We, like many of our fellow citizens, have been deeply moved by the scenes of suffering from Kos to Budapest
We, like many of our fellow citizens, have been deeply moved by the scenes of suffering from Kos to Budapest
A group of leading figures in the cultural field including Benedict Cumberbatch, Anish Kapoor, Jude Law, Emma Thompson, Richard Rogers, Danny Boyle, Carey Mulligan, Mary McCartney, Thomas Heatherwick, Lily Cole, Vivienne Westwood, Rachel Weisz, Damon Albarn and Paloma Faith have placed a newspaper advertisement which was published on the 11th of September urging that the UK Government “wake up to the urgency of the current refugee crisis and work with its European counterparts to offer immediate humanitarian help and agree long-term solutions to refugee resettlement.”
The full text reads:
“We, like many of our fellow citizens, have been deeply moved by the scenes of suffering from Kos to Budapest, Lampedusa to Calais, as desperate families seek sanctuary on European shores. We want to welcome refugees to our country. The British public is making its voice heard and is prepared to play a leading role in helping people rebuild their lives here.
We have a moral responsibility to offer safe haven to people fleeing war and persecution; a responsibility that should be shared with our European neighbours and not simply shouldered by the countries closest to the turbulence driving people from their homes. The Government’s recent commitment on refugee resettlement is too little over too long. History has shown that Britain can move quickly in times of global emergency. During the First World War this country welcomed half a million Belgian refugees — on some days as many as 16,000 arrivals were supported by local organising committees.
In 2015, our response to Europe’s biggest refugee movement since the Second World War needs to match the scale of the need. Wars, conflict and persecution have forced more people than at any other time since records began to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. Every day last year on average 42,500 people became refugees, asylum seekers, or were displaced within their own country. We believe that the British government can do better, and must do better in its proposals to resettle people seeking safety and peace. Last week Syrian refugee Abdullah Kurdi asked that the death of his young sons be a ‘wake up call to the world’ after they drowned trying to reach Europe in the hope of a safer life. In their name, and that of the millions of others displaced from their homes, we urge that the UK Government wake up to the urgency of the current crisis and work with its European counterparts to offer immediate humanitarian help and agree long-term solutions to refugee resettlement.
Signed: Akram Khan, Alex de Rikje, Ali Smith, Andrea Riseborough, Sir Anish Kapoor, Anoushka Shankar, Antony Gormley, Asif Kapadia, Beeban Kidron, Bella Freud, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brian Eno, Carey Mulligan, Chantal Joffe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin & Livia Firth, Colin Greenwood, Conrad Shawcross, Cornelia Parker, Damon Albarn, Danny Boyle, Darren Almond, David Chipperfield, David Gilmour, David Hare, David Lawson, David Rowntree, David Thewlis, Dexter Dalwood, Deyan Sudjic, Dinos Chapman, Douglas Gordon, Edmund de Waal, Emma Thompson, Erdem Moralioglu, Eric Clapton, Gary Hume, Geoff Dyer, Graham Coxon, Grayson Perry, Harriet Walter, Haroon Mirza, Helena Kennedy, Hussein Chalayan, Isaac Julien, Jake Chapman, James Brett, Jamie Hewlett, Jamie Oliver, Jeanette Winterson, Jenny Saville, Joe Wright, John Berger, John Akomfrah, Jonathan Glazer, Jonty Hurwitz, Jude Law, Juliet Stevenson, Katherine Hamnett, Keira Knightley, Kelly Marcel, Lee Hall, Lily Cole, Lina Gopaul, Liz White, