The refugee crisis: official MNHQ thread to discuss next steps for a campaign

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

Following on from previous threads (here and here), we've spent a couple of days looking in to this. As you can imagine, lots of the organisations working on this are extremely busy at the moment so it's taken us a little while to pin down some relevant info - sorry for the delay.

On search and rescue in the Med: the UK government now contributes what several organisations say is a pretty sizeable package of resources to the EU's Mediterranean search and rescue effort. One organisation told us that 'the UK has totally stepped up; we now have more resources in the water than any other EU country'. The thinking seems to be that given the size of the Med, and the desperately unsafe boats/dinghies that are being used, there is just no way to guarantee that people will not drown; the consensus seems to be that the best focus would be on providing safer routes to countries of refuge in the EU, and a better welcome for refugees once they're here.

That doesn't mean we can't focus on search and rescue if you still think we should. There are organisations like Medicins sans Frontieres and MOAS, who are using donations to run their own search and rescue missions, and we can give them a big push and help you to encourage more private donations to them. But it's worth noting that most organisations in the field seem to think that if there is an insufficiency in EU search and rescue, it's not because of the UK government.

There is also a current initiative by Save the Children that we could swing behind, and perhaps do some joint campaigning on. It's based on a five-point plan of action for EU governments, calling for the following:

• maintaining search and rescue, and making sure EU operations have adequate resources and the right mandate (ie that they concentrate on saving lives, not on border protection);
  
• providing safe and legal routes into Europe for refugees, with a particular emphasis on the rights and safety of children;
  
• providing proper reception and support for refugees in EU countries, including minimum standards for things like shelter, medical treatment, legal advice, and access to health and education facilities;
  
• an effective, balanced and mandatory relocation and resettlement agreement for refugees, involving all EU countries (eg mandatory quotas for numbers each country must take); and
  
• tackling the root causes of unsafe migration. This involves things like putting international pressure on the warring parties in Syria to end the conflict; supporting Syria's neighbouring countries (where most refugees from Syria are living, often in camps) by fully funding the Regional Refugee and Resilience plan (currently only 40% funded); and assisting the World Food Programme to re-start its food aid programme in Jordan, which was recently suspended due to lack of money.
  

Save the Children are also asking the UK government to commit to taking in 3000 unaccompanied child refugees, who sadly are already in Europe without any adult protection.

Let us know your thoughts working with Save the Children on these two things (the 5-point plan, and asking the UK government to commit to taking 3000 unaccompanied child refugees from within the EU). It seems like a comprehensive proposal to us, but of course ultimately it's up to you.

We've also got this page full of links to various actions you can take if you want to do something on an individual basis.

Thanks
MNHQ

[FishenNuggets]

I support this

BUT pressure must be put on the government to provide proper support and as a PP said not to deport automatically at 18y.

[juneau]

I support MN throwing its support behind Save the Children. I think this is the kind of thing that MN, as a body, should get behind i.e. a well-established charity that's there on the ground doing essential, practical work to both end this conflict and save lives, with a focus on children. Who can argue with that?

[juneau]

UNICEF are also doing valuable work with Syrian children, for anyone who wants to donate money.

//www.unicef.org.uk/

[Desertedislander]

Yes yes yes!

[CiderwithBuda]

I also agree that supporting Save the Children is a good fit for Mumsnet.

[candykane25]

The Save the Children "Help is Coming" campaign with Benedict Cumberbatch. It is not getting airplay.
www.helpiscoming.org/

[Theremustbesomething]

Definitely supporting, on both fronts.

When we talk about supporting, could MNHQ let us know what specifically we'll be doing? (That's not meant to be a criticism - I think it's a great idea. I would just want it to reflect the MN survey responses, in that I would want to be actively using our collective voice to say that the current situation was unacceptable, as opposed to just giving STC a bit of free advertising on the Mumsnet site or whatever. Apologies if that's already sorted and in hand - as I say, I'm not wanting to detract from the idea at all and I think it's great!)

[QofF]

I support the Save the Children idea

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2015/09/12/helpiscoming-crowded-house_n_8128232.html

[bouncer1966]

How about backing the residents of the UK by stopping diversity from getting to our jobs first!

When the EU pays diversity £900 in travelling costs to come to the UK for interview, and then pays the firm £1k!

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/800000-uk-jobs-advertised-across-europe-and-foreign-jobseekers-even-get-travelling-costs-8734731.html

Then undercuts the residents via tax!
www.backthemac.com/worked-example-put-to-ukba.html

Then kills the residents off with benefits sanctions!
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/459106/mortality-statistics-esa-ib-sda.pdf

Whilst closing off 631 jobcentreplus sites across the uk!
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmpubacc/1034/6032910.htm

And Iain Duncan Smith charges us for his haircuts, underpants, food etc.
why aren't the residents first in the queue?
tompride.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/iain-duncan-smith-claimed-expenses-for-his-underpants-really/

As well as bringing in neoliberalism so the residents are always last in the queue for help!
www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376

I don't like what I see on the news, but how can the residents be heard??

