HIAS+JCORE is clear: safe routes save lives.
The reopening of the UK’s resettlement scheme is therefore welcome news. It’s a step in the right direction towards a fairer system where people seeking sanctuary can do so without being forced into dangerous journeys.
We’re pleased too that the Home Secretary recognises the importance of this. Earlier this week, in her speech to the Labour Party conference, Shabana Mahmood rightly acknowledged that: “it is not fair those with a genuine need of protection cannot find a safe and legal way to claim asylum.”
The context is different today; but as British Jews, we understand just how true her statement is.
But we need the Government to go much further. Only a few hundred people will be offered protection initially – and that’s simply not enough.
So we’re calling for the Home Secretary to scale up this scheme, and to match that by urgently reopening refugee family reunion. There is nothing compassionate or responsible about keeping families divided.
Our Jewish values of solidarity and welcome compel us to continue to speak out for a system which truly does its fair share for those in need, wherever they are from.
