We ask readers to use your influence to persuade the UK Government and EU Council of Ministers to act
at once to alleviate the living conditions of migrants in Europe. To date, many
pronouncements have been made and some action taken to reduce the flow of
desperate people both into Europe via Italy and Greece and internally between
France and UK but little has been said or done of a humanitarian nature.
Whether they
are asylum seekers or not, all are human beings, mostly with no money nor
possessions. Many have suffered long and severe privations even before arriving
at our shores. Whether welcome or not, they all deserve treatment as fellow
humans: sustenance; health care; shelter; hygiene and respect. It is shameful
that this country and our equally affluent neighbours cannot find it in our
hearts and collective pockets to provide what we would certainly contribute
were these refugees in a far off land. Humanitarian action is a sign of
strength, not a weakening of resolve in border policy.
Surely we
can collaborate with our partners in Europe to establish and resource proper
camps in key migration bottle-necks, be these Lampedusa or Lesbos, Kos or,
parochially, Calais? Such a step would not only show our humanity but actually
impose some order on the chaos and even permit processing of asylum
applications without the risks to life and limb currently taken by so many
desperate people who are surely our collective responsibility.
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