Ukrainian refugess have been left in tears after the Scottish Government cancelled a contract that saw them house at a hotel in Perthshire. SNP ministers have been accused of acting with "shocking disregard" to people "offered safety and sanctuary merely months ago" after the refugees were given notice to leave the Killin Hotel by November 18.
Many of the group, who arrived in July under the super sponsor scheme, had become settled in the local community after attempts were made to integrate refugees. Some Ukrainians had picked up work in the Killin area, with their kids attending local schools, expecting to be living from the hotel until next spring.
Community leaders have slammed the decision and said the government is acting with "insensitivity" as the hotel had been booked out until the end of March. Parthiv Vyas, manager of the hotel, said he received notification of the end of the contract on Friday morning from a booking agent for the Scottish Government.
Mr Vyas said: "It came out of the blue for us. The contract had earlier been extended until March 31 and we had everything confirmed and we had cleared everything over Christmas and the winter. We didn't see it coming.
"Everything had settled down here, the kids were going to school. You don't want to give them the feeling that they are going to be moved around every couple of months. When they heard what was happening, some were upset, some were crying."
Anfisa Ihnatova, 19, who is living at the hotel with her mother, said the announcement had been "really bad news". Anfisa, originally from the outskirts of Kyiv, said: "We just feel really afraid because we don't know where we will be going next. People are not very sure about their future.
"I am studying at Stirling University now and people are in jobs, but we don't know what will happen now. They told us we will not be out on the streets and they will find something for us, but they need some time to find some options. They looked a bit shocked to be honest."
Officials from Stirling Council, which has responsibility for finding alternative accommodation, attended the hotel on Friday to reassure guests. One official at Stirling Council described the relocation of guests to alternative accommodation as "challenging work", but said there was "every confidence" the November 18 deadline could be met.
Andy Aitken, chair of Killin Community Council, has written to First Minster Nicola Sturgeon over the situation. He said: "As a community, we have welcomed the Ukrainians into our midst and have worked very hard on numerous fronts - teaching English, helping with employment, and integrating our guests into the wider community.
"We had offered help to find accommodation and sponsor families, but this, we were informed, was the responsibility of the local council, who are now suddenly faced with an urgent and potentially chaotic process of relocation. Had offers from the community been taken up over recent months, we might not have found ourselves in this very difficult situation.
"We feel that the Scottish Government has behaved with a shocking disregard for the local community, and with no due care and consideration for those to whom it offered safety and sanctuary merely months ago. We earnestly hope that Ukrainians refugees and their host communities across the country will not be treated in such a manner as they have been in Killin."
Fiona Martin, of Killin, a volunteer English tutor, said she was "appalled" by the development. She said: "This seems to be an extremely insensitive move by the SNP in view of the trauma suffered by so many of them. They had been led to believe they were settled there until March of 2023.
"I am also concerned that the children cannot even finish the school term, which would seem to be a more natural break for them. Local businesses are going to be very concerned as so many have been filling the staffing gaps following Brexit. I only hope there are good reasons for this decision, but it would be helpful if we understood them."
Figures show 20,591 displaced Ukrainians are now in Scotland - around a fifth of the UK total. Thousands more are anticipated to arrive, given 35,357 visas, which name the Scottish Government or an individual in Scotland as sponsors, have already been issued.
Around 6,540 Ukrainians in Scotland are in temporary 'welcome' accommodation - such as hotels and the two cruise ships berthed Glasgow and Edinburgh - as suitable longer-term homes for new arrivals are sought. Around £50m has been made available to bring void council and social housing back into use to help increase demand.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "We want displaced people from Ukraine to integrate and thrive in our communities for as long as they choose to stay here. In listening to feedback from Ukrainian people across our country, we recognise the importance of community, connectivity and access to services when in temporary accommodation.
"We regularly review our temporary accommodation estate in order to better support displaced people from Ukraine. We don't want people spending any longer than necessary in temporary accommodation and we're working with our local authority and third-sector partners to help displaced people find a Scottish host or alternative longer-term sustainable accommodation whilst they are here in Scotland."
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