“Welcome Wall” Of Schoolchildren Letters To Refugees Coming To Wrexham

Wrexham schoolchildren have taken part in a project writing more than 50 letters to welcome refugees to the area.

More than 50 children from across Wrexham wrote letters to form a Welcome Wall, noting their support for up to five Syrian refugee families who will soon arrive in Wrexham after Councillors voted to give the plans the green light back in May.

The Welcome Wall was unveiled in the lobby of Wrexham Library on Monday, and Cllr John Pritchard, the Mayor of Wrexham, paid a visit to the wall yesterday.

During the visit, Cllr Pritchard said: “It’s heartwarming and humbling to see that the children have become so enthusiastic about this project, and given a warm Wrexham welcome to those refugees who will be coming to the area.

“We hear a lot about division these days, but the work of these children teaches us all that communities can come together in spite of different beliefs or ethnic origins. I was also touched to see genuine kind-heartedness and concern in the letters written by the children contributing, as they know those refugees who come to the area will not just have fled the terrible conditions created by conflict – they will also have left their homes.

“I’m proud to see the children of Wrexham put something like this together – it’s fantastic.”

In May Wrexham Council Leader Mark Pritchard asked Wrexham to ‘be proud’ ahead of the plans being approved, and spoke of the existing ‘proud history of working with refugees and immigrants in the area’.

Wrexham has provided humanitarian protection to small numbers of asylum seekers fleeing persecution since 2001.

The continued conflict in Syria has internally displaced approximately 6.5 million people , displacing 2.7 million people to neighbouring countries, with millions more in need of aid within Syria.

In a bid to aid especially vulnerable people within the UK, the UK Government launched the Syrian Relocation Scheme, which will prioritise help for women and children at risk, and the survivors of torture or violence.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: “The Syrian civil war has been absolutely devastating, and we want to offer what help we can – as such, I’m pleased to see that the children of Wrexham have given a very warm welcome.

“As a council, we will work with other North Wales local authorities to develop effective and consistent support for those fleeing conflict, and will also work with community, voluntary and faith-led organisations in the area to provide proper support for integration – and a number of public sector partners in Wrexham also indicated their support for the scheme.

“With all that in mind, it’s very pleasing to see the children welcome refugees in this manner.”

One letter that appears to be linked to this programme was tweeted recently, and quite a few people from Wrexham hit ‘like’ on twitter after seeing it and subsequent retweets:

A beautiful letter from one of our Ambassadors schools – Rhosymedre in #Wrexham, welcoming refugees to the area – pic.twitter.com/a9Cwtb6cO7

— Super Ambassadors (@superambs) July 20, 2016