UK must stay part of refugee family reunion route | Letters

Readers respond to the news that the UK might drop out of the system allowing refugee children to reunite with family members under no-deal Brexit

I am alarmed by the suggestion that the UK would drop out of the system that allows asylum-seeking children to reunite with family members in the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit (Refugee children ‘at risk’ from no deal, 2 September). While the impact this would have on unaccompanied children is particularly distressing, it would also affect many other refugees including husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. Over 1,000 people were reunited with family members in this country through the Dublin system last year.

It is vital that the government sets up contingency measures so that families do not risk being stranded in separate countries after 31 October. If this route will no longer be open, it’s more urgent than ever that ministers make our domestic family reunion rules fairer. Allowing refugees to reunite with their loved ones provides a lifeline from dangerous and degrading conditions, and makes it easier for refugees to integrate and lead dignified lives again.
Danny Sriskandarajah
Chief executive, Oxfam GB

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NYjohk