Many people in Kirklees are said to have offered their rooms to the refugees and many landlords also came forward offering empty homes to those who needed them.