I AM sure Councillor Jim Robbins and his colleague Councillor Emma Bushell are motivated by the best of intentions when they suggest Swindon Borough Council should accommodate Syrian refugee families as well as their call for the council to increase its funding for local refugee support services and bid for Swindon to obtain Town of Sanctuary status (The Adver, September 19).
I am glad Cllr Robbins understands that “People will want to know that the council are carrying out investigations so we know how many people we can realistically support and that it is done in a sensible way, so local people can feel they’re not going to be hugely inconvenienced by this”.
The council does support projects which in turn provide assistance to refugees and asylum seekers and while Cllrs Robbins and Bushell may challenge whether enough is being done, they should not fall into the trap of allowing their heart to dominate their head. There is a need to plan and not simply respond in a knee jerk manner.
We have already had a national politician in the person of Yvette Cooper do precisely this as she announced she and her husband Ed Balls would be pleased to offer a home to a Syrian family; sadly, and despite being able to select from many thousands, I am not aware they have actually offered a home to a family. The same can be said of Sir Bob Geldof, who offered two of his homes as places for Syrian refugees. Perhaps his weekend nuptials prevented him from fulfilling his promise as yet.
Being saddened by the sight of people using force of numbers to break through barriers in the hope of reaching a country which offers them economic opportunities is understandable, but we should consider the reality that we can only promise what falls within the arc of possibility and not allow ourselves to become like Germany, promising what is ultimately not achievable within a realistic timetable.
The quantity of displaced people and those seeking a better life is beyond the capability of any single country to resolve and the potential numbers of people wanting to migrate is even higher.
DES MORGAN Caraway Drive Swindon
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