Anyone who thinks we have seen the worst of the refugee crisis should think again. This past week the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has confirmed that the numbers arriving on the Greek Islands near Turkey have surged from 4,500 last month to a staggering 7,000 a day.
This too, before the anticipated escalation in fighting and the winter weather in Syria and across the Mediterranean that will push yet more desperate people towards Europe with the inevitable toll of fatalities. In responding to this unprecedented humanitarian crisis of recent times our country like others in Europe must step up to the plate. As Alyn Smith MEP says today in our coverage of the crisis, the refugee and migrant issue is the biggest facing the European Union as a collective at this precise moment. Not that you might think so after listening to Theresa May’s speech last week at the Tory Party conference. Put quite simply it was a cynical bid for the right wing vote in the Tories forthcoming leadership election couched in the spurious notion that Britain’s social fabric will inevitably be threatened by immigrants entering the country. How refreshing then it is to find the Scottish Government’s response has been motivated first and foremost by humanitarian priorities. These respective approaches of Westminster and Holyrood again reflect what increasingly seems to be a difference of emphasis when it comes to a number of foreign policy issues. As our extensive coverage of the refugee crisis today reveals, to date Scotland has displayed a credible level of compassion and positive intervention over the refugee crisis. Be it campaigns to welcome refugees, solidarity and volunteer groups or the actions of Scottish politicians, our track record to date is something to be proud of and long may it continue. Let there be no doubt that in the coming weeks and months those making the perilous journey to escape war, persecution and poverty will need all the help they can get.
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