Letter to my MP - unaccompanied child refugees

I must express my concern at your vote against the Dubs amendment to the Immigration Bill, which attempted to commit the government to taking a share of the unaccompanied child refugees currently languishing in various locations across Europe.  The figure of 3000 such children has been proposed by Save the Children since at least last summer, and at least the same number of unaccompanied children is still recorded by charities despite large numbers having apparently disappeared, perhaps abducted for who knows what purposes.

The repeated wheeling out of the "pull factors" argument horrifies me.  It means that those children who have already travelled into EU countries, wherever they come from and whatever they are fleeing, must not be helped for fear of encouraging others to travel.  Their fate is irrelevant.  They must stay in the mud of the camps, at the mercy of illness, violence and gangs, in the service of this "greater imperative".

The UK government has rightly, and to its great credit, spent large sums on supporting refugee camps around Syria, and tried to enlist other countries to make similar provision.  But our attitude to those who, for whatever reason, have travelled westwards seems to be that they must be punished for their foolish decisions, or the foolish decisions of their parents.

I can only hope that you will think again when Lord Dubs' second amendment arrives in the Commons.  I would be ashamed if this country's policy continues to be that these people should just go away.