The UK-based Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) released a statement welcoming the UK government’s decision to resettle unaccompanied refugee minors from the Middle East to the United Kingdom.
While welcoming the move, JCORE also appealed to the government to expand the plan to include minors currently living in camps all over continental Europe, citing the precedent of the Kindertransport rescue efforts which saved over 10,000 Jewish children just before the outbreak of the Second World War.
Unlike in the Kindertransport, when the UK was alone in its offer of sanctuary, today we need to see the UK work with the rest of the world in finding realistic resettlement solutions to protect these vulnerable children. For those that are resettled here, it is crucial that proper resources are made available to local authorities to cater for their needs.
JCORE have a long history of supporting refugees in the UK. Their past initiatives have included a program to help mentor refugee doctors to assist them in becoming qualified to practice medicine in the UK, and petitioning the government to implement a resettlement plan for Syrian refugees, in addition to initiatives on providing free legal aid and health care to asylum seekers.
