Letters: Increasing the number of refugees in the UK with immediate effect

2015 Oct 16 LetterA  group of Bootham Quaker School Parents are keen to support refugees in UK and especially York.
They are planning to:
– send a series of letters to gov officials,
– to raise funds for RAY through table top sales and tick sale for art sessions, social evenings, etc.
– and to support RAY as volunteers.
They are very keen to link and co-ordinate their actions with other Quakers locally and nationally and would like to keep Friargate Friends up to date.

This is the first letter that will be sent -feel free to use it as the basis for your own letters: 2016 Oct 16 RAG Letter 1 Cameron You will need to adapt it to your circumstances …

Increasing the number of refugees in the UK with immediate effect

16 October 2015

Dear Rt Hon Mr Cameron,

I am a mother, physician, scientist and educator and live in York with my family.

We have been following the ordeal of our Mediterranean refugees with great horror for the last two years.

The UK government has agreed to take 20,000 refugees over the next 5 years, which equals 4,000 per year.

This is great progress, however UNHCR recommends the UK to take 30,000 by the end of 2016. This makes just 10 families per city in the UK.

As you know York is a City of Sanctuary and as a resident of York, I would like to ask you to ask the government to take in significantly more refugees with immediate effect.

We belong to the Bootham community, which has set up a refugee action group with the aim to help the charity Refugee Action York and York Council as well as the UK Government with resources at hand.

We wish to help our fellow human beings, who are desperate to start a new life in safety. We also wish to help those who have welcomed refugees in other countries on the European continent by taking in more refugees here in York.

As a family and community we believe that we, York and UK Government can and can do much more to resettle refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

We need you to help us to help.

 

My children, my community and I are looking forward to receiving a reply from you.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

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