Refugee group "overwhelmed" by local support in wake of crisis
Truckloads of supplies donated after petition calling on West Berkshire support grows
WEST Berkshire is mobilising to help ease the international refugee crisis, with local people donating truckloads of goods.
And there were calls for the region to take in 50 refugees, plus offers of housing and support.
The leader of new campaign group West Berkshire Action for Refugees, Lindsey Middlemiss, described the public response as “amazing... overwhelming”.
However, top local politicians sounded a note of caution, with West Berkshire Council leader Gordon Lundie warning each one could cost taxpayers £50,000 per year.
West Berkshire Action for Refugees launched a petition on Thursday demanding 50 refugees be taken in after photographs of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, lying dead on a Turkish beach, sparked international outrage.
The petition, which has since been signed by more than 300 people, states: “The refugee crisis is growing. Local councils need to say they are willing to resettle refugees locally, or the people will be crowded into camps and detention centres.
“We feel that West Berkshire could cope with such a small number as 50 refugees, and that the local population would help with this resettlement, through housing, mentoring and support.”
A simultaneous national petition calling on the UK to do more, which was signed by more than 400,000 people, forced the Government to agree on Tuesday to take 20,000 refugees over the next five years.
Ms Middlemiss said that in the last four days alone they had received around eight full car loads of donated supplies.
She said: “It has been great, just amazing, but a little overwhelming. At first we were talking about taking one van [to Calais] but now we are talking about trucks.”
Mr Lundie said: “West Berkshire Council already has between 20 and 30 unaccompanied asylum-seeker children we are supporting. We need to understand how Government is going to support us if we are going to take any more numbers – I need to be conscious of the numbers because they can cost [the council] £50,000 per person per year.”
Addressing views that domestic problems should first be addressed, he said: “Some of these people will be escaping a war zone which is far worse than living in cramped conditions. The UK has a great history of helping refugees, so we should be looking at maintaining that great support.”
For the full story and more on what local groups and individuals have said and done about the crisis pick up a copy of this week's Newbury Weekly News for three pages of local coverage.
