I am one of the 10000 children who were admitted to this country on a mass visa in the kindertransports of 1938-39. Without this unique act of generosity by the Chamberlain government I would without doubt have shared the cruel fate of my whole German-Jewish family,who were murdered by the Germans in the woods near Riga in October 1942. Our government’s negative response to the present refuge crisis is shockingly heartless and one can only hope that there will soon be a change of policy. For the PM to say that admitting more refugees into the UK wouldn’t solve the problem is a total cop-out: no one claims that rescuing refugees would solve the problem, but that does not absolve us from rescuing as many as possible, and Germany is here a shining example. The only possible solution might be to help those fighting the brutal dictator Assad return Syria to a state approaching normality.
Together with many other Jewish refugees,I joined the army in the middle of the moment world war, was demobbed with the rank of captain in 1947, and have done as much as possible to return Britain’s hospitality in one way or another. Ive no doubt that refugees admitted in the present crisis would likewise serve their adopted country to the best of their ability.
Leslie Brent[br](Emeritus professor),LondonContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com