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Stephen Metcalfe MP at the Nizip 2 refugee camp on the
Turkey/Syria border
presenting warm winter clothes to those displaced by the
conflict.
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Stephen Metcalfe, local MP
for South Basildon and East Thurrock, rose on the floor of the House of Commons
today to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees and to call upon the
Government to work tirelessly to help resolve the conflict so that Syrians can
return home.
The local MP saw firsthand
the tragic impact of the civil war after recently visiting a refugee camp in
Turkey which offers shelter and accommodation to some of the 2.4million Syrian
men, women, and children who have been externally displaced by the conflict.
Well over 150,000 people have
been killed in Syria as a result of the fighting with 9 million people having
lost their homes. With a population of 22 million, the civil war is one of the
worst humanitarian disasters in modern times.
In the debate, the opposition
called upon the Government to allow Syrian refugees into the UK. Drawing on his
experiences in Turkish refugee camps, Mr Metcalfe suggested to the Minister for
Immigration, Mark Harper MP, that many refugees don’t want to come to the
UK they want to return home if only it were safe to do so. He therefore called
upon the Government to work tirelessly to bring all sides involved in the
conflict together to try and find a resolution that would allow displaced
refugees to return to their home country and suggested that support for the
most vulnerable refugees was best delivered on the ground; in the region and
close to their own community.
Mr Metcalfe commented: “My recent
trip to Turkey to visit Syrian refugee camps was a deeply moving one. These
people have been forced from their homes through no fault of their own and many
who I spoke to want nothing more than to return to their friends and families
in Syria. Whilst it is unsafe for them to do so at this time, I am pleased that
the Government are committed to helping this process.”
In addition to £600 million
pledged in humanitarian aid, the UK Government is working through the UN to
secure unfettered humanitarian access inside Syria. This includes securing
priority humanitarian routes to ensure convoys can get through safely,
humanitarian pauses to ensure aid reaches most war-torn areas and that the sick
and wounded can be evacuated safely, and lifting bureaucratic obstacles like
customs rules which make it hard for aid workers to deliver swift relief on the
ground.
Mr Metcalfe added: “I would
also like to highlight the fantastic work taking place in Turkey. They are
working tirelessly to provide a safe haven for refugees coming from across the
border and I know the international community are grateful for their efforts.”
