VULNERABLE CHILDREN BROUGHT TO THE UK UNDER DUBS AMENDMENT

26 October 2016
Elmbridge CAN is delighted that more refugee children are on their way to the UK from the Calais ‘jungle’ following this week’s demolition. But we remain desperately concerned at the plight of approximately 300 unaccompanied children who have yet to be processed by the French authorities. Much of the camp has been burnt down and these children have no shelter for tonight.
The children who have arrived this week include those with family members in the UK who have a legal right to be here under the Dublin III family reunification law. And those deemed most vulnerable under the Dubs Amendment - including teenage girls, at high risk of sexual exploitation, and boys under the age of thirteen.

Elmbridge CAN co-founder, Becky Hill, said: “Elmbridge CAN was formed when a group of us, who were particularly concerned about the plight of vulnerable lone refugee children, came together to lobby our local and national Government. During the last demolition of the Calais camp, 129 children disappeared. It was a long battle to push the Dubs Amendment through Parliament. But together, we did it. Finally, at least some of these young people are safe. We now need to ensure the remaining children are brought to the UK as soon as possible." 

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Please email Amber Rudd MP and Dominic Raab MP to highlight the case of those children left behind. It’s best if you use your own words, but here are a few key points to guide you:
  • The camp was 'cleared' today and all the makeshift shelters have been burnt down.
  • However registration for the unaccompanied minors closed before all of them could get into the container camps. The children have since been told that the containers are full.
  • Help Refugees estimates 300 lone children have nowhere to sleep.
  • Organisations on the ground are trying to supply food and blankets, and directions to the least unsafe spots. But these children urgently need a safe place to stay until they can be registered and brought to the UK.
 
You can also tweet @AmberRudd_MP and @theresa_may
CRITICAL: 300 minors turned away from containers full to capacity. URGENT overflow contingency needed. #DubsNow
 
Notes:
Now enshrined in law under Section 67 of the Immigration Act, the Dubs amendment was pioneered by Lord Dubs, himself a child refugee during the holocaust. It was passed in May this year following significant pressure from campaigners, charities and members of the public. A previous version that specified that the UK take 3,000 lone children – a number calculated as our fair share by the charity Save the Children – was rejected earlier in the year.
Image: Citizens UK
Image: AmirahBreen
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