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Friday, 8 January - Thursday, 14 January 2016 ISSUE 611
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Charities condemn Cameron response to refugee crisis Like us on Facebook facebook.com/africanvoicenews Follow us on Twitter @africanvoice2
By Alan Oakley
David Cameron’s response to the refugee and migrant crisis has been criticised as being “too slow” and “clearly inadequate” by 27 leading charities.
In a joint letter coordinated by the British Refugee Council, the group of charities, which includes Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Rescue Committee, called on the Prime Minister to allow more people through the UK’s ever-tightening borders and for Britain to take a “fair and proportionate” share of refugees. The letter urged the Conservative Party leader to show a “new resolve” to deal with the crisis, during the course of which almost 4,000 refugees died in 2015. “Last year saw 3,770 people drown and hundreds of thousands more endure a desperate march of misery across the continent. “Last year’s announcement that the UK will resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years was a welcome first step,” said the letter, which went on: “But given the numbers of people searching for safety across the globe, this response is clearly inadequate: it is too slow, too low and too narrow.”
David Cameron is seeking support from German chancellor Angela Merkel for reforms to EU legislation
Other groups to have signed the open letter include Christian Aid, Cafod, Greenpeace, Islamic Relief,
the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Liberty and World Vision.
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