The least Britain can do for Syria's refugees

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/31/least-uk-syrian-refugees

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In response to the desperate plight of Syrian refugees (Migration: politics of fear, 31 December) we are writing in support of the Refugee Council's campaign to urge the government to allow some of them to settle in the UK. We in the Jewish community know only too well the perils of being refugees and the indifference that too often meets their attempt to find sanctuary.

Syrians now make up the largest refugee group in the world. It is estimated there are more than 2.2 million, 1 million of whom are children, deeply traumatised by their experiences. We appreciate that this is not a job for Britain alone, but we must do our fair share, and join other European countries who have already pledged to take in Syrian refugees. This is why we are calling for the government to work with UNHCR and the international community to establish a worldwide resettlement programme. It is the very least we can do. Dr Edie Friedman Executive director, Jewish Council for Racial Equality, Rabbi Sybil Sheridan Chair, Assembly of Reform Rabbis UK, Rabbi Alexandra Wright, Jeremy Beecham House of Lords, Geoffrey Bindman QC, Professor Marc Saperstein, Professor Stephen Frosh, June Jacobs, Judith Ellenbogen

• You rightly argue that Britain should open its doors to the Syrian refugees. However, experience shows that refugee flow, once begun, induces its own flow. When Britain decided to allow in Tamil refugees in the 1980s, the flow began with a trickle. Today, Britain's Tamil population stands at half a million, and growing. Let Syrian refugees come, but let their stay be temporary. Randhir Singh Bains Gants Hill, Essex

• The debate on immigration is always presented in the context of benefits, yet the real issue is that England is both the most densely populated country in Europe and the one with the fastest growth in population. Such numbers are not sustainable. Of course house prices rise, the price of land is rising. As our population grows, we need more land for agriculture, not less. It would be wonderful to have a debate on immigration that took account of these issues instead of giving would-be immigrants unsavoury labels in an effort to keep them out. It would be even better if we could discuss population as an issue that could be affected by humane and liberal policies. We need a policy on population. In such a context other countries might well be comfortable with Britain seeking a balanced approach to immigration. Helen Haran St Albans, Hertfordshire

• Among other evidence, the latest results of DNA-marker research make it clear that we British are all immigrants, the last ice age having scoured the land of all previous occupants, leaving these isles at the back of beyond to be resettled from abroad, a process that began about 9000BC. Austen Lynch Garstang, Lancashire

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