Sir, – The tens of thousands of Syrian (and other) refugees who are fleeing war and persecution to seek a new life in Europe see our continent as an oasis of peace, freedom and security. And how do we Europeans respond? We pull up the drawbridge; we squabble among ourselves about which country should take in which number of refugees; and the result is that the EU is perceived once again as weak, divided and light years away from the idealism of its founders.
What should we do instead? A columnist in El País, the leading newspaper of Spain, suggests that we should imagine for a moment that Europe is one country. In this Europe its parliament would have been recalled to vote extraordinary funding to take the required emergency measures; its army, department of foreign affairs and humanitarian agencies would have set up camps in places like Greece and Hungary to look after the refugees, organise family reunification and process asylum applications; its consular service would have provided safe conducts to prevent the trafficking of these defenceless people by criminals; and its diplomats would have demanded an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council to pressure Russia, in particular, to force the Assad regime to stop the war and open peace negotiations.
Why isn’t the EU doing these things? – Yours, etc,
ANDY POLLAK,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – I recently saw a poll where almost half of respondents believe Ireland does not have the resources to accept more refugees, which I found both puzzling and distressing.
I worked for a year and a half in a refugee camp in northern Kenya called Kakuma. There were between 80,000 and 100,000 refugees living in the camp. Not too far from Kakuma is another camp called Dadaab where approximately 400,000 refugees live. The area (called Turkana County) where Kakuma is located is the poorest region of Kenya. The local Kenyan people who live there face droughts and famine as the area is semi-arid.
My point in telling you this is that I feel Ireland’s commitment to accept a few hundred refugees is abysmal.
The overwhelming majority of refugees in the world are in countries surrounding the source countries. Kenya has hundreds of thousands of refugees, as does Lebanon and Jordan, for example. I really feel Ireland can do a lot better. We have many more resources and more wealth than the people of northern Kenya. Let’s open our eyes and do the right thing. – Yours, etc,
ELIZABETH O’ROURKE,
Portobello, Dublin 8.
Sir, –The horror of barrel bombs and mass killings continues inside Syria to this day. A solution to the crisis in Syria will not come about until there is substantial engagement by the international community. The minimum requirement to begin to end the suffering inside the country is the establishment of a no-fly zone, as called for by NGOs. The use of military methods should not be ruled out; similar interventions were key to bringing about the end of conflict in Bosnia. If no intervention is forthcoming millions of refugees will inevitably seek a better life outside the country. Failure to intervene early to protect civilians in such conflicts can only lead inevitably to the scenes we have seen and there is no guarantee they will not be repeated. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL McLOUGHLIN,
Castleknock, Dublin 15.
Sir, – The suggestion from Kevin McEvoy, FSC, that each parish in Ireland might take in at least one refugee family seems so manageable that it should surely be possible. Is there anyone out there, in our Christian community, who is in a position, and willing, to co-ordinate such a project? I am sure that there are many people, even those currently non-practising, who would not only welcome, but actively support this initiative. I live in hope. – Yours, etc,
MARY McGILLICUDDY,
Listowel, Co Kerry.
A chara, – The member organisations of the European Network Against Racism in Ireland reiterate our previous call for the Government to show leadership in response to the ongoing multiple tragedies of the refugee crisis at Europe’s borders. As we have seen, security “fixes” and hardened borders are not solutions, and will only deepen the crisis. The European Union, and the peace it has built, is founded on the principles of cooperation, solidarity, equality and justice. This European humanitarian crisis also demands responses based on those same principles, and the replacement of what are cruel and callous policy structures with policies based on equitable responsibility sharing.
As members of civil society organisations representing a wide cross-section of Irish society, we applaud the leadership and example shown by community-led initiatives across Europe, such as Ireland Calais Refugee Solidarity (formerly Cork Calais Refugee Solidarity). We urge readers to join and grow these initiatives locally. At the same time we urge our Government to take courage from community initiatives like this, to show leadership with our European partners and to take its full share of responsibility for accommodating refugees. In the face of a humanitarian crisis we need a European plan for providing refuge on a fair and equitable basis. This means that in Ireland, it is thousands we should be taking in, not hundreds. – Is mise,
SHANE O’CURRY,
Director,
European Network
Against Racism Ireland,
Dame Street,
Dublin 2, on behalf of
Age Action Intercultural Committee, Akidwa Migrant Women's Network, Anti-Racism Network Ireland, Ballyfermot Traveller Action Project, Community Workers Cooperative, Claire McCarthy Solicitors, Crosscare Migrants Project, Cultúr Migrants Centre, Doras Luimní, Dublin City Centre Citizens Information Service, EDeNn, Immigrant Council of Ireland, Irish Traveller Movement, Irish Missionary Union – Conference of Religious in Ireland, Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Irish Refugee Council, Jesuit Refugee Service, Lir, Migrants Rights Centre Ireland, NASC Immigrant Support Centre, National Traveller MABS, National Youth Council of Ireland, New Communities Partnership, Offaly Travellers Movement, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, Roma Integration Association, Sport Against Racism Ireland, Union of Students in Ireland.