Month: September 2015

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Refugee crisis: what can you do to help?

guardian_logo1Guardian: From donating to a charity to volunteering – here is a guide to some of the practical ways that individuals can contribute

The shocking image of a boy who drowned trying to flee the war in Syria has prompted calls for governments to do more to tackle the refugee crisis, but what can individual citizens do to help?

So far Germany has put other nations to shame with plans to take 800,000 asylum seekers this year. There has also been a series of impressive voluntary campaigns and gestures, from Refugees Welcome – a scheme for sharing homes with those fleeing conflict and persecution described as ”an Airbnb for refugees” – to a professional football club fielding a third team made up entirely of refugees. Continue reading “Refugee crisis: what can you do to help?”

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12 September 2015: Quaker Events at Refugees Welcome Here Day of Action

2015 September 12 London demonstration Refugees Welcome Here sm[Updated] F/friends! Please join us for the following Quaker events on the day of the Refugees Welcome Here National Day of Action and march in London on Saturday, 12 September (you can find more information about the larger event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1629390697300657/):

1. Outdoor Meeting for Worship: 11 a.m. underneath the horse’s head sculpture near the Marble Arch (across from Marble Arch Station). Follow this link to a map: https://goo.gl/maps/3rYGO. We’ll hold silent worship outdoors prior to the start of the march at 12 p.m.

2. Post-march meeting/discussion: At Westminster Quaker Meeting House (map: https://goo.gl/maps/YOVei) — enter by the side door from 4 p.m., and join us in the basement of the MH.

We will have access to the meeting house kitchen for tea making while we are there: Your donations of tea supplies/cakes/snacks will be appreciated (but please be prepared to take the leftovers away with you; we don’t want to be a burden to Westminster Meeting)! Continue reading “12 September 2015: Quaker Events at Refugees Welcome Here Day of Action”

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QCEA: Write to your MEP

2015 Sept 6 Fortress EuropeWrite to your MEP: Between January and September 2015 an estimated 2,400 people have drowned in the Mediterranean whilst trying to reach Europe.

We CAN choose loving and effective responses

A tiny proportion of the world’s people have no choice but to flee oppression and war. We have seen many die and many more face mistreatment and violence. If our governments used the European institutions for what they are really for, they could solve this problem through cooperation.

The military response

Instead, governments of every EU country have unanimously agreed upon a military operation, called EUNAVFOR MED, the aim of which is to prevent people from arriving in Europe by boat. This operation is currently in phase 1. This phase involves gathering information on people smuggling in the Mediterranean, and already includes the UK’s HMS Enterprise. Continue reading “QCEA: Write to your MEP”

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38 Degrees petitions – Refugees Welcome

38-degreesPlease sign this petition to say that you agree that refugees should be welcome in Oxford(shire): https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/refugeesoxford 

and Leicestershire: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/refugees-welcome-in-leicester

and find your area here: https://home.38degrees.org.uk/?s=refugees+welcome

and this petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105991

…

HOSTING REFUGEES FROM SYRIA IN BRITAIN

TO: DAVID CAMERON MP PRIME MINISTER

Dear Prime Minister, We welcome the Government’s acceptance of Syrian refugees in Britain. But could we not take more? People in this country do care and there are thousands of British families who would give a temporary home to those in severe need. Please allow those of us here who are willing to host a refugee or family to do so.

Why is this important?

What is happening in Syria today, with several million of its population refugees, hundreds of thousand dead, injured and having suffered terribly, including torture, rape and chemical bombing, is in a country barely 4 hours flight from Britain.

People in Britain care and in the past have supported those in similar situations in much larger numbers – Jews, East African Asians, Vietnamese – yet barely a few hundred Syrians are being allowed to come to this country.

It is clear that the situation in the camps in Lebanon and Jordan is causing great suffering and enormous pressures upon those countries. Please allow British families to offer to host Syrians, at least on temporary visas until the conflict is settled.

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Ten Thousand Homes for Syrian Refugees

2015 September 10000 homesThe Refugee Crisis

The Syrian refugee crisis is one of the worst since the Second World War. Over 2.5 million people are currently living in abject conditions in camps in neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan. Over 1 million of these refugees are children. Many are suffering from hunger, disease and the trauma of losing loved ones.

