Religious leaders including Catholic bishops have issued an urgent plea for the UK Government to give homes to Syrian refugees fleeing “one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of our time”.
In an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron published in today’s Independent Bishop Declan Lang, on behalf of the bishops’ conference of England and Wales, as well as Anglican, Jewish and Muslim leaders, warned that some Syrian refugees would not survive the winter.
Earlier this month Cafod, the aid agency of the bishops’ conference, warned that Syrian refugees who have fled to countries such as Lebanon were freezing to death in makeshift tents. It estimates that half of Syrian refugees are children.
According to the UN, more than 3.7 million people, Muslims, Christians and other religious minorities, have fled Syria during the five-year conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule.
They wrote: “Many have experienced persecution, torture or sexual violence, sometimes because of their religion or ethnicity, or have disabilities or other urgent medical needs which make them particularly vulnerable.”
They told the Prime Minister: “You have the power to offer hope to people whose suffering is almost unimaginable to us. We ask you to do this today.”
The faith leaders, who as well as Bishop Lang included the Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Head of Jewish Reform Movement and Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Assistant Secretary General of The Muslim Council of Great Britain, said they were proud that the UK had “led the world” in its humanitarian aid.
They welcomed the Government’s launch last year of a resettlement programme for Syrian refugees but noted that only 90 people had so far been offered a safe home in the UK using this programme.
“One year on, we urge you to take this opportunity to commit to offering resettlement places to thousands, not hundreds, of refugees from Syria,” they said.
“In the face of a desperate and growing need, we believe that Great Britain has a moral responsibility to continue our noble tradition as a compassionate and welcoming safe haven for those in need of protection.”
Cafod has called on rich countries to resettle 5 per cent of Syria’s refugees by the end of this year and a further 5 per cent by the end of 2016. But the UK Government has only agreed to resettle several hundred people over the next three years.
Cafod has reported that the harsh Syrian winter has already killed a number of Syrian refugees, who have frozen to death or been killed by fires as they tried to keep their shelters warm.
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