Campaigners back petition against US President's state visit
Rethink Rebuild Society is a non-profit umbrella organisation for the Syrian community in Manchester. Here is it’s full statement on the UK government’s response to US President Donald Trump’s travel ban:
The UK Syrian community unequivocally condemns US President Trump’s recently announced executive order, which places a ban on individuals from seven majority Muslim countries—including Syria—from travelling to the United States, in what has been termed his ‘Muslim ban’.
This ban also puts an indefinite halt to America’s Syrian refugee resettlement programme.
This executive order is not only discriminatory, but it also alienates and stigmatises entire sections of the US and world populations at a time when it becomes more and more imperative that communities stand together in solidarity to address global threats, including the Syrian refugee crisis and the threat of terrorism.
We fear that this executive order will have a reverse effect of fuelling hate and inciting terrorism in the UK and across the world, as we have already seen by the terrorist shooting at a Canadian mosque on 29 January which killed six worshippers and injured an additional eight.
Such potential ramifications were stressed by US Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham who argued in a joint statement that Trump’s Muslim ban could ‘become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.’
We are also concerned about the repercussions that Trump’s Muslim ban will have against Syrian refugees who fled the Syrian conflict under the worst imaginable conditions – arbitrary arrest, torture, constant bombardment, and relentless siege.
This group deserves compassion and assistance from Western countries, not to mention that many have fled from the very terrorism which Trump has vowed to eradicate. We call upon the UK to echo the stand of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by welcoming Syrian refugees banned by the US into the UK.
Amid this nightmare inflicted upon the Syrian and other communities in the UK and abroad, the British Syrian community is disheartened at the UK government’s embarrassingly absent response.
Although Trump’s executive order clearly clashes with purported British values of inclusion, diversity, and equality, Prime Minister Theresa May has yet to offer a formal condemnation of this discriminatory policy. She furthermore refused to call out Trump’s divisive rhetoric in her joint press conference with him on Friday.
We therefore call upon the government to offer a formal protest against Trump’s Muslim ban and to denounce it as discriminatory and counterproductive in the fight against terror.
We furthermore endorse the petition asking the UK government to rescind the official invitation for Trump to visit Her Majesty the Queen until his administration lifts this discriminatory policy.
Rethink Rebuild Society is a non-profit umbrella organisation for the Syrian community in Manchester. It works to clarify the Syrian cause to a UK audience.
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5 Responses to “UK Syrians call on Britain to accept refugees banned by Trump”
Alex from Carlisle
Why would Moslems want to live in the ‘Great Satan’ anyway? (or whatever it is they’re calling the West these days). Surely they’d be much happier somewhere like Saudi arabia or Iran where they can be amongst their own co-religionists.
‘ purported British values of inclusion, diversity, and equality’ Purported by whom? The Guardian?
‘welcoming Syrian refugees banned by the US into the UK.’ Ship ’em all to scotland. They love mass migration/ ‘cultural enrichment’ there.
Michael WALKER
“Rethink Rebuild Society is a non-profit umbrella organisation for the Syrian community in Manchester. It works to clarify the Syrian cause to a UK audience.”
Criticising the President of the United States on a UK website is hardly going to help your cause.
I would suggest you do not meddle in UK politics: you do damage to your cause..
Jimmy Glesga
The Syrian islamic fascists are destined to lose. Assad warned they were on their way to Europe perhaps to resurrect their death culture disguised as a religion.
We Brits don't ban asylum seekers - we just house them with rats and bugs | Left Foot Forward
[…] See: UK Syrians call on Britain to accept refugees banned by Trump […]
Alma
Why they don’t go back? never heard about any of those fighting back the plaque of their country! what is wrong here? I know a lot of Communism refugee and they were fighting for their country no matter where they end living. The new refugees are just leaving their countries and instead of fighting ISIS or whatever, they fight against us?