Now is the time for the people of Britain to speak: to stand up as they did in 1938/9 when the world faced a huge refugee crisis caused by Hitler’s genocidal policies towards the Jews and others.  75 years ago, ordinary Britons did extraordinary things: they opened their homes, and hearts, to the suffering children of Nazi Europe.

We are now calling on the generosity of the British people in the same way. Would you be willing to offer a home to a vulnerable Syrian refugee? This would be a temporary solution to desperate need. Continue reading “Ten Thousand Homes for Syrian Refugees”

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BYM: Quakers urgently call for safe paths for refugees

quaker orangeNews Release: 05 September 2015. Please share:

The unfolding crisis of refugees fleeing across Europe, has prompted Quakers in Britain to urge the UK Government and other European Governments to create secure paths to safety.

Quakers’ representative body meeting in London on Saturday (05 September) made this statement:
“That which is morally wrong cannot be politically right” (A Quaker statement in 1822). Continue reading “BYM: Quakers urgently call for safe paths for refugees”

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Refugees Welcome Here – National Day Of Action London and near you 12 Sept 2015

2015 Sept 12 national-day-of-actionRefugees Welcome Here – National Day Of Action London

Saturday, September 12, 2015 @  2:00pm, Downing Street, London SW1A 2

National day of action, Called by Stand up to Racism, BARAC, Stop the War Coalition, Migrant Rights Network

This event has been called in response to various reports of refugees fleeing war, persecution, torture and poverty losing their lives or struggling to find a safe haven. This includes the death of 200 refugees off the coast of Libya, around 70 refugees in a truck in Austria and on going reports of refugees drowning crossing the Mediterranean, stranded in Hungary and prohibited from moving around the EU, and those in Calais struggling to find sanctuary.

The government response to this has been disgraceful. Unlike Germany, Italy and Greece, Britain has not offered a safe haven for these people. Continue reading “Refugees Welcome Here – National Day Of Action London and near you 12 Sept 2015”

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5 practical ways you can help refugees trying to find safety in Europe

 As the crisis affecting thousands of people worsens, here’s what you can do

5 practical ways you can help refugees trying to find safety in Europe

A new report from the United Nations refugee agency says that more than 2,500 migrants and refugees have died or gone missing this year while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Continue reading “5 practical ways you can help refugees trying to find safety in Europe”

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Call on the Prime Minister to protect refugees in the Mediterranean

2 September 2015 Refugee Council: Please act now

The world is in the grip of the greatest refugee crisis in recent memory.

Shamefully, our leaders’ response has been to build the walls of fortress Europe ever higher, leaving desperate people dying disgracefully on our doorstep in the Mediterranean Sea.

We must resettle more people; bringing them directly and safely to European countries. We must also allow people to reunite with their loved ones; by making it easier for refugees to join their relatives already living in safety in Britain.

Ask your MP to call on the Prime Minister to act now.

Please follow the simple instructions that follow to email your MP. It will only take a couple of minutes but could help save lives.

Click here: http://act.refugeecouncil.org.uk/lobby/medcrisis Continue reading “Call on the Prime Minister to protect refugees in the Mediterranean”

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RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES and GUIDELINES on HUMAN RIGHTS at INTERNATIONAL BORDERS

2015 OHCHR International BordersOHCHR: RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES and GUIDELINES on HUMAN RIGHTS at INTERNATIONAL BORDERS.

Preface: OHCHR’s Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders contains three recommended principles, all of which are derived from international human rights law and establish the obligation of States to protect, respect and fulfil human rights of all migrants at international borders;

A. The primacy of human rights: Human rights should be at the centre of all border governance measures.

B. Non-discrimination: Migrants should be protected against any form of discrimination at borders.

C. Assistance and protection from harm: States should consider the individual circumstances of all migrants at borders, and ensure effective protection and access to justice. Continue reading “RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES and GUIDELINES on HUMAN RIGHTS at INTERNATIONAL BORDERS”