In the wake of the closure of the Dubs scheme to bring in unaccompanied minors from the Calais migrant camps, how should Church and state respond?

The Government has come under fire this week for ending the ‘Dubs’ scheme to allow unaccompanied minors from the Calais camps to enter the UK.

Lord Dubs, himself a refugee from Nazism who came to the UK on the Kindertransport, who introduced the scheme, is outraged at the decision to end it. The Archbishop of Canterbury was described as “shocked” over the decision and has asked the Government to reconsider.¹

The Government’s argument, put forth by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, is that the French authorities did not want the scheme to continue because, "It acts as a pull. It encourages the people traffickers."²

So, is the UK really failing in its responsibilities?

Pledges for Syria

It has also been pointed out that the UK is one of the largest international donors to refugee aid as well as to humanitarian aid in general.

Britain hosted a conference last year to raise support from the international community to aid the crisis in Syria. Huge pledges were forthcoming (£9.6 billion in grants, £32 billion in loans), but a year on, which nations have actually put their hands in their pockets?³

• The US, Germany, the European Union and the UK have actually out-given their initial pledges. The next highest donors on the list are the Netherlands, Japan and Norway.
  
• Canada, Belgium and Spain have given more than they pledged.
  
• Ireland has also exceeded its pledge, giving now the same as Saudi Arabia, which has only given a fraction of its pledge.
  
• Little Estonia has donated more than China, not proportionally, but in actual cash. China promised £28m but has only given £2.4m. Estonia has given £2.6m.
  

There is a total list of 48 donor countries, but the top four, including the UK, have significantly out-given the others. We are also in it for the long haul, with pledges going up to 2020. Saudi Arabia and China are notably absent from this phase of giving.

Discerning a Right Response

Now, comparing ourselves to others is not the way to set our obligations. We are accountable to the Lord for our behaviour in every sphere of life. Comparing ourselves to others and pointing out their faults will not win favour with God.

So how should the British Government balance economic and social realities with our Geneva Convention obligations to refugees?

Christian campaigners point to the Bible’s commands regarding foreigners and those in need:

Iraqi refugee children at a camp in Syria. See Photo Credits.He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (Deut 10:18-19)

So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. (Mal 3:5)

No stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveller… (Job 31:32)

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matt 25:25-36)

It is also worth noting that tithing was intended to help (among others) foreigners:

At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no land allotted to them or any inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (Deut 14:28-29)

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. Then say to the Lord your God: ‘I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. (Deut 26:12-13)

However, Scripture is also full of encouragements to be wise and discerning in all our ways.

In the light of all this, what do you think our Government should do? What should the Church do? Leave your comments below and have your say.

References

1 High Court challenge to UK's child refugee efforts. BBC News, 10 February 2017.

2. Ibid.

2 Coughlan, S. Who really paid up to help Syria? BBC News, 10 February 2017. All further quotes from here.