Under the scheme, refugees are given humanitarian protection for five years after which they can apply to settle in the UK.
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Under the scheme all of the “paperwork” is done before the refugees arrive. Passengers disembarked the Enter Air charter flight shielded from the media and were welcomed in a private area before boarding coaches to travel to their designated council districts.
The Scottish Refugee Council said it had received nearly 2,000 offers of help from individuals who want to assist the refugees.
The new arrivals in Scotland – around 15 families – are all from camps surrounding Syria and will be given five-year visas.
Glasgow has been an official dispersal zone for refugees since 2000.
Speaking at Holyrood, where there was a motion of condolence for the victims of Friday’s terror attacks, Ms Sturgeon said Scotland was providing safety for those fleeing violence and persecution.
“I am confident that local residents will extend their hospitality to the refugees and make them feel at home under what are extremely hard circumstances for them”.
Humza Yousaf, the minister for Europe and global development, said it was important to “protect the privacy and security” of those arriving, but said they would find the “warmest of welcomes” in their new communities. “I want them to think of Scotland as their home”. Nobody was injured, but the building sustained a few damage.
Police Scotland confirmed that the fire was being treated as suspicious and that hate crime was one line of inquiry.
MSP Kenny Gibson told the Herald: “The terrorist outrage in Paris last weekend serves as a jarring reminder of the violent and twisted ideology of the so-called Islamic State”.
David Cameron pledged to take in that number amid a public outcry following the publication of pictures of drowned three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, and a campaign by The Independent which urged the Prime Minister to “no longer turn a blind eye to the refugees’ plight”.
Plans for a welcome gathering at the airport were postponed after refugee rights activists advised their supporters to join a larger rally taking place on Saturday 28 November, before St Andrew’s Day.
Refugees will also need support around interpretation services and education for their children.
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According to Mashable, governors from MI, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin have chose to either pause or call for an outright ban on accepting refugees after reports that one of the Paris attackers may have made his way to France disguised as a refugee seeking asylum.
