Simon: 25 years old, intelligent but has a tendency to argue emotionally.

Simon’s Blog on the Syrian refugee crisis

We are currently witnessing on of the greatest humanitarian crises the world has ever seen.  It is estimated that there are currently around 3.8 million Syrian refugees, making them the largest refugee group in the world.  More than 50% of these refugees are children who have lost everything; their homes, their families and their childhoods.  They’re forced to work and scavenge at very young ages just for their survival, and must sometimes even provide for the rest of their family as well.

It would take £5 billion to meet the needs of the unfortunates affected by this appalling injustice, which could be raised with ease by developed countries such as the UK, considering our GDP of $2.7 trillion.  So why is it that the refugees must suffer the most disgusting conditions and indignities imaginable, when it would take no more than 0.5% of our wealth to aid them? 

Quite frankly the lack of care and compassion displayed by our leaders disgusts me, they are greedy and arrogant, these are the same people who punish the lowest earners in our society and leave the vulnerable to fend off the wolves. So we must act to assist the refugees, before more lives are lost to suffering.  After all, aren’t they people just like us, who through no fault of their own have been given a terribly cruel fate?  It is important that we consider this from the perspective of the refugees.  Imagine your family being forced out of your home by war and forced to live like animals, scavenging desperately for food and shelter, never knowing whether or not you will be murdered, starved or frozen to death.

I can’t believe that there is even a debate about whether we should allow refugees into this generally very fair and tolerant country, when those in support of the alternative are allowing millions of innocents to freeze and starve to death.  There are thousands of houses in Britain which could be used to give the migrants a home, where they could be safe and secure, while also adding to our economy by working, so why are we not utilising this?  Despite the ignorant stereotype, refugees want to come to Britain because they are desperate and want to get jobs to improve their standard of living, not to claim benefits, use the NHS and ‘steal our jobs’.

To those of you out there who have read this blog and realised the truth of the situation, I implore that you show compassion and stand by me and the many others fighting for the basic human rights of the oppressed and neglected Syrian refugees, so that we can bring hope to their futures.  It would be plain cruelty to let them starve and freeze with no food or shelter.

Robert: 40 years old, a logical thinker, but less empathetic and more able to argue his case impassionately.  Believes in tradition and is concerned with the perceived damage to British culture, but is not actually racist.

Robert’s blog on the Syrian migrant crisis

In the past year, we have been inundated with news stories of the Syrian migrant crisis, and it is undeniable that these migrants have suffered in their tribulations.  However, what can we really do to help them?

It would supposedly cost £5 billion to meet the needs of the migrants, but I suspect that a crisis of this magnitude will require far more money and resources than this prediction suggests.  Moreover, we do not know how effectively this money will be utilised, and £5 billion is a massive quantity of money to give up when we do not know exactly what it might be used for.  Look at much of the aid Britain sends to African countries for example; a great deal is used to further the interests of their governments, and much of it is used completely ineffectually.

Another concern of mine is that by allowing large numbers of migrants into Britain we are denying homes to those in Britain who are already homeless, because we already have a very limited supply of housing, which should not be handed out without consideration for the potential consequences.  Should we gain enough housing to accommodate for these massive amounts of immigrants, I would revise my views on the matter, but for now, it is best that we first deal with housing those in the UK who are homeless.

It seems to me that we are also failing to consider the fact that by allowing more immigrants into the country, we could alienate people living in the UK already.  I believe that we have inflamed the issue of racism by forcing multiculturalism on people, which creates tensions and divisions in our society.  In almost all areas containing large numbers of people of several ethnic groups, we see that each group inhabits their own area.  In Bristol for example, there is a high concentration of black and Muslim ethnic groups living in one area.  While I am not against diversification, I do not believe that multiculturalism forced to happen in such a manner is healthy for society as it breeds resentment and tension between groups, and many British people believe that their own culture is being damaged by this.

To conclude my views, I believe that we must not be hasty and rush in to be seen as the hero, when there are some very real and very valid concerns to be considered when deciding whether or not we should allow migrants to flood into the country, on such a massive scale.