Syrian refugees are set to be housed in Caerphilly by Christmas after the council became one of the first local authorities in Wales to accept displaced families from the region.
Two Syrian families will be resettled in private, rented accommodation, as the council looks to become “one of the trailblazer authorities supporting families fleeing from the war-torn region”.
In response to the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War, more families are expected to be housed by the council in the new year.
The Home Office will meet all of the costs of housing and any other support required, a council spokesperson said.
Cllr Keith Reynolds, Leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “We made a commitment that Caerphilly will play its part in supporting those families affected by the Syrian refugee crisis and I am pleased that we will be able to deliver on this promise.
“It is anticipated that the first two families will be relocated within the Caerphilly town area and we may be asked to take two more in the New Year.
“I’m sure local people will demonstrate typical Welsh warmth and hospitality in welcoming these families into our community.”
Caerphilly AM Jeff Cuthbert praised the council’s “proactive stance”.
He said “Caerphilly County Borough Council are doing whatever they can to support families from Syria who have fled persecution and war.
“I’ve seen with my own eyes the large amount of donations of essential items from the public to support refugees in their hour of need.
“The local authority are right to be leading the way and I look forward to those families settling peacefully within Caerphilly Borough over the coming months.”
The move was also supported by the opposition Plaid Cymru group on the council.
Plaid group leader Cllr Colin Mann said: “Plaid Cymru was pleased to support a proposal by the chief executive to assist two refugee families who have faced a horrific situation in Syria.
“I hope that in due course that the council will be able to help additional families that have been affected by four years’ of civil war, which has led to one of Europe’s worst ever humanitarian crises.
“The people of Wales have a proud tradition over many years of providing a warm welcome to refugees and I’m sure that will again be repeated.”
A council spokesperson said they expect the number of families housed in the county borough to be low and will “assess the situation in the New Year once the initial families have settled in”.
That entire article had the feel of instruction rather than information.
What do you think it’s instructing you to do Pete?
I believe John from Swansea said it better than I ever could.
Just listened to the Youtube clip featuring John from Swansea. He was treated very badly by a broadcaster working for a publicly funded channel. The BBC has a charter that requires it to be unbiased and should not allow poor journalism of the kind displayed on BBC 5 live. The caller preceeding John was also roundly abused.
Thanks Pete for drawing my attention to this, I very much hope a lot more people listen to this.
No worries.
It was shocking to hear but on reflection it only gives evidence to what many have already known for sometime.
I listened to it and the guy from Swansea was a hysterical individual who wanted to ‘seal our borders’ because we are ‘full up’. Miners from all over the south Wales valleys fought against fascism. You are a disgrace to their memory.
Whoever you are you are, you are proving my point. Free speech means exactly that, whether it is your opinion that the caller was ‘hysterical’ is unimportant. If you think he is wrong then argue your case.
It is not ‘fascist’ in any way for a person to voice their concern that allowing large numbers of people in without any proper check as to who they are. Which is what the call said.
I won’t take any lessons on S. Wales miners from you either, I was a proud member of the NUM a and union official until made redundant in 1990. My father and grandfather also spent their whole lives working in the pits.
Old. White. Councillor. What a surprise.
Not old, and the colour of a person’s skin is not important to me. I look forward to a debate if ever you have an original thought.
Bigot.
Bet they’d be proud of you now.
Miners from all over South Wales did fight fascism in order to secure free speech for all so don’t envoke their good name to justify slinging insults at people. Own your own words and you’re a disgrace to try and claim ownership of their opinions.
We are full up, the amount of people living rough on the streets and families living in b&bs is pretty much testament to this. Perhaps all those evictions being reported are unrelated but perhaps, just perhaps they are not.
If you wish to accuse other people of hysteria perhaps you should delete that other comment you have made on this thread as hyperbole is just as silly.
It is pointless to argue logically with an internet troll, Pete. The only point of view they recognise is their own, they are usually poorly educated and cannot debate, they are only capable of throwing feeble minded personal attacks.
I relish challenging argument, here or elsewhere, I think we all need to question our beliefs constantly as it is the only way the world progresses. The problem with the internet is that trolls appear, there are some truly egregious ones on Planet Rugby, for instance.
It is worth continuing to read internet comment as there are some real good commentators. I thouroughly enjoyed my fencing match with Hefin David, the Labour councillor and candidate for AM. I know that he enjoyed it too and look forward to both working with him and arguing against him in the future.
