It has been termed the worst refugee crisis since World War II. A record number of asylum seekers crossed the EU’s borders in July. Many of the refugees are fleeing Syria, where drought followed by extreme political upheaval has created intolerable living conditions.
We are now familiar with the shocking image of the drowned child, Alan Kurdi, washed up on Turkey’s shore after fleeing the conflict in Syria. This has contributed to a surge in exposure and support for those seeking refuge within the EU. However, although there has been an increase in support, there are still many who wish to keep their gates locked. I hope that I can address some of the concerns that those people have.
Some say we need to fix our own problems before we can help others seeking refuge. It is true that economic cuts mean fewer resources and that we have very real problems facing our own citizens.
However, the two are separate issues. We can help our citizens and we can help those who are in desperate need. Some argue that, if we give asylum, then we will be obliged to give more and more asylum. This is something we will have to deal with.
Climate change and the political upheaval forces and will increasingly force thousands of people to migrate to areas of safety. We need to tackle this properly with agreed international protocols and infrastructure.
Britain has many real concerns, but we are also in a privileged position globally and we have a responsibility to our neighbouring European countries to share the load; as Tony Benn said ‘If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people’. During World War II we welcomed Jewish refugees. It was a time of rationing, scant resources, we faced our own demise as a nation, yet we found room and we helped. Children lived.
When images of the holocaust finally filtered out we were shocked at the scale of the deaths of those who could not escape. We had not seen anything like it. Today, thanks to the media, we are bombarded daily with images of global suffering and death.
It is hard to connect empathetically to such a proliferation of suffering, of such mass movement, and we shut off emotionally. We look on in our comfortable chairs and adjust to a more comfortable position yet – although we are stationary – we have far more power than we think we do.
We can donate, organise a fundraiser, discuss the issue, petition the government from a sedentary position in a comfy chair like the one I am writing from. The only difference between these current refugees and ourselves is that we were fortunate to be born where we are.
I may be writing this from security, but I refuse to stay silent and allow inactivity to cause another holocaust. Alan Kurdi, a young child like so many others, died. Maybe you can help another child live.
by Freya Bryson
