As the refugee crisis continues to escalate and hundreds of thousands of migrants face a bleak winter in camps and on the streets across Europe, Senator Ian Gorst said on Friday that the States was in discussions over taking five or six Syrian families.
Addressing an assembly of secondary-school children in the States Chamber at yesterday’s Student Peace Debate organised by the Rotary Club of Jersey, Senator Gorst said Jersey needed to play its part, even if it made only a small contribution.
‘We could possibly take five or six families, which could be anywhere between 20 to 30 refugees,’ he said.
However, he added, and in line with the British government’s policy, they should come from refugee camps on the Syrian borders run by international aid agencies.
‘Jersey has a long history of responding generously to humanitarian emergencies, and also wanting to work with international agencies to deliver long-term solutions to crises wherever they are happening around the globe.
‘We are asking ourselves what more we can do to help in this particular crisis and we are absolutely committed to playing our part helping refugees.’
He said that Jersey officials were now liaising with the British government over how Jersey could help in the crisis, which has polarised the opinion of Islanders and sparked heated debate on online forums and the letter pages of the JEP.
Bram Wanrooij, the teacher who set up the Jersey Calais Refuge Aid Group, which has undertaken five aid trips to the French migrant camp, said Senator Gorst’s comments showed that Jersey was willing to help.
‘This is taking our responsibility to be part of the international community seriously as this is a global challenge and we are part of that,’ he said.
More than 500,000 migrants have arrived in Europe this year and the number is rising as the EU countries struggle to reach agreement on how to accommodate them.
Germany, which initially had an open border policy, is now restricting access and Hungary has closed its borders by erecting a barbed wire fence as the refugees are pushed from one country to another, many travelling on foot.
Senator Gorst was chairing the student debate organised, and 43 pupils from nine secondary schools were occupying the seats usually taken up by Members.
At the end of a 1½-hour debate on how the Island should respond to the humanitarian crises, Senator Gorst asked for the vote to be taken, as he wanted to gauge young people’s opinions because they were important to the current States’ deliberations.
Following standard procedure, the students voted overwhelmingly – 43 to three – that Jersey should open its doors to a small number of Syrians, as proposed by the Chief Minister, with three abstentions.
Organiser Tony Allchurch said it was good to give young people a platform for their voices as part of Rotary’s work in the community.
‘We are told all the time that young people are not aware and that they don’t listen to the television news or read newspapers, but they (the students) were clearly well informed and had prepared in great detail,’ he said.
Mr Wanrooij said it fantastic that the students had overwhelmingly voted for the Chief Minister’s proposal.
‘It is encouraging that our future generations are responding like that,’ he said.
- Fergus Power from De La Salle: Many people say were too small to take in any refugees, and to an extent this is true but there are many other things we can do. Jersey is an extremely wealthy place and we should be doing more to help the refugees in the camp at Calais and in the Middle East.
- Caitlin Fitzsimmons, Grainville: What makes the lives of Jersey people worth any more than those of refugees?
- Kesia Myers, JCG: If Jersey closes its borders how would it affect Jerseys relationship with other countries?
- Max Hornby, Victoria College: Just because a problem is difficult does not mean there arent benefits from allowing them in.
- Soraia Rodrigues, Haute Vallée: I am not saying we should not let any people in, and Jersey has been helping by sending resources to the camp in Calais so they can survive. But how are we going to pick 30 people out of the masses of refugees there are?
Some of the comments left on the JEP Facebook page:
- Kevin Crowther said: Absolutely we should. Shame on anybody who says no.
- Matthew Peach said: While Im sympathetic to their plight, do we not already have enough issues and bad feeling towards immigration? This Island is too small. And its only getting smaller.
- Carl Stirrup said: Ok, how about this? A limited number of refugee licences (allowing them to work, even if only in selected jobs) matched to volunteer host places, so that those who wish to help can with minimal cost to the States. This is a humanitarian issue rather than an economic one, in my opinion.
- Mandi Jane Corley said: I do feel sorry for them but the Island needs to help the people who are already here with housing etc.
- Craig Roosen said: Yes, show some compassion towards people who are in this desperate situation, disappointed but not surprised by some of the usual xenophobic claptrap that people are posting on here. Some people need to get a grip and look at the bigger picture rather than whining about looking after the locals, whatever that is supposed to mean?
- Tray Nerac Skillen said: No No No, the Island is already over populated, and Jersey people are struggling as it is to find homes, jobs and to live. Where would they live for starters? And how would they live?