Please, please, please listen! I’ve got one or two things to say.
Tell us! Tell us both of them!
Look, you’ve got it all wrong! You don’t NEED to follow ME, You don’t NEED to follow ANYBODY! You’ve got to think for your selves! You’re ALL individuals!
: Yes! We’re all individuals!
: You’re all different!
: Yes, we ARE all different!
: I’m not…
: Sch!
Seriously have to be kidding me? All these aren’t helpless people at all, recall what isis leaders said back a few months ago and years back when Osama bin laden when they said we will bow to our knees at a 500,000 flooded isis members come as refugees? This is ridiculous! Try housing people who need it like our war veterans and other homeless people! This country is going down the pan and instead of focusing on your own people you are more worried about trained killers and suicide bombers who want to force sharia law here, rape and stone our women to death and kids? Kill any non believers of Islam, behead those who do not follow Allah? Priorities!!!!!!
My post was soooo obviously sarcasm. It is mental how CCBC have managed to find homes when they are so many who’ve been waiting for years for a roof over their head.
Errr they wasn’t housed in a council house!
Really Andreas, you seriously think that these TWO FAMILIES aren’t helpless and are ISIS?
“So Ahmed, why have you come to this country”?
Well my family were being bombed every night by ISIS. We struggled across an entire continent so I could try and give my two kids a better life.
“Well, Ahmed, here’s the funny bit, you know those ISIS that you hate…well everyone in Caerphilly thinks you are part of them now.”
“Oh and be careful not to trip over all the servicemen sleeping rough in Caerphilly town centre…what do you mean there aren’t any there…well that can’t be true, otherwise most of the arguments on here would be complete rubbish. Oh I see, people have only become concerned about servicemen since they realised some Muslims might be moving here. Well, I’m not sure what to say Ahmed lad, best of luck butt.
How do you know they aren’t? Have you met them, have you checked their records, have you even asked the security services in the region if they are on their radar? No you haven’t, but more to the point nor has anyone else.
I find it curious that you paint them as victims when you have no proof and are fully prepared to take them at their word. Yet when someone suggests there are people in this county that may also be deserving you decry this as untrue.
Hahaha. Good one.I thought this was a serious comment for a moment. But clearly nobody is so mentally deficient.
And they thought Syria was bad. Wait until they live in Landsbury Park. lol… On a serious note, I’m overjoyed to hear that CCBC have finally solved all their housing problems and we no longer have anyone sleeping in the streets or in temporary housing. Great job CCBC.
BAD DECISION! The lefty, brain-dead, idiotic councillors have again made a bad decision but this time it concerns economic migrants.
These economic migrants should not be allowed in the UK in the first place. Caerphilly has a housing crisis, Caerphilly has a homelessness crisis but economic migrants can still be accepted. How does that work out? Surely there is a place more suited for these migrants?
These swarms of people are a cancerous tumour growing on the face of Europe. These groups of people are starting to threaten England’s green and pleasant lands, and Wales’ peaceful valleys. Allowing in migrants is causing the death of more migrants. People who support resettling these economic migrants in Britain have blood on their hands. Resettling economic migrants only encourages more migrants to attempts to make their way to Britain in hope of bettering themselves. They see Britain as the land of everything.
Britain should be more like Australia. Let us use warships to turn around economic migrants heading to Europe, let us use the army to prevent economic migrants entering the UK from Calais, and let us systematically clear the UK of illegal immigrants and migrants who commit crime, and migrants who cannot be bothered to learn English.
You keep using the phrase “economic migrants”, why?
The article doesn’t one mention economic migrants, these are from a war-torn country where they are persecuted and their existence is threatened by ISIS.
Or, does putting the phrase “economic migrant” repeatedly allow you to vent your true feelings, that regardless of what threat they are under they are not welcome here.
They were refugees when they got to safety in or around the region of conflict, the moment they left that area they became economic migrants. This is the correct description whether you like it or not. Perhaps it is you that uses the word refugee in place of migrant in order to eschew the narrative much like the content and order of the images posted in this article.
A genuinely chilling response.
Why? Did it make you question your choice of language?
No Pete, it didn’t.
Although it is clearly too much for you and others to accept that these are people genuinely in need of our help. Instead it is easier for you assume that the press and I are trying to almost fool you into feeling sorry for them.
I also completely disagree with your interpretation of the phrase “economic migrant”. Whether you like it, or not.
