MP Launches Refugee Week

Neil Gerrard, Labour MP for Walthamstow, was one of the keynote speakers at the launch of Refugee Week on London’s South Bank last Sunday. Mr Gerrard joined Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, and Anne Dawson- Shepherd, the representative in London of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in speaking at the launch.

“Refugee week was started in 1998 with the aim of sending out positive messages about the contribution which many refugees have made over the years to the UK.” said Mr Gerrard. “We need still to remind everyone that it is war and conflict which leads to people having to flee their homes and countries and seek sanctuary. So much of the media coverage is negative, and seizes on examples of the asylum system being abused, rather than showing the reality of what being a refugee actually means.”

“I have met young women with children whose husbands have been murdered, people who have been tortured or imprisoned for what to us are normal political activities, and young people who have lost their families. The vast majority of refugees across the world are in camps in poor countries near to their countries of origin, nit in Europe. Those who have reached the UK often come here because of the reputation we have for upholding human rights, and being ready to help those who need protection. That is a tradition we should be proud of and should maintain.”

June 2004

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