The humanitarian crisis on our doorstep

Children keeping dry under plastic bags

Mike Emberson, from the Medaille Trust, a Catholic charity dedicated to fighting human trafficking, gave this talk on Good Friday on Deal Pier in Kent on the English coast, just a short sea crossing from the continent, where thousands of refugees including women and unaccompanied children have been forced to fend for themselves.

Around the world millions of people are on the move – fleeing war, hunger and persecution in a search for security. Recent events have led to an unprecedented migration through Europe leaving a modern day trail of tears across the continent. Europe’s response has been far from unified – many individuals and many countries have opened their arms to the stranger arriving in their midst. Many other individuals and countries have hardened their hearts and turned away.

The UK response to the humanitarian crisis on our doorstep is far from being something we could be fully proud of. We have not stood in solidarity with the frontline states such as Italy and Greece who are shouldering disproportionate amounts of the burden. We have not opened the doors of welcome as other North European states such as Germany and Sweden have done. We have acted in a perfidious and disingenuous matter over the issue of unaccompanied children and reneged on the Dubbs amendment.

Yet there is some hope – UK work in the refugee camps of the Middle East should be acknowledged and we must not forget that whatever the UK Government’s policy is, it has not prevented highly principled individuals and organisations opening the doors to accommodation across the country for Syrian refugees.

So there is good and bad. As the fires still smoulder among the ashes of the Dunkirk camp we must push for more and better action. We must witness that not everyone has turned away. For some ‘welcome the stranger’ is more than just the motto of the town they live in. For some in fact there is no stranger, there are just fellow human beings. Human beings who are fleeing traumatic events including chemical attacks by state actors and the mediaeval barbarities of terrorist groups. Human beings risking drowning, exploitation, sexual and physical assault as they embark on dangerous flights to safety along vulnerable routes preyed upon by criminals engaged in human smuggling and human traffickers.

So, to conclude. Please pray for those who are now living dangerous lives of misery. Search your hearts to see if there are practical ways in which you could help. Thank you for your time and patience listening to me, thank you once again for inviting me Ben and God Bless.

Mike gave the talk at the invitation of Seeking Sanctuary: http://seekingsanctuary.weebly.com

Read more about the Medaille Trust here: www.medaille-trust.org.uk

See also: Dunkirk: Letter from Seeking Sanctuary: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/32348