As part of the government’s decision to extend the intake of refugees over the next five years, three Syrian families have arrived in Brighton over the past week. The first two were homed on Wednesday 3rd December and one couple were homed the following Monday on 7th December. Accommodation for these families has been provided by local landlords who have offered their properties up, specifically for these refugees. They will receive support including funding, healthcare, education etc. to help them settle into the UK.
However, ironically on the same day that the Brighton refugees arrived, MP’s voted for the UK to launch Syrian airstrikes. Although Brighton’s Green MP, Caroline Lucas, voted against the motion- the result of the vote was a majority yes of 174. This ‘offensive operation’ was proposed by David Cameron following the recent events in Paris, in the aim of preventing further attacks from ISIS. The Prime Minister labelled those who were against his bombing plan ‘terrorist sympathisers’. However, when looking at the pros and cons of this operation- what benefit will the UK actually reap from it? Will it increase our security in the UK? Is it guaranteed to stop ISIS? The sensible answer to these questions is no. Therefore, these Syrian airstrikes could make our nation even more vulnerable to attacks from this terrorist group. Meaning, in many ways, we are fuelling the very thing that we are setting out to stop.
Although the aim of this ‘offensive operation’ is to bomb ISIS targets specifically, the reality is that innocent Syrian citizens will also be victims of this crisis, leading them to flee their homeland and adopt the title of a refugee. Moreover, some war veterans have even denounced the decision. On Tuesday 8th December, Veterans For Peace (VFP), an organisation formed of ex-servicemen and women, gathered outside Westminister and threw their war medals on the floor, symbolising their opposition to the Syria airstrikes. Ben Griffin, who led this protest, told The Independent what alternatives there are to airstrikes. These include examining relationships with our allies, such as Saudi Arabia who help fund and support ISIS and Turkey who are reportedly buying oil from them. This shows that unnecessary acts of violence do not have to be the answer. It also highlights that we aren’t learning from past events, such as the Iraq war, that violence is not the solution. In fact, our role in the Iraq war was one of the factors that led to the formation of ISIS. This has come full circle.
By Maxine Harrison
