LETTERS
From Kevin Barclay-Jay, Sandown:
I am absolutely astounded by the levels of ignorance over the five Syrian refugee families arriving on the Island in April.
The levels of hatred and fear aimed at these five families is beyond comprehension when the real facts are known
This ignorance of the facts can only be laid at the foot of our IW Council, which has dithered and procrastinated over this issue, releasing titbits of news to the papers without any clear information. It is mostly to blame for the levels of ignorance exhibited
Let’s be clear:
They are five families with young children from among the millions in refugee camps around Syria. They are not migrants from Europe, they have not travelled through any countries to get here. They are funded from the government’s existing foreign aid budget, not from our council tax and they won’t be claiming any benefits.
They have been given five-year temporary visas and will be returned to Syria when it is safe. They will not be taking up any properties on the housing list or displacing any homeless people. They will be going into normal rented accommodation, of which we have a surplus on the Island
These simple facts counter every single mistaken statement and hatred expressed online and in social media
The council should have made all this very clear when it submitted its 'bid’ for the refugees. Its failure to do so has led to hatred and fear