CAFOD says government must do more to tackle refugee crisis

CAFOD has welcomed the UK government's pledge to resettle 20,000 vulnerable Syrians who have fled to neighbouring countries, but has called for this to happen more quickly and for more action to support refugees already in Europe.

Neil Thorns, CAFOD's Director of Advocacy and Education, said: "While the Prime Minister's offer to accept 20,000 refugees from countries neighbouring Syria is welcome, it doesn't go far enough. For a start, the government is proposing to take in these refugees over five years, when the most vulnerable people need support immediately. The process of identification and resettlement needs to happen far more quickly.

"But it's also important that the government doesn't wash its hands of people who have already reached the EU. Hundreds of thousands of people have arrived this year, and many are living in poor conditions. While the government deserves praise for its aid contribution to the Syria crisis, it needs to play its part in dealing with the crisis on its doorstep as well."

The war in Syria, which has been raging for four and half years, has driven more than 11 million people from their homes, including four million who have left the country. Syria's neighbours are bearing the brunt of the crisis: Lebanon alone is currently hosting 1.1 million Syrians, the equivalent of more than a quarter of its population. As funding for refugees in the Middle East dries up, however, more and more people are seeking to build a new life in Europe.

Roger, 17, will leave Damascus for Europe within days. He said: "My father has sold the house to pay the smugglers, even though he believes it's a suicide mission. On the contrary, I think that staying here is suicide. A mortar can fall on our heads at any time."

The journey to Europe is often precarious, made in makeshift plastic boats provided by people traffickers. One refugee, who asked not to be named, told a CAFOD partner in Greece: "You wouldn't put a child on a boat unless it's safer than your home. Imagine this desperation. We have nothing to lose."

European governments have so far agreed to relocate 40,000 people who have arrived in Greece and Italy to other EU states, but it has yet to agree on mandatory quotas for a further 120,000. The UK government is not part of the scheme, and has not offered to resettle any refugees already in Europe.

CAFOD launched a campaign on 4 September calling on the government to do more to help vulnerable refugees resettle in the UK as quickly as possible. Within a week more than 2,000 Catholics in England and Wales had emailed the Prime Minister calling for action. CAFOD supporters have also donated more than £60,000 to help the agency's partners provide food, shelter and emergency supplies to refugees across Europe.

Neil Thorns said: "We are working with our partners to deliver aid to refugees in Europe, and we also work in many of the countries where refugees originate from. But the current crisis in Europe will not end until there are political solutions to the conflicts that are fueling it, and especially to the war in Syria. We join our Syrian Church partners in calling for governments around the world to do all they can to bring an end to the fighting."

CAFOD works in many of the countries where refugees originate from, including Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. CAFOD's sister agencies in the Caritas network are also working to support refugees in Europe. For example:

In France: Secours Catholique (Caritas France) are providing food, blankets, clothes and hygiene items such as soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste to refugees in Calais, and have also been lobbying the Mayor of Calais and the French Home Secretary to do more to help.

In Italy: Local diocesan teams from Caritas Italy meet refugees as they arrive in ports in Sicily, providing them with water, warm clothes, blankets and food. Caritas Italy provides around 6,000 beds for migrants and refugees, as well as food, clothing, Italian lessons, training, legal advice and psychological and medical support. It also runs centres for child migrants and refugees throughout the country.

In Greece: Caritas Greece runs a refugee centre in Athens, where there is a soup kitchen and where refugees can seek supplies, language classes, and psychological and legal help. It also supports refugees on the islands of Chios, Lesvos and Kos.

Within the European Union: CAFOD is a member of Caritas Europa, which lobbies the European Union about the treatment of migrants and refugees.

CAFOD's mandate from the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is to support poor communities in developing countries. CSAN (the Catholic Social Action Network) is the social action arm of the Catholic Church for work in England and Wales. Their members support refugees and they do advocacy work on poverty in the UK. Together, CAFOD and CSAN form Caritas England and Wales.