As Storm Frank wreaks havoc throughout the United Kingdom, many Syrian refugees are helping their adoptive city of Manchester deal with the rising waters.
Yasser al-Jassem, a Syrian refugee who recently entered the country by the way of Greece, saw images of the devastation on TV and wanted to help to show appreciation for the country and city that took him in.
“The people of Greater Manchester have been very good to us and so we wanted to offer our help to them. As Syrian refugees, we are honored to take part in community service initiatives such as this to give back to the communities that have so warmly taken us in,” said al-Jassem. “It shows that we are very much interested in not only becoming a part of British society, but also contributing to it.”
Al-Jassem and other refugees joined in on filling sandbags in creating flood defenses for local businesses and homes.
Syrian refugees helping fill sandbags in Rochdale today. They say they want to repay the kindness shown to them. pic.twitter.com/NyUQQq5lAf
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) December 29, 2015
Throughout the UK, flood warnings are still in effect. In York, families are furious with the government after the flood barriers were intentionally raised and hundreds of homes were flooded.
Featured image via Twitter
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