The first of the 2000 men, women and children Syrian refugees Scotland has promised to welcome have begun to arrive. Welcome.

They represent 10% of the 20,000 the UK Government has been forced to open the doors to. Only a small handful of those 20,000 have so far been allowed into Britain and refugee organisations have accused the Home Office in London of dragging their feet despite the growing humanitarian crisis in Syria and those bordering it as people try to find safety and sanctuary. So far 2.5 million Syrians have fled the country in fear of their lives and are in refugee camps in surrounding countries. The ongoing conflict in the country has been described as the biggest postwar humanitarian crisis the world has seen.

Those who come to Scotland will be among the most vulnerable: survivors of torture and violence, women and children at risk and those in need of medical care.

It is almost impossible to imagine how they feel as they arrive. Frightened most certainly, because fear has been with them every minute of every day for so long. Afraid of what will happen if they stay in their country, afraid of what will happen if they leave. Afraid of being turned away, or of dying on their desperate road to safety.

In North Lanarkshire, Argyll and Bute, Glasgow, East Ayrshire and elsewhere across Scotland, careful plans will swing into action. Every single one of our 32 local authorities in Scotland is taking part in this resettlement programme. Political parties have set aside differences to work together nationally and locally.

But this isn’t a simple question of housing. Planning and thought needs to go into where those homes are, health care needs to be ready to help alongside education and housing. Voluntary and community groups will step forward with practical help and expertise, whether in clothes fit for our weather or food or medical aid or toys for children. Many refugees are educated and skilled and will want to contribute to the community that has given them a home. They will repay our welcome a hundredfold as those who came before them have done and have made us all the richer for that. But right now, they need care and support and the time and space to adjust to where they live now.

The Scottish Government and our local authorities are to be congratulated on their compassionate, practical response. It’s a response that reflects the best of each one of us. But they need more than our congratulations.

We need to make sure that we are prepared. That local resident’s questions are answered and that the conflict they may feel between sympathy for the refugees’ plight and anxiety about how it will all work out is taken seriously and addressed. It cannot be allowed to gnaw away at folks and become the ground that breeds resentment and grievance.

We know that there are those whose extreme right-wing ideas oppose any welcome we offer, want to ignite conflict and disruption and who will thrive on reasonable questions ignored and anxiety unanswered.

There may be others who will try to exploit the vulnerability of our new neighbours. Those who will bully and name call. Those who will spot any newcomer as the perfect opportunity for an easy scam or a quick win.

We have decades upon decades of experience to draw on and help us. From Chilean refugees fleeing Pinochet, to those escaping from the Congo, to the many hundreds of asylum seekers welcomed over the years and for many of us, our own family’s history, tells us what we need to do. We just need to try standing in their shoes for a moment. We have no home, our family is scattered and we don’t know if they are alive or dead. Our children are tired and hungry and scared. All we have are a few clothes and one or two precious things that speak to us of home. We have no money. Some of us are ill but we don’t know how to look for help. We don’t understand the language others speak and they don’t understand us. We just need to imagine being there, in that place, and we can begin to work out what we would need, what we would long for, to begin to feel safe again.

So while the council workers and the GPs, the nurses and teachers and community officers come together with volunteers and others to ease the way for our refugees, we need to do our bit too. Whether or not our street is where a refugee family is housed, we need to make sure our communities and our country is where they find a safe and welcoming home.