Former Jewish refugees urge British prime minister to accept 3,000 Syrian children
UPDATE: May 4, 2016, 1:05 p.m. BST
Prime Minister David Cameron has signalled a partial climbdown on an amendment to accept 3,000 Syrian refugee children in the UK.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Cameron says he wanted to stick to the principle that Britain would not take in new children stranded in Europe because he believed that it could act as a "pull factor." But on the Dubs amendment, he said that he wanted to "proceed with as much support across the House as we can."
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"We are going to speak to local authorities to see what we can do,” Cameron told MPs, adding that the government is working with Save the Children to look at ways to bring in more refugees who came to Europe before the new deal with Turkey.
After the announcement, Lord Dubs - the Kindertransport refugee who tabled the refugee plan - said: “I trust the Prime Minister will be true to his word and move swiftly to ensure the Home Office works closely with local authorities to find foster families to give these young people a stable and secure home.”
LONDON -- A group of former Jewish refugees who came to the UK from Nazi Germany as part of the government-backed Kindertransport program has strongly urged Prime Minister David Cameron to accept 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees from Syria.
The Kindertransport-Association of Jewish Refugees said Cameron should "demonstrate compassion" and do more to "help some of the most vulnerable victims of an internecine conflict".
In the letter seen by Mashable, Sir Erich Reich, chairman of the Jewish association, said it was "incumbent on us to provide sanctuary to those in need."
Reich, who was born in Vienna in 1935, was brought to the UK from Nazi Germany ahead of World War II as part of the government-backed Kindertransport.
Last week, MPs voted against a bill introduced by another former Kindertransport refugee, Alf Dubs, to accept 3,000 Syrian child refugees stuck in Europe.
The Home Office convinced potential Conservative rebels that the government was already doing enough to help child refugees in Syria and that the plan would encourage more asylum-seekers to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
The bill is set to return to the Commons and the government has come under increased pressure to admit the refugees.
In the letter, Reich said he learned of the rejection of resettlement proposals “with great sadness.”
He said: “I strongly urge you and your colleagues to reconsider how we can intervene to help some of the most vulnerable victims of an internecine conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands of people and displaced millions.
“The echoes of the past haunt many of my fellow Kinder and I whose fate similarly rested with members of the British parliament.
“I feel it is incumbent on us to once again demonstrate our compassion and human-kindness to provide sanctuary to those in need.”
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