[lizabetta1]

I applaud the vast majority of the views expressed on the discussion about Save the Children etc but these orphaned children should be offered help by a culture which is as close as possible to their own. Why is it that the vastly rich and spacious middle eastern countries have been completely silent so far and have offered absolutely no help in terms of taking in refugees or even to offer funding, which they could easily afford. Whenever adoption of children is discussed, it is always a major consideration that the child go to a family whose culture is similar to their own.... Why can't someone start a campaign to wake them up to their responsibilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE?

[ThomasRichard]

The Gulf countries are contributing a lot of money to the refugee camps in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. Their reasons for not taking refugees themselves are to do with the immigration status of low-skilled foreign workers. This article explains it pretty well.

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

ThomasRichard thank you for posting that. It was an interesting article to read.

[MySordidCakeSecret]

save the children would be best to support

[bouncer1966]

From where I'm standing Save The Children appear to be paying their
chief execs bonuses of £160,000....
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386616/Save-The-Children-bosses-160-000-bonuses-MP-calls-greater-scrutiny-charity-finances.html

blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2012/09/save-the-children-and-osama-bin-laden/

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-save-the-children-charity-from-giving-tony-blair-their-annual-global-legacy-award

& giving a award to tony blair is amazing....

[UnderTheGreenwoodTree]

The 38 degrees petition, as far as I remember -I signed it- was successful - they didn't do it.

I don't know about the other 2 - but it is undeniable that STC are doing invaluable work on the ground in the refugee areas. You know, providing humanitarian aid to refugees.

[dolcelatteLover]

Why don,t miners just support save the children directly?what is the point of supporting mn supporting save the children?

[dolcelatteLover]

MNers not miners !!

[Theremustbesomething]

Hi Dolcelatte,

The point was that MN was being asked to use its collective voice to add to the debate on behalf of its users, as it would carry more weight than lots of individuals making private statements or posting on Facebook etc.

I agree that that only really works if we are doing something active to support STC, rather than just telling people to go to their website, but as MN have been looking into it for little a while now, I'm hopeful that there's a plan of action.

[tribpot]

Yes, this is about campaigning, as MN did with We Believe You and the Miscarriage Code of Practice.

[dolcelatteLover]

With all due respect, I think save the Children carry much, much, much more clout than MN

[Isitmebut]

ItsAllGoingToBeFine & FishenNuggets ??. Re Would be even more useful if the government wasn't commited to deporting refugee children when they reach 18...

As this is not a UK party political issue and any facts are key to the aims of a Mumsnet Save the Children campaign, it would be good to know the facts before posting any policy negative comments.

So in the interests of putting the record straight;

Sept 9 2015; ??Britain could take 20,000 refugees this year and children will not be deported at 18 ?? David Cameron insists"
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britain-could-take-20000-refugees-this-year-and-children-will-not-be-deported-at-18-david-cameron-insists-10493033.html

[SarahMumsnet]

Hi everyone,

Thanks very much for your input on this. Having read through the thread, it looks like a near-unanimous 'yes' to Mumsnet joining with Save the Children to campaign for their five-point plan of action, and for asking the UK government to commit to taking 3000 unaccompanied child refugees from within the EU. We'll begin work on this now, and keep you posted with developments.

Thanks again, and do keep adding your thoughts to this thread,
MNHQ

[Rollermum]

Great to see MN thinking about how to help in the refugee crisis. I can see what dolcelattelover means about the relative clout of MN vs STC but a lot of this is about changing public opinion and getting some facts out there - any organisation not normally associated with such issues voicing support of them is a good thing from that perspective.

I like the Save the Children ideas and support them BUT with concerns, as OhYouBadBadKitty said already that a focus on children could really increase the likelihood of parents abandoning their children in order to get them to safety which is heartbreaking in a whole other way. I would love to hear what STC might have to say on this.

Also, as many others have said, to ensure that this is well resourced. This children won't all be lovely cute toddlers and younger children. A lot of unaccompanied minors are teenage boys, for various reasons, they are are the ones who make it to Europe alone (although I think mostly people are being taken from camps?). They will have a range of complex needs relating to what they have seen and been through and the reality of living in a strange land. If they are not adequately welcomed and supported they may well become involved in tensions that make people, in future, less welcoming to refugees. I am no way denigrating them or saying we shouldn't have them (far from it), but people need to understand who will be arriving and what level of support they will need or order to really help them far into their futures. I would happily pay more tax / donate, personally, as many I think would, but how this will work needs a lot of thought.

[Rollermum]

Sorry, I see the 3000 will be from with the EU, so ignore my questions re camps.