The escalating violence in the Middle East and Africa has forced thousands of refugees to run for their lives.
We’ve all seen the pictures on the television and in the papers over recent weeks, and no-one can fail to have been moved.
The lack of safe and legal routes to claim asylum has seen thousands of men, women and children drown attempting to cross the Mediterranean this year alone.
But so far the government has been keener on criminalising than helping people desperately fleeing persecution.
These refugees, who’ve fled from countries like Syria and Eritrea, know how dangerous this journey is. Many have already lost friends to the crossing. But they continue to risk their lives because they feel that this journey is their only hope.
Resettlement programmes, like those run by the UN, give vulnerable refugees from countries like Syria a new start in a safe country. But with precious few places on offer, many refugees feel that waiting for resettlement is hopeless.
Last year, the UK accepted 787 resettled refugees – including just 34 families from the conflict in Syria. Now under pressure, David Cameron has said that the UK will take 20,000 people from Syria – but that’s over the next five years.
And only people in refugee camps just over the Syrian borders are to be offered sanctuary in the UK. The PM isn’t prepared to do anything to help the thousands who have already risked life and limb to make it to Europe.
Our government intends to ignore EU appeals for member states to help settle the 160,000 refugees recently arrived in the continent, and risks being shamed by its European partners. France has promised to take 24,000 refugees over the next two years, and 18,000 people were taken in by Germany last weekend alone.
Local councils have offered to do their bit, but with their budgets the victims of government spending cuts, they need ministers to promise that sufficient resources will be available in future years.
At UNISON we believe that the UK should significantly increase its resettlement of refugees in the face of the worst European humanitarian crisis since the Second World War.
The UK has historically been a safe refuge for people fleeing conflict and persecution. Now is not the time to turn our backs