The UK Census recorded over 50,000 Syrian refugees now living in the UK – that is 50,000 people arriving with nothing but a suitcase of belongings.
When moving into a new home, you would fill it with appliances and everyday items that are essential for a comfortable life: a microwave, a sofa, a bed.
But after dropping all their possessions to escape imprisonment or even death, refugees often arrive without a single appliance to their name.
Sarah, who works for the Homemover Specialist, a company that specialises in helping people move home, said: “I cannot imagine packing my life into one suitcase and leaving in the dead of night with a threat of arrest for a country across the world – whose language I did not speak.”
Explaining the experience of one family, Sarah said: “In Syria, under President Assad, her family belonged to the ‘wrong’ version of Islam.
“One evening, while watching TV with her husband and young daughter, she took a call from a teacher at her daughter’s school.
“The teacher warned that her daughter had spoken about her family celebrating a particular festival that weekend, which had marked them as ‘undesirables’ under the Assad regime.
“This teacher advised them to leave that night.”
Pregnant, and with a young daughter, they fled that same night.
With just a suitcase each, they left their life behind and boarded a flight to the UK.
Once in the UK, the family were put in touch with Churches Together who took them in and ultimately homed them.
They were safe, but their home was empty.
Meirion Shaw, the CEO of Homemovers Specialist, was contacted by a Reverend from Churches Together, who was actively rehoming refugees from Syria, and was a Syrian refugee herself, to ask for assistance.
The Homemover Specialist, offering a personalised home moving service, often has clients downsizing who then have excess furniture and appliances that they no longer need.
Instead of donating or taking items to the tip, the company organises for refugees to come and select what they need to make their new house feel like a home.
A few years ago, a wealthy client needed to clear their house after moving into a care home, and they had piles of excess further.
An ‘open house’ was then organised by the Homemover Specialist, and the Reverend brought six newly homed Syrian refugees along to the Buckinghamshire house.
Sarah said: “At first, they were incredibly shy. I invited them in and encouraged them to walk the house and select ‘anything’ that might be useful to them in their new UK life.
“We had already agreed to deliver anything to their new homes.
“The reverend translated and – along with smiling, encouragement and joking – they finally relaxed enough to select not just obvious beds and mattresses, but baking trays and cook books. One of the women was a baker in Syria.
“We offered them clothes such as good quality jackets, encouraging the younger women to try on business suits for interviews to come.”
The refugees were able to select towels, bedding, cooking equipment, cleaning supplies and ironing boards – all the essentials they had to leave behind in their own country.
After witnessing a touching moment of humanity, Sarah said: “The most beautiful part for me was when they shyly bought over an ornament, a clock, a picture that they had liked – all of it went into boxes for them for delivery.”
That evening, there was a call from another Christian reverend who had been referred to by the first. He was helping refugees from Nigeria who had been persecuted in their home country for their Christian religion.
He came the next day and filled his car with anything not earmarked for the Syrians, and they delivered it to his home for the refugees to come and ‘shop’.
Two days later, Sarah accompanied the delivery drivers to two addresses in Denham for the Syrians.
She said: “Their homes were immaculate, but empty. Basic furniture but no ‘home touches’ It brought it home to me why they had been so grateful for the trinkets and ornaments – the stuff that makes a home.
“The church charity had provided a table for the garden – but no chairs. We went back the next day with garden furniture.”
When asked about the response from the refugees, Sarah shared: “The young woman who had been a baker? She cried when she saw the baking tins, equipment, scales, mixing bowls, Magimix as well as the cook books.”
For the Homemover Specialist clients, they receive a reduced charge for a house clearance as their excess furniture is re-homed rather than sent to a waste site.
For the refugees, it gave them the opportunity to fill their basic accommodation with items that help form a home, at no cost to themselves.
Reflecting on the project, Sarah said: “It was quite lovely to see, and my heart filled with hope for them and their new lives in our country.”
To donate, please contact [email protected] or visit https://thehomemover.co.uk/
Featured image credit: Unsplash images
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