Like me, you’ve probably spent the last with with a broken heart, helpless and lost in the face of a crisis that leaves Syrian toddlers like Aylan Kurdi to drown in a foreign land; unable to understand the disgraceful lack of action from most European governments; wondering what it is you can do to help such desperate people who simply want to escape war, torture and poverty to find a life that is safe.
This is a human crisis borne of war, instability, inequality and poverty. It is a crisis affecting millions of people, not just those from Syria but from much of the Middle East. It is a crisis that affects all people, regardless of their age, gender, sexuality or religion. It is a crisis that cannot be boiled down to ‘migration’ – a word that has been used to dehumanise, in order to make action unlikely. It is a crisis that has nothing to do with the debate around immigration. This is a crisis of people, forced from their homes because whilst their government attacks them, rebel groups establish despotic regimes based on a purposefully flawed understanding of one of the world’s great religions. This is a crisis that the people and governments of Europe have a duty to alleviate, if not resolve.
And we can. Don’t let the media or government tell you we cannot help, because we can. There is so much that we can do that is so simple and so effective that it will be our greatest shame if we continue to be silent. In just 24 hours, over 120,000 people signed a petition that has made David Cameron change his mind, and offer to take in more refugees from Syria. This is people power and democracy at its strongest, and it is welcome news for those on the borders of Syria that have yet to make the perilous journey to Europe. But it is a small gesture from one country, and we must keep up the pressure on EU governments to bring about real change.
So take action. Join the march on 12th September in London (and similar marches that are hopefully planned across the UK) to show Theresa May and the rest of the European ministers meeting on 14th that we are ready and willing to give shelter to people in need. Take one of these simple actions, from donating to a charity working with refugees to giving up your time to volunteer. Be loud, be proud, and show that refugees are welcome in the EU by using #refugeeswelcome and signing the petition calling on the government to not only give shelter to more people, but to put pressure on Europe to take action.
So much is said of a divided Europe these days and in the face of economic problems like those faced by Greece it’s not much of a surprise. But the EU cannot be divided in the face of the refugee crisis that is building up on our borders, our railway stations and our ferry ports. It is only through united action as a united Europe that we can begin to solve this crisis, by having a Europe-wide asylum policy that is fit for purpose, and makes every country give shelter to their fair share of people in need. A policy that doesn’t use batons or tear gas on families that have already been bombed, tortured, starved and beaten out of their homes. A policy that recognises that people want to come to Europe because we are a set of states that are held up as safe, prosperous, just and fair and that this is the greatest compliment we can receive. A policy that doesn’t shirk our moral duty.
One final thing. Don’t let your opinions on immigration or Europe cloud your judgement on this issue. This isn’t a crisis of economic migration. This isn’t a crisis that can be willed away by dehumanising language that gives us an excuse not to act or to bring up the drawbridges. This is a crisis of humanity, and it is only through the humanity and compassion that we have shown throughout our history that it can be solved. By taking action now, perhaps you can help prevent more children, more families, more refugees, more people from being killed trying to find a safer life.
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