Background
Auzolan (community-based work in Basque language) is a pilot project partnership between the regional Basque government, the national Spanish government, the UNHCR, Basque Caritas and the Basque Jesuit Platform aimed to welcome refugees and persons with the international protection status where civil society takes direct responsibility for their integration. The Jesuit NGO Fundación Ellacuria and its volunteers, including a RSCJ, is putting into practice the partnership and experimenting an integration model to ease the settling of Syrian families in the Basque region.
The 10-year long Syrian civil war has push many of its population to flee the county. Thanks to its Community Sponsorship, UNHCR has war-torn families travelling to safe places. In 2019, 5 Syrian families arrived in the Spanish Basque region. Objective Social and labour integration of Syrian refugees in the Basque Spanish region.
Activities
The RSCJ involved in the project is part of a volunteer group that was assigned one Syrian family in the town of Arrigorriaga. The family is composed of six members: father (53), mother (50), one son (19), another son (23) with his wife (23) and two daughters (1 and 2 years old).
Residential status
- Administrative support with local residency registration
- Administrative support for stay permit application
- Administrative support with health services registration
- Administrative support with children school enrollment
- Administration support for the minimum income allocation application (Renta de Garantía de Ingresos)
Labour integration
- Support with unemployment centre (Lanbide) registration
- Support in identifying professional training courses
- Support in job hunting
- Spanish language teaching
Social integration
- Family receiving daily visits of the volunteers
- Family celebrations organised where volunteers are invited (birthdays, lamb celebration, Ramadan, Chistmas, etc.)
- The two small girls are taken to the park to play with their peers (by volunteers)
- Translation/Interpretation the volunteer RSCJ speaks fluently Arabic.
Results
Feeling welcomed and being able to speak their language, the family has shared their worries and their health concerns.
People being served
People being served : People who are marginalised
Age group : Adults 26-60, Children 0-17, Young people 18-25
Number of participants : mai-50
Schedule
Project status : Completed
Images
Overview
Society presence : Spain
Focus of the project : People
JPIC Imperative : Welcoming People on the Move
UN Sustainable Development Goals :
