Middle Eastern refugee families arrive in Tasmania

TASMANIA has received its first Syrian and Iraqi refugees, with eight families, including 15 children, arriving this week.

TASMANIA has received its first Syrian and Iraqi refugees, with eight families, including 15 children, arriving this week.

Almost a year and a half since Premier Will Hodgman promised the state would host refugees from war-torn countries Syria and Iraq, the Mercury can reveal local agencies have started helping men, women and children seeking new homes in Tasmania.

The State Government expect about 20 families to arrive before Christmas.

“Tasmania has opened its door and its hearts to those fleeing the violence of the crisis in Iraq and Syria,” a State Government spokesman told the Mercury last night.

“After an exhaustive security screening process, the first Syrian and Iraqi refugees have begun arriving in Tasmania.

“What’s happened in Iraq and Syria is an appalling tragedy and one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II.

“The Government thanks the Tasmanian community for the work it has done to welcome these refugees.”

A Syrian child sits at a refugee camp in Turkey. Picture: AFP

It is expected about 200 will be settled in Hobart, but those numbers could change.

There are nearly 4.8 million registered refugees from the Syrian and Iraqi crisis.

Between 400 and 500 people are settled each year under the Australian Government’s humanitarian program.

In 2015-16, 433 were settled in Tasmania, just under half in Launceston.

Settlement service providers and volunteers are providing support for the refugees, including a safe haven hub.

The Department of Education has established an intensive English program until mid-December for the new arrivals.

There are about 300 people of Syrian background already living in Tasmania, many of whom arrived in the 1970s and ‘80s.

In June 2016, Mr Hodgman committed Tasmania to more than its per capita national share by offering to take 500 additional people displaced from Syria and Iraq.

“We are looking forward to welcoming them when they are processed by the Commonwealth Government ... we are hoping and expecting that the first families will arrive in the state before the end of the year,” the Premier said at the time.

Originally published as Middle Eastern refugee families arrive in Tasmania