Letter to Dr Philip Lee MP on the Refugee Crisis September 2015. Updated 2020.

This long letter is really just a short request to support a parliamentary debate on the refugee crisis.

War. climate, and human trafficking are undoubtedly wicked problems that will not be solved simply or quickly. However that is no excuse for facing them with indifference, hostility and a lack of compassion.

I find it disappointing that since coming to power the present government has celebrated aspiration and the levelling up of disadvantaged communities whilst advocating a Global Britain open to the world, yet condemns those who look to our country as a means to escape hostile environments and a place to seek a better life.

I can think of nothing more shameful than wanting to be a hostile environment for people seeking help. This seems to me neither decent nor Christian.

The answer may not be to take ever more refugees or migrants but it is also certainly not to do nothing or to assume that those approaching our country mean harm. The long term solution is of course to tackles the causes of displacement and engines of migration, but that does not mean that distress and desperation manifested by global problems can just be ignored or repelled is the meantime.

Whilst many people may not want to encourage or welcome entrants to our country, especially those entering illegally, many of us do recognise there are myriad situations that prompt migration and recognise the right to seek asylum, to seek work. Some people will see illegality as evidence of criminality, others may see it more sympathetically as a symptom of unbearable desperation. Law and order is guaranteed by states; it is not always available to the stateless or the subdued.

Yet these differences perhaps mask a common sense that unsafe passage is in some way intolerable and upholding the right of all individuals to state protection, legal recognition and justice is a shared goal.

Whatever our personal feelings and ethics, we, as a nation have a duty, a legal and moral duty, to acknowledge their arrival and process claims correctly and courteously. We do not have the right to judge, diminish, insult or reject people whose circumstances we do not know and whose lives we can barely imagine.

Of course, our altruism must be tempered with pragmatism. However, we are nowhere near the point where a greater response on our part would jeopardise the prosperity and security of this country and its citizens.

Even if we were at our limit, there is no reason our policies cannot be implemented with courtesy rather than degradation, our limits enforced with regret and onward support not indignation.

Even if we think the solutions should come from elsewhere, and other countries should pull more weight, we are only answerable for ourselves and the tone of our response. We have faced much sterner challenges than accommodating asylum seekers and have responded with great ingenuity and fortitude.

Our country would not be what it is if others had said they had no more to spare in our times of need and war. As others stood with us in darker times so we should stand with them today.

One of the greatest achievements to come from one of the darkest and deadliest times the world has ever seen was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We should certainly not forget that global co-operation and the recognition of the validity of every human life is what we fought for.

Forgetting the “inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” is something we should all resist just as we should condemn and not contribute when “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind” (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

I would welcome a debate in parliament on the UK response to the increasing numbers of asylum seekers. I am proud of the existing work government, non-government agencies and our armed services are already doing to assist refugees and I would be even prouder of this country if, even in these straitened times, we were to stand up and do even more. I believe we can.

I would like to hear the voice of the refugees more in the debate, because we presume too much about those arriving at our shores, their motives and their effects. It should not be beyond the capability of some of the most advanced countries in the world to enable those voices to be heard so we can truly understand why they are fleeing and what conditions would enable them to thrive in their own countries, particularly for those who fled reluctantly from their homes.

Only then, when we listen, understand and involve them rather assuming we know where they have come from, what they are seeking and what is best for them can we get beyond a simplistic and toxic discourse. Only then can we draw on the wealth and great minds available in this world to make our way towards some sort of more stable solution for as many people as possible. To find solutions that work for and allay the fears of those who are domiciled and those who are displaced: the rooted and the routed.

We cannot and should not shut our doors and isolate ourselves from the world as though those suffering are not there and we have no part to play in either the problems or the solutions. We should not exempt ourselves from the difficult task of building a more prosperous and sustainable future for all who share this planet. This cannot always be done at arms length.

It is easy as an individual to think there is little I can do personally, that my voice makes little difference. It is easy to retreat, to try and avoid the news and get on with my own life. It’s easy to react too hastily to the provocations of social media. It is easy to feel helpless and powerless. It’s easy to be angry. It’s easy to say this isn’t my problem. It’s hard to understand and to know what actions will make a difference, hard to devote time, money and energy to doing them and hard to have patience and hope.

But it’s no longer possible for me not to see the growing suffering beyond our shores nor the desperation of those trying to reach us. It’s no longer possible for me to ignore the demeaning language and degrading treatment that is directed at migrants by some of us. Having seen, I cannot in good conscience simply stand by and accept this.

I am urging you to recognise that there are members of the public in this country and your constituency who would like to see this matter tackled with less hostility. I ask for your support in seeing the crisis debated in parliament soon to discuss both short-term relief and concerted leadership on the long-term, joined-up commitment solving these intractable problem will require.

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I know not everyone will agree with the sentiments in this letter.  This is a difficult subject that arouses strong opinions all round.  That’s why we have parliaments and councils so our grievances are channelled not at each other but into a democratic process that works towards consensus on how we should act and proceed.

If you disagree first check the facts, a range of viewpoints and come to your own conclusions. The sharing of sensationalist anecdote and hearsay on social media helps no one and harms many.

Then feel free to write your own thoughts in your own letter to your MP or on your own blog so that should when we get into debate it can be an informed, respectful and representative one. Don’t feel free to hurl abuse at people who may have a different opinion to you. There is no freedom, no right to do that.

If you are as frustrated and saddened as I am at the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes, the amount of senseless violence in supposedly civilised societies and the way we treat and speak of people experiencing adversity then there are things you can do, some of them quite easy.

Above all let us reflect that both the journeys of those who come here and the anxieties of those who live here are rooted in the same, shared desire to protect ourselves and forge a better life for our families.

So, whilst we may at times disagree, let’s not forget our common humanity and let’s act with dignity and decency.