A group of 14 local residents from Naas have come together to help relocate and support families from Afghanistan through a project called the “Community Sponsorship Programme.” In the past, they have helped two families establish themselves in Co. Kildare. These projects are funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027, Community Sponsorship Ireland (https://www.communitysponsorship.ie/ ) and are key initiatives under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). Community Sponsorship is a structured and responsible approach that enables local communities to directly support the resettlement of refugees fleeing conflict.
Their latest project involves an Afghan journalist. Ali (NOT his real name), his wife and their two children (4 and 18 months) are desperate to rebuild their lives in a place of safety following the Taliban takeover. Ali worked as a journalist/reporter for seven years and was a well-known civil society activist. For over 10 years, he promoted and protected freedom of expression and the right to freedom of religion in the previously US-backed regime. When the Taliban attacked in 2021, they surrounded and raided his place of work, killing several of Ali’s colleagues. In early 2022, at risk of execution, he and his family were forced into exile in Iran.
Ali and his family are facing forced deportation to Afghanistan by the Iranian state, which will hand him over directly to the Taliban. Over half a million Afghans have been forcibly deported from Iran to Afghanistan.
As part of the resettlement project, Naas Community Sponsorship Group will welcome the family to Kildare and support them in establishing their home in our community by providing them with the friendship and emotional and practical support they will need for their first two years in Ireland.
The idea of “Community Sponsorship” for refugees was initiated in Canada in 1979. Unlike more traditional refugee resettlement models, where the state or state-supported actors provide settlement and integration services, community sponsorship invites ordinary members of the community to play a key role in providing the support needed for the refugee family to integrate into the community more successfully. The Kildare Community Group were successful in their application to IQFA, who have donated funds to help with the family’s telecommunications and Internet requirements. We wish the Kildare Community Group well and thank them for their work in helping refugee families settle in Ireland.