Waiting for Prime Minister to reply on child refugees

The UK rescued 10,000 Jewish children in the 1938 Kindertransport. Just 480 children have come to the UK in the past four years under a scheme which is now closed.

Seven Catholic leaders signed the Faith Leaders' letter to the Prime Minister on World Refugee Day, June 20th, asking him to ensure that unaccompanied child migrants seeking to reach the UK could be given safe and legal routes and a welcome, along the lines of the pre-war Kindertransport initiative. These measures would help to avoid the human rights abuses that young people currently suffer in the Greek camps and on the UK-French borders.

Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead Bishop for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Bishop Nicholas Hudson, of Westminster Justice and Peace, Bishop Declan Lang, Bishop for International Affairs, and Bishop William Nolan, of Scottish Justice and Peace, as well as Fr Dominic Robinson sj current Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace, Fr Joe Ryan, retired Chair, and Canon Pat Browne, chaplain to Parliament, have all signed this important message to the Prime Minister.

More than two weeks on, the Prime Minister still has not replied, but Safe Passage, who organised the Letter, is calling for the provision for family reunification for the thousands of children, stranded across Europe, to be included in the Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament. Alas the relevant amendment, on family reunification, was defeated by the Commons at this stage. It has still to go to the Lords and then back to the Commons.

The Bill has several omissions which will adversely affect migrants and refugees, including no end to indefinite detention. Bishops Paul McAleenan and William Nolan had already protested about this in an earlier statement. Nor is there any provision for Family Reunification for unaccompanied migrant children.

Beth Gardiner Smith, CEO of Safe Passage, said: "We are inspired and grateful that so many faith leaders stand shoulder to shoulder with child refugees. Last winter, the government gave repeated assurances in Parliament that it was committed to helping child refugees join their relatives in the UK but it has now published a Brexit negotiating position that would replace concrete family reunion rights with a watered-down, discretionary system. There is a clear moral case for the UK to take leadership of this issue and provide safe and legal routes for child refugees."

Three Catholic members of the Safe Passage Campaigns team, Judyann Masters of Holy Apostles, Pimlico, Barbara Kentish, of Westminster Justice and Peace, and Judith Williams, of St Mary's, Poole, Dorset, are seeking further partners to lobby for more Catholic support for this issue. If you have the time, contact the following for further information:

Barbarakentish@talktalk.net or judyannmasters@gmail.com or Judith Williams via Safe Passage organiser, Mia.barlow@safepassage.org

See a petition calling for the reunification of families HERE