The resettlement of refugees from Afghanistan is at an early stage. Afghans brought to the UK are initially being quarantined and accommodated in hotels until permanent accommodation can be found through local authorities. Work is starting to identify housing in our area that could be used to accommodate some of the refugees being resettled from Afghanistan but currently we don’t have any recently arrived Afghan refugees in Cambridge or nearby. We are therefore asking everyone coming forward with kind offers of support to either hold on to their donations for the time being (as CRRC do not have storage) or consider giving them to Emmaus, a worthwhile charity providing affordable household items to vulnerable people, with which CRRC has a working relationship. CRRC will be posting updates on our website once the housing situation and needs of arriving refugees are clearer.

In the meantime, please write to your local district and county councillors, asking them what their authority is doing to support Afghan refugees and asylum seekers coming to our area. This could include Afghan asylum-seekers arriving across the Channel, who are set to be treated unequally under the Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill.

If there is anyone who might be able to offer a spare room, you could do so now through two organisations seeking accommodation in Cambridge: Room for Refugees or Refugees at Home. This could enable a single person for example, to be near friends or relatives already in Cambridge. At present, Refugees at Home are only seeking accommodation within cities.