GB News' Kirsty Gallacher fights tears over rehoming Afghan refugees 'Difficult to talk!'
| Published date | 23 August 2021 |
| Publication title | Express, The/The Express on Sunday: Web Edition Articles (London, England) |
According to the British government's Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme, 5,000 refugees will be rehomed in the UK over the next year.
It is hoped 20,000 civilians will be resettled in Britain in the course of the next few years, with women, children, those with religious beliefs and other minorities being the focus to begin with.
Talking about the matter, Simon asked Rachel: "One of the reasons we want to talk to you is because the North East has experience of dealing with refugees because it's recently integrated many Syrian refugees."
Rachel replied: "Over the last 11 years, we've taken hundreds of Syrian refugees in and it's very much a part of the community now."
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"We're very confident Afghan refugees will integrate fairly seamlessly and there are also quite a lot of foundations already in place that was created for the Syrian refugees in terms of support networks," Rachel continued.
The North-East reporter explained this included help with anything from finance to employment to putting refugees in contact with other people who are in their situation.
Rachel explained many refugees can feel "isolated" because "not everyone comes over as a family unit" and there are many individuals who are trying to flee.
Simon asked his colleague if there had been any backlash over allowing refugees from Afghanistan into the area Rachel covers.
"Not that I've seen reported," she said, adding: "It's just part of society. We're doing our bit.
"Last week, all of the North Eastern councils put out a statement to say they are welcoming the resettlement scheme.
"It's a humanitarian crisis and if we're in a position to help, then we should be helping," Rachel told the hosts.
"I've seen on social media that people have said, 'I don't want thousands of refugees in my town'.
"Look at Northumberland, they said they're taking three families. Is that really going to affect your day that much?"
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