During December, the reading in church was of the flight to Egypt, telling how the Holy Family were accepted as refugees, fleeing for the life of their son. Around the same time, I also read of the current plight of refugee children fleeing for their lives, many of whom have a good claim to a home in the UK. The Home Office has been accused of ignoring 1,400 offers from local councils to house child refugees. The article claimed that the only available data indicates that just 20 children have been allowed into the UK under a scheme begun more than 3 years ago to resettle 3,000 vulnerable refugee children from conflict zones in the Middle East and north Africa. This comes after the Prime Minister told parliament, just one week after the election, that he was reducing the protection for vulnerable children in his new Brexit Bill.
So, if the Holy Family tried to escape Herod’s killing spree today, by seeking shelter in the UK, the best they might have hoped for is a space in a overcrowded camp where conditions are deplorable and having any application to enter the country treated with hostility.
We discussed this appalling injustice at our last Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) meeting. Next week, 26/01/2020, we will have a table in the lightwell with a suggested letter that could be sent to MPs; and today C-club will pray for the refugee children. They will also go to the communication rail first, each child leaving a gap, to represent and absent refugee.
It seems to me that in darkness, the least we can do is to speak out against the injustice.
Wendy Quill
