The Refugee Crisis

I think it’s fair to say that if you haven’t heard about the refugee crisis, you are in denial. I have a pretty strong opinion about this topic, and I know there will be people who disagree with me, and that’s fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’m just lucky enough that I can share mine with a fair few people. Also, I would love to hear your opinions so for anyone who wants to, I’ll put my email address at the bottom.

Many people are concerned about the safety of their jobs if we let in the refugees. This is understandable because desperate people like refugees are likely to accept jobs for lower wages. This would be very attractive to some employers because it means their costs will decrease, increasing their overall profit. On the other hand, others don’t know what refugee status is and will think there is too much hassle involved to employ a refugee. However, shown by the fact that they have travelled over 2 and a half thousand miles, the refugees need help from countries like Britain and we need their skills. There is a long list of famous refugees, including Michael Marks (one half of M&S), Freddy Mercury and of course the Von Trapp family.

Think about it like this; in the future how are we going to be viewed if we don’t let the refugees in? They are desperate and in danger, and people are going to wonder why we didn’t do anything about it. If other countries didn’t let Jews in when they were in danger because of the Nazis, it would be a lot more than six million who were killed. Thankfully, David Cameron has said that the UK will accept 20,000 refugees over the next four years, but surely a developed country like ours could take a few more?

For a while, the UK was not willing to accept any refugees at all. However, the moment that turned it around was when the pictures emerged of Aylan Kurdi, a three year old Syrian refugee who had drowned with his brother and mother while trying to get to the Greek island, Kos, in a boat. These shocking images seemed to jolt the government into action, prompting them to accept a number of refugees.

All in all, it’s hard to know what to do. However, thinking rationally, these people are in need of help, and we can give it to them. Surely it’s the decent thing to do? We are lucky that we were born in the UK, but should those people who weren’t be persecuted because they are fleeing from a war in their country?