Syrian refugees want to leave safe haven on remote Scottish island because ‘it is full of old people waiting to die’
The group complain about spending most of their time indoors and being bored
SYRIAN refugees offered a fresh start on a remote Scottish island say they want to leave because it is “full of old people waiting to die”.
The group arrived on the Isle of Bute after fleeing bombings and bloodshed in their homeland.
But they have complained about spending most of their time indoors and being bored.
They now want to leave Bute, which has a population of just 7,000, and move to Glasgow or Manchester for a more exciting life.
Abd, a 42-year-old dad of four, was initially happy to arrive in the UK.
He said: "People treated me really well, really nice. Scotland is beautiful.
"I love the weather. There are some people who like this weather and I like it. I like the winter. But for six, seven months now there has been nowhere to go.
"There is no movement, there is nothing. I'm not bored any more. I am depressed now. I feel like I have one option now - to die here. Only die here, nothing else."
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Abd made regular trips to Glasgow to find work but with no success.
He added: "Whenever we say anything about moving off the island, we are told 'We had to pay a lot of money to bring you here.'
"I feel like it's an obligatory residence. I feel humiliated. I didn't come here for anyone to control me."
Abd recently downed a whole bottle of whisky as part of a failed suicide attempt that put him in hospital.
Rasha's sister Fatima, 31, and her husband Hassan, 41, have two young daughters and also spoke of their time in Bute.
Rasha said the island was "full of old people" and described it as "where people come to die."
The families arrived in Scotland eight months ago as part of a British government resettlement scheme.
They have permission to work and access to public funds – covered by the overseas aid budget.
Both Abd and Hassan were imprisoned and tortured in their homeland and spoke of the huge relief to escape the district of Baba Amr in Homs, which was destroyed by bombing.
Rasha said: "It's really, really hard to leave your country, but we had to. I was really worried about the kids.
"We were in danger. We escaped by hiding in a vehicle full of vegetables and luggage.
It's really, really hard to leave your country, but we had to
"There was a lot of helicopters and airplanes, it was a war zone.
"There was no water, no electricity, no food."
A Bute council chief said: “These are not the views of the majority of our families, who are settling in well and making the most of all the opportunities of support and welcome available.”
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