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Aylan Kurdi: this one small life has shown us the way to tackle the refugee crisis Aylan Kurdi: this one small life has shown us the way to tackle the refugee crisis
(3 days later)
What we learned about ourselves anew this week was something that, in truth, we knew already. We rediscovered a simple, human weakness: that we cannot conceive of an abstract problem, or even a concrete problem involving huge numbers, except through one individual. The old Stalinist maxim about a million deaths being a statistic, a single death a tragedy, was demons trated afresh. What we learned about ourselves anew this week was something that, in truth, we knew already. We rediscovered a simple, human weakness: that we cannot conceive of an abstract problem, or even a concrete problem involving huge numbers, except through one individual. The old Stalinist maxim about a million deaths being a statistic, a single death a tragedy, was demonstrated afresh.
The lesson was taught by a silent toddler washed ashore on a beach, his face down. Aylan Kurdi did not reveal a new horror. People in desperate search of European refuge have been drowning at sea for many months. The civilians of Syria, including children, have been dying in their hundreds of thousands for more than four years. So we can’t pretend we didn’t know. But somehow, it seems, we needed to see those little shoes and bare legs to absorb the knowledge, to let it penetrate our heads and hearts.The lesson was taught by a silent toddler washed ashore on a beach, his face down. Aylan Kurdi did not reveal a new horror. People in desperate search of European refuge have been drowning at sea for many months. The civilians of Syria, including children, have been dying in their hundreds of thousands for more than four years. So we can’t pretend we didn’t know. But somehow, it seems, we needed to see those little shoes and bare legs to absorb the knowledge, to let it penetrate our heads and hearts.
The result has been a collective resolve to do better, a bellowed demand that something be done. Much of the talk has been of governments and quotas and policy changes, including a shift by David Cameron today. He saw how the photograph had altered the public mood – so that his own position, previously deemed a shrewdly robust stance on immigration, now looked like indifference to refugees – and duly announced that Britain would take in more, perhaps thousands more. This time he did not speak of a “swarm” of people. Nor did his foreign secretary suggest three-year-old Aylan, his five-year-old brother or their mother were “marauding” into Europe.The result has been a collective resolve to do better, a bellowed demand that something be done. Much of the talk has been of governments and quotas and policy changes, including a shift by David Cameron today. He saw how the photograph had altered the public mood – so that his own position, previously deemed a shrewdly robust stance on immigration, now looked like indifference to refugees – and duly announced that Britain would take in more, perhaps thousands more. This time he did not speak of a “swarm” of people. Nor did his foreign secretary suggest three-year-old Aylan, his five-year-old brother or their mother were “marauding” into Europe.
But that’s not been the whole conversation. It’s not all been about what the government or “Europe” or those at the top can do. There has been a parallel discussion, one that begins from the ground up, starting with a family, a household, a town. Just as it took the story of one boy to allow us to see the problem, maybe a scale that is small and human offers our best chance of glimpsing the solution.But that’s not been the whole conversation. It’s not all been about what the government or “Europe” or those at the top can do. There has been a parallel discussion, one that begins from the ground up, starting with a family, a household, a town. Just as it took the story of one boy to allow us to see the problem, maybe a scale that is small and human offers our best chance of glimpsing the solution.
Witness the impact of the call-out by the Icelandic novelist Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir. She did not just write a letter to her country’s welfare minister, demanding a change in policy. She urged her fellow Icelanders to tell their government they were ready to open their doors to refugees, so long as the government opened the borders. Via Facebook she found 11,000 people willing to house Syrians fleeing for their lives. Give them the right papers, she urged, and we are willing to do the rest.Witness the impact of the call-out by the Icelandic novelist Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir. She did not just write a letter to her country’s welfare minister, demanding a change in policy. She urged her fellow Icelanders to tell their government they were ready to open their doors to refugees, so long as the government opened the borders. Via Facebook she found 11,000 people willing to house Syrians fleeing for their lives. Give them the right papers, she urged, and we are willing to do the rest.
There’s always been the alibi: there’s no room, no one wants them. But if councils step forwardThere’s always been the alibi: there’s no room, no one wants them. But if councils step forward
In Britain, with less publicity, something similar has been under way – and it started long before the current crisis. Mobilised by the grassroots Citizens UK movement, several local councils – Kingston in south London, Edinburgh, Newcastle – have been telling the government they’re ready to take in, say, 50 refugees each. More authorities are coming on board every day. They’re not too worried about costs, because there are existing programmes – the Gateway project and, specifically for those fleeing Syria, the vulnerable persons relocation scheme – administered by the UN and largely funded by the European Union.In Britain, with less publicity, something similar has been under way – and it started long before the current crisis. Mobilised by the grassroots Citizens UK movement, several local councils – Kingston in south London, Edinburgh, Newcastle – have been telling the government they’re ready to take in, say, 50 refugees each. More authorities are coming on board every day. They’re not too worried about costs, because there are existing programmes – the Gateway project and, specifically for those fleeing Syria, the vulnerable persons relocation scheme – administered by the UN and largely funded by the European Union.
For a year, those schemes will pay for the costs of housing and absorption – English lessons, doctor’s appointments and the like. After that, the newcomers – and remember, these are often people blessed with uncommon drive and will to survive – are expected to stand on their own two feet. All that’s needed is local councils willing to say yes.For a year, those schemes will pay for the costs of housing and absorption – English lessons, doctor’s appointments and the like. After that, the newcomers – and remember, these are often people blessed with uncommon drive and will to survive – are expected to stand on their own two feet. All that’s needed is local councils willing to say yes.
The usual counter-arguments need not apply. The familiar worry about new arrivals taking precious housing from local people can be assuaged: the funding is there for refugees to live in private housing, paid for from that EU-led fund. It’s just a matter of finding available property.The usual counter-arguments need not apply. The familiar worry about new arrivals taking precious housing from local people can be assuaged: the funding is there for refugees to live in private housing, paid for from that EU-led fund. It’s just a matter of finding available property.
My favourite story came from Shale Ahmed, a youth worker in Birmingham. When he’s not organising with Citizens UK, he helps out at the family kebab shop. One property-owning customer heard him talking about the scheme – and promptly offered him the use of 50 of his own flats. Ahmed has the accommodation; he’s lined up the volunteers to welcome the refugees. He just needs the council to step up.My favourite story came from Shale Ahmed, a youth worker in Birmingham. When he’s not organising with Citizens UK, he helps out at the family kebab shop. One property-owning customer heard him talking about the scheme – and promptly offered him the use of 50 of his own flats. Ahmed has the accommodation; he’s lined up the volunteers to welcome the refugees. He just needs the council to step up.
The final decision rests with the government. Until the prime minister’s announcement, it had set an upper limit of 750 refugees a year. Indeed, in the 18 months since it established the vulnerable persons scheme, it has admitted just 216 such people from Syria. It has always had an alibi: there’s no room, no one wants them, councils cannot cope with the extra strain. But if councils themselves step forward, that alibi is gone. There are 433 local and county authorities in the UK. If each one committed to take 50 people, that would be more than 21,000. And for a city the size of Birmingham, surely 50 is the barest minimum.The final decision rests with the government. Until the prime minister’s announcement, it had set an upper limit of 750 refugees a year. Indeed, in the 18 months since it established the vulnerable persons scheme, it has admitted just 216 such people from Syria. It has always had an alibi: there’s no room, no one wants them, councils cannot cope with the extra strain. But if councils themselves step forward, that alibi is gone. There are 433 local and county authorities in the UK. If each one committed to take 50 people, that would be more than 21,000. And for a city the size of Birmingham, surely 50 is the barest minimum.
Of course, this could never be a whole solution. Action for refugees means not only a welcome when they arrive, but also a remedy for the problem that made them leave. The people now running from Syria have concluded that it is literally uninhabitable: it is a place where no one can live. They have come to that conclusion slowly, after four years of murderous violence. To make them think again would require action a thousand miles away from the level of the district council, an international effort to stop not just the killers of Isis but also Bashar al-Assad’s barrel bombs.Of course, this could never be a whole solution. Action for refugees means not only a welcome when they arrive, but also a remedy for the problem that made them leave. The people now running from Syria have concluded that it is literally uninhabitable: it is a place where no one can live. They have come to that conclusion slowly, after four years of murderous violence. To make them think again would require action a thousand miles away from the level of the district council, an international effort to stop not just the killers of Isis but also Bashar al-Assad’s barrel bombs.
That might mean the creation of safe havens and no-fly zones. More trenchant voices say the bombs won’t stop until anti-Assad rebels can fire back with anti-aircraft weaponry. Those wary of military action, which always risks making a hellish situation worse, prefer diplomacy. After the breakthrough on the nuclear issue, could there not be progress with Iran – whose military backing, along with Russia’s, has helped sustain Assad in power, and maintained his killing machine, for so long?That might mean the creation of safe havens and no-fly zones. More trenchant voices say the bombs won’t stop until anti-Assad rebels can fire back with anti-aircraft weaponry. Those wary of military action, which always risks making a hellish situation worse, prefer diplomacy. After the breakthrough on the nuclear issue, could there not be progress with Iran – whose military backing, along with Russia’s, has helped sustain Assad in power, and maintained his killing machine, for so long?
This is the business of geopolitics at the highest level. For those taking to the seas and risking the razor wire, it’s all too far away. They can’t wait for summits and treaties. They are clinging to their children and clinging to their lives. Urging your local council to find room for 50 of them won’t solve the whole problem, just as taking in the 10,000 Jewish children of the Kindertransport did nothing for the six million Jews who would perish in the Holocaust. But every life matters. As Shale Ahmed says: “You can take local action here, right where you are, and make a change.” It’s an echo of an ancient Jewish teaching: whoever saves even one life is considered to have saved the whole world.This is the business of geopolitics at the highest level. For those taking to the seas and risking the razor wire, it’s all too far away. They can’t wait for summits and treaties. They are clinging to their children and clinging to their lives. Urging your local council to find room for 50 of them won’t solve the whole problem, just as taking in the 10,000 Jewish children of the Kindertransport did nothing for the six million Jews who would perish in the Holocaust. But every life matters. As Shale Ahmed says: “You can take local action here, right where you are, and make a change.” It’s an echo of an ancient Jewish teaching: whoever saves even one life is considered to have saved the whole world.