Guest post: "Britain must not turn its back on child refugees in Europe"

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I can only imagine my desperation if I had to consider sending my boys away just to keep them safe.

But if I ever had to, I’d want a mother like Karen to be there for them. Karen is an amazing woman who told her story of fostering a refugee boy and brought huge attention to a campaign to get more refugee children settled safely in Britain.

This week, MPs had the chance to vote to let mothers like Karen keep doing what they want to do - opening their homes and their hearts to refugee children who are in Europe all alone without a mum or dad to look after them. I'm ashamed to say that they did not, and that the government decided to close the door to the thousands of children who need our help. The campaign was only asking for 3,000 children to come to Britain. To put that in context – that would be just five children per parliamentary constituency, and nowhere near the 10,000 mostly Jewish children that Britain saved through the Kindertransport before the Second World War.

I took a special interest in this vote because I have been working at Theirworld to help create school places for Syrian refugee children in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, where many fleeing families arrive first. I have been focused on how to make sure that children never embark on a further dangerous journey to find a safe haven. When I saw that the British parliament was considering a vote to offer a welcome to 3,000 lone children who really need us to open our hearts and homes, I wanted to add my support. So last week I wrote to my local MP for the first time ever. I wanted his backing for refugee children, an issue that goes well beyond party politics. I know lots of Mumsnetters contacted their MPs too and have heard from many of you on Twitter. It was devastating to see the government vote down the proposal to give safety to lone refugee children in Europe.

But this does not stop there. The House of Lords last night voted to back the bill thanks to the efforts of Lord Dubs and other campaigners. So it goes back to the House of Commons next Tuesday with a chance for MPs to reconsider their vote and help 3,000 lone children.

One of the ways you can help them think again is to sign this petition. If enough of us do it then perhaps a few more MPs will listen and reconsider their vote. In pushing for this change we won't be on our own – we have the backing of lots of energetic dedicated groups like Citizens UK, Save the Children, HelpRefugees and others. This weekend the former Archbishop of Canterbury gave his blessing, arguing that this is a chance to honour what our parents and grandparents did in the face of an earlier catastrophe.

This is not a question of sparking a new political controversy - that is not my way and not the Mumsnet way, I don't think - it is a matter of simple humanity. While we can't ensure that every child is safe in his or her own country, we can act to prevent children dying on our doorstep here in Europe, and ensure a safe home and education and hope for a better future.

As long as this terrible crisis runs on and horribly on - then we have obligations to the children who are here in our continent. Our MPs now have a second chance to help these vulnerable children and we should help them to take it.

Please join me, and sign here: Britain must not turn its back on child refugees in Europe.

Well I was just curious as you seem to have th lowdown on it all and be in the know.

Emily, please stop talking such utter nonsense. The figures are available for all to see.

From Wiki

Rape in Sweden

'The BRÅ has not released detailed data on rape committed by immigrants since 1996, but according to that report individuals with an immigrant background made up 53% of all rape convictions between 1985 and 1989.[21]'

Immigrants account for 19.6% (less in 1985-89) of the Swedish population yet are responsible for 53% of all rapes. (Would be very interested to see the figures since 1996 however they are being kept from the public, I wonder why?)

That is a fact emily, same kind of figures in other European countries with high immigration.

Immigrants are responsible for a high proportion of crime, particularly sexual crimes, across Europe in comparison to their numbers.

My husband is an immigrant too, but he is from a country where women are not required to follow rigid rules governing their lives. He also doesn't believe children are in any way sexual.

It does say a lot, limer. Not about me though. As I said, baying mob.

No limit on numbers then, Emily? That says a lot too.

So we all accept that if someone refuses to place any limit whatsoever on mass immigration, then "open borders utopia" is a reasonable description of what they want to happen, right? At least the discussion has achieved something concrete today.

I think Emily you are just baying for a different side that is all. For what it's worth I'm not anti migrant, I am all for people behaving themselves and treating others with respect. I want that for all people all over the world. Of course that is something that is rather utopian given that places like North Korea and Saudi exist and many other places like them.

I am not sure what to think of the figures above and what conclusions can be reached. Perhaps migration is just attracting rather higher numbers of people who would be amongst the sex offender population in their own country of birth?

It does say a lot, limer. Not about me though. As I said, baying mob.

Emily our government is now going to take in more children.

What is your government doing then?

Ignore her, she's a rape apologist.

No I'm not hildur, I just dislike attempts to repackage racism as some feminist necessity and the notion that foreign men from certain regions have a proclivity to rape.

I am far from the far right baying mob, sporting, that seek to exploit feminism and reconstruct the refugees as rapist in order to exclude desperate war refugees. There's been rather a lot of threads about that anyway. This one is about children.

I did not say you were far right if you read carefully. Are all the incidents that have happened fictional? Is that what you're trying to get across.

I am far from the far right baying mob

Yeah, you're the far left baying mob. Calling people racists and xenophobes just because they're worried about letting thousands of MENA economic migrants masquerading as children into their homes.

calling people rape apologists because they want more unaccompanied refugee children to be allowed into the country is pretty low in my opinion.

It is kitten. I always come away from these threads a bit nauseous.

Looks like the Government are not SpringingIntoAction - like me

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/09/britain-will-not-be-able-to-accept-unaccompanied-refugee-childre/

What do you feel about the men who do lie and say they are children? After all they are lying and denying help to a genuine child in need. Lying on that scale is a pretty big betrayal in my eyes.

I think it was possibly Emily's de

I always come away from these threads a bit nauseous.

You aren't adverse to throwing overly emotive words around yourself Emily

Sporting, feeling anger at a man molesting a child is very different to directing anger, hate and suspicion to all child refugees

I object to the leap, from caution over "child" refugees who turn out to be strong adult males, raping and killing turning into hate, suspicion and anger to all child refugees.

I agree more needs to be done world wide. Even the UK which is miles ahead in terms of laws, freedoms etc is in my view soft of on people who abuse and hurt and kill children.

I think we need to take a no nonsense approach to the whole thing. A recent report said we couldn't fit all the peadophiles in the uk into the prisons, it was shocking.

Rapes are taking place right now in the camps, by the migrants on the child migrants. It happened in Calais, and its happening in many other camps.

This is why I want children taken from the camps round syria, and women and children discouraged from going on the road. I dont want o encourage more children or rather their parents, to force them to travel alone.

I dont know what the ansa is because even the UN cant be trusted around women and children.

what I do know is, we cannot cope with the sex abuse issues we already have. we dont have the police, the information sharing, the capacity to cope with any more risk of adults posing as children to come here.

No kitten, I called her a rape apologist because she felt the plight of a ten year old Swedish girl was just collateral damage and she thinks rape by men posing as children is acceptable.

In psychological profiles done on jihadis and wannabe jihadis - in fact, extremists of all sorts - it has been found that they are obsessed with paedo porn to a high degree.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31056823

That group sound like they do all works of evil. That faction of Islam sound like they are devil worshipping and they say they want to bring on the end days.

I object to the leap, from caution over "child" refugees who turn out to be strong adult males, raping and killing turning into hate, suspicion and anger to all child refugees

If you could show me where anyone's showing hate, suspicion and anger to all child refugees I'd agree with you - but it's not what posters are saying, is it?