I think it safe to assume that the press have rarely been impartial and usually just pander to people’s emotions and more fool anyone for blindly excepting the “information” they churn out.
The definition of the words economic migrant and refugee are set and not up to you or I to quibble with regardless of whether it is expedient to an argument.
Anything that does not meet with his left-wing, narrow, ideologically-driven agenda is considered chilling. It is about being inclusive of everyone* and allowing free speech**
* everyone apart from those to the right of me or those who have different political views.
** I must agree with you or it will be considered offensive
I blame Blair, he used this method so much people forgot how destructive it is.
Pete has said it correctly. When the people move from a war torn country to an area of safety, be it a different country or a secure camp run by the UN, I believe the people are then safe.
Therefore, I consider further movements out of a safe place to another safe place e.g. to Britain as a move done for economic reasons, not safety. The people who make the move are economic migrants in my book, not refugees.
Always see a few lads around Caerphilly/bedwas are sleeping rough. We need to help people in our borough before we help Syria
There’s a chap living in a doorway on Cardiff road right now.
Love to know how these poor Syrian refugees all have mobile phones?? They are an Isis army complete with wives and kids!! Caerphilly council are fools!
They come from a war torn country, not the 18th century.
Are you for real… Why do you think it’s weird they have mobile phones???? You do realise that they came from Syria. They had normal lives, jobs , before the war. Do yourself a favour and Google Homs before and after. You’ll get a picture of how beautiful the country was. Lovely place for family holidays. So if we were hit by war.. I know I would take my mobile..
And people moaning about The council. They wasn’t housed in a council house. Most of our homeless want to be homeless. I’m sure they would prefer to be on the streets of the U.K.
Yes they are family’s.
People should look closer to home and wonder why there are so many homeless.. More to do with kids popping out baby’s and not working. Thinking just because they have a child they cannot work . And people getting pregnant when they are already on benefits.. Makes me sick.
Some serious morons about. The ISIS army of 2 families will have Caerphilly under sharia law in no time. They have mobile phones. Run for the hills!
Do I worry if genuine refugees from war arrive here? No I do not, they will return home as soon as the war is over. What I do worry about is the open borders forced on us by the undemocratic, sorry anti-democratic, EU.
Between the last two censuses, 2001 and 2011, the population of these over crowded islands increased by 4 million. That is just the figure arrived at by those who did fill in the form. I believe that the increase post 2011 dwarfs the population rise of the previous 10 years. This is simply not sustainable using any metric, whether house provision, schools, health care, food supply or any other measure.
Those who question the wisdom of this articficial population increase have often been labelled as ‘racist’ by those who are unable or unwilling to engage in a debate with their fellow man. It is perfectly clear from comments here and on other forums that concern over immigration is building; a concern not shared by many politicians. The one sided article printed by the Observer is an example of newspaper prejudice. The Observer really should make more effort to present a balanced view or else publish an editorial so that the views of the paper are in no doubt.
Turned into the Pete and Rich show. Well done chaps. Pat each other on the back and sleep well in the knowledge that all that keyboard warrior lark has made not one tiny bit of difference to anything. Because nobody really cares what you think. And the refugees will be here by Christmas. Bet you are fuming. And some of them have mobile phones. Fancy that.
Yes, and some of them gang rape 18 year old girl as reported in the news this morning. Poor local girl being raped by migrants moving in.
More censorship by lefty Caerphilly Observer moderators. I stand by my comment, though. People supporting these economic migrants have blood on their hands. Allowing migrants in causes the death of more migrants. Allowing migrants in encourages others to risk their lives in the hope of entering Britain. Migrants who breech the RAF base in Cyprus already asked to be let entry into Europe to complete ‘their dream’ – their exact words as reported. Allowing economic migrants in is a pull factor that will cause more deaths. So much for humanitarianism…
The economic migrants choose to be selfish by coming to Britain when they were already in safe areas. No more should be accepted into Britain. Britain should systematically remove all illegal immigrants and reject any entry of economic migrants ‘fleeing’.
Let us cut the foreign aid budget, implement tougher border checks, and look after our own.
This is ridiculous they aint families, there are just muslim men, what about real families british families!
Much arguement here about Miners Fighting Fascism, and the simplification that this included a fight for `free speech`.
Facisim; What the miners fought against:-
Musillini`s facisim, .”Everything in the state”. .”Nothing outside the state”.
“Nothing against the state”
Seems to me that some commentators are agueing FOR an application of facisism in a modern day British Setting.