EUROPE-MIGRANTS/BRITAIN RALLY UPDATE Tens of thousands march through London in solidarity with migrants

Record ID: 139948

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/BRITAIN RALLY UPDATE Tens of thousands march through London in solidarity with migrants
  • Date: 12th September 2015
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE MARCHING, BIG BEN CLOCK TOWER IN BACKDROP
  • Embargoed: 27th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA23HF87ILO791ZNAO15PKBUT4F
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday (September 12), demonstrating their support of refugees travelling to European Union countries in search of safety.
    The march which started from Hyde Park and continued to Parliament Square via Downing Street was attended by the newly elected Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn and well known British musician and campaigner, Billy Bragg.
    Participating organisations included the Refugee Council, Amnesty International, the Syria Solidarity Movement, Stand Up to Racism and the Stop the War Coalition.
    A photograph of the dead body of toddler, Aylan Kurdi, in the surf off a popular Turkish holiday resort, prompted sympathy and outrage at the perceived inaction of developed nations in helping thousands of refugees using dangerous sea-routes to reach Europe, many of whom have fled Syria's four-year civil war.
    There was a lot of anger in the crowds over the UK government's handing of the refugee crisis.
    British Prime Minister David Cameron last week pledged to increase the number of refugees Britain would take in to 20,000 over five years. Critics say that amount is shameful compared to other EU nations such as Germany and Sweden.
    "I think it's particularly obscene that they intend to send many of them back when they turn eighteen having had a life of abuse and violence in the war, to come here, to refuge and have that hanging on their heads the whole time. I actually think, it's really really disgusting," said demonstrator, Tanya Hooker.
    Abdulaziz Almashi from the Syrian Solidarity Movement said he felt compelled to attend the rally.
    "We couldn't cope with the photos of Syrian children washed to the shores of Europe. So this was the least thing to do, to send a very strong message to David Cameron and Teresa May and to the whole world. Refugee is a right, not a privilege and refugees must be taken and allowed in."
    Britain has so far taken in only 216 Syrian refugees under a U.N.-backed relocation scheme. About 5,000 other Syrians who have made their own way to Britain have been granted asylum.
    One protester compared various European responses to the situation.
    "I think the interesting thing about the comparison with Germany and the grief that Germany was getting with the Greek situation probably properly so, erm, and whether they're accepting these refugees for political opportunity or not. Erm, I think Britain knows that as a member of the EU," said Brendan Harvey, a student from New York.
    A survey published last Monday (September 7) showed that most Britons did not want greater numbers of refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria and Libya.
    Only 40 percent of people polled by ComRes for the BBC said Britain should let in more refugees than it does currently, compared with 57 percent who want the same number or fewer.
    Nearly two-thirds of Britons said the image of the drowned toddler should not influence migration policy, and made it harder to take a rational approach.
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