Extracts from Commons debate on Refugee Family Reunion - Jun 21
Friday, 22 June 2018 08:35
Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) (Con):...Britain has a long history of
welcoming, in a very generous spirit, people who have fled
persecution. We can talk about the Huguenots in the 17th century or
Russian Jews fleeing persecution in the 19th century. We
can talk about the 20th century, when Jews once again
faced a terrible tyranny and sought asylum here in Britain. Over
the centuries, many of those people have contributed enormously to
British culture, literature, economics...Request free trial
(Spelthorne)
(Con):...Britain has a long history of welcoming, in a
very generous spirit, people who have fled persecution. We can talk
about the Huguenots in the 17th century or
Russian Jews fleeing
persecution in the 19th century. We can talk about the 20th
century, when Jews once
again faced a terrible tyranny and sought asylum here in Britain.
Over the centuries, many of those people have contributed
enormously to British culture, literature, economics and
philosophy. All sorts of brilliant ideas have been fostered by
extremely talented people who have fled for their lives. There have
also been people who have helped in more ordinary situations, such
as in the transport sector and the public services. A number of
those people have come from families of refugees, or have been
refugees themselves. No one denies that...
(Dudley South)
(Con):...As my hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne
(Kwasi Kwarteng) said, the United Kingdom has a proud history—it
goes back centuries—of welcoming people from abroad who have fled
danger. Although he clearly has far more historical understanding
and expertise than I could ever hope to have, I am sure that we are
all aware of a number of waves of immigration from people fleeing
persecution—from the Huguenots and other Calvinist and Protestant
refugees fleeing persecution in Europe, right through to the 20th
century, when we welcomed Jewish refugees from the continent. We can
also be proud of and grateful for the incredible work that is done
in all our communities by many individuals, groups and community
organisations, particularly faith-based organisations that do so
much to welcome and support those who seek asylum and safety within
our shores...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
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