Open letter urges PM to ‘step up and do more’ for traumatised child refugees
Mark Rylance, Jude Law and Paloma Faith are among more than 90 stars calling on David Cameron to step up the Government’s commitment to reuniting refugees stranded across Europe with their families in the UK.
The plea, issued in an open letter signed by leading figures from the arts and business, calls on Britain to “step up and do more” to help “vulnerable refugees”.
It comes ahead of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) meeting on Syrian refugees, which will be held in Geneva on Wednesday.
Campaigners hope the Government will seize the “unique opportunity to do more by expanding the rules around family reunion”.
The letter, backed by charities Refugee Action and Citizens UK, recognises the “substantial aid” being used to help Syrian refugees but says “as the crisis grows so too must our response”.
It says: “Many organisations and public figures have stepped up to help protect children in Calais, but across Europe thousands of refugee children are still stranded without hope or support.
“In the UK, Syrians with close family in refugee camps or conflict zones often cannot legally bring their relatives to safety.
“We are seeing the reality of this human crisis play our on our TV screens week after week. Families are desperate to reach their loved ones. Traumatised children have no-one to protect them.”
It ends: “We call on you to increase our resettlement commitment and to strengthen family reunion policies to help separated children and divided families.”
Law and Juliet Stevenson, who have both backed the letter, were among the famous faces who visited the Jungle camp in Calais last month to perform to refugees.
They also joined 145 stars in signing an open letter to Mr Cameron, asking him to help save children based at the makeshift camp, as sections of the camp were prepared for demolition by French authorities.
Here is the letter in full:
“Dear Prime Minister,
“The conflict in Syria has now entered its sixth brutal and deadly year. Nearly twelve million Syrians have fled their homes; almost five million of them to Syria’s neighbouring countries. The suffering they have endured and continue to endure can barely be imagined.
“We applaud the UK for committing substantial aid spending to help these refugees, as well as resettling 20,000 of the most vulnerable by 2020. But as the crisis grows so too must our response.
“Many organisations and public figures have stepped up to help protect children in Calais, but across Europe thousands of refugee children are still stranded without hope or support. In the UK, Syrians with close family in refugee camps or conflict zones often cannot legally bring their relatives to safety.
“We are seeing the reality of this human crisis play out on our TV screens week after week. Families are desperate to reach their loved ones. Traumatised children have no-one to protect them. Men, women and children are putting their lives at risk to seek safety.
“We know the UK has a proud history of protecting the victims of war. As the UNHCR convenes a high level meeting calling for world leaders to step up and do more to help Syrian refugees, we urge you to continue that legacy by urgently doing more to protect these vulnerable refugees. We call on you to increase our resettlement commitment and to strengthen family reunion policies to help separated children and divided families.
“Yours sincerely,
“Adrian Lester, Akram Khan, Aminatta Forna, Andrew Garfield, Andrew O’Hagan, Andy Serkis, Sir Anish Kapoor, Anoushka Shankar, Anthony Barnett, Barbara Broccoli, Beeban Kidron, Ben Bailey Smith (Doc Brown), Ben Drew (Plan B), Benjamin Zephaniah, Caroline Flack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Cleave, Chris O’Dowd, Clare Morpurgo, David Edgar, Sir David Hare, David Lan, David Morrissey, David Nicholls, David Oyelowo, Dawn O’Porter, Dinos Chapman, Dominic Cooper, Dougray Scott, Edna O’Brien, Emma Freud, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Gillian Slovo, Guy Garvey, Dame Harriet Walter, Baroness Helena Kennedy, Henry Porter, Hussein Chalayan, Jake Chapman, Jameela Jamil, Jamie Byng, Jason Isaacs, Jefferson Hack, Jeremy Thomas, Jesse Quin, Jim Carter, Joe Wright, John McCarthy, Jude Law, Juliet Stevenson, Kate Mosse, Ken Loach, Laura Bailey, Lauren Laverne, Lee Hall, Lisa Appignanesi, Livia Firth, Mark Haddon, Mark Rylance, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, Michael Bond, Michael Morpurgo, Michael Palin, Mike Leigh, Natalie Abrahami, Natasha Walter, Sir Nicholas Hytner, Nicole Farhi, Paloma Faith, Sir Patrick Stewart, Phyllida Lloyd, Richard Curtis, Sir Richard Rogers, Riz Ahmed, Ruby Wax, Lady Ruth Rogers, Sabrina Guinness, Sam Mendes, Samantha Morton, Samuel West, Sarah Solemani, Shami Chakrabarti, Stephen Daldry, Stephen Frears, Steve Coogan, Susie Orbach, Tess Morris, Tim Rice-Oxley, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Toby Jones, Tom Chaplin, Sir Tom Stoppard, Tracey Seaward, Dame Vivienne Westwood”
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2016, All Rights Reserved. Picture – Jude Law speaking at a recent visit to a refugee camp at Calais (c) Help Refugee / PA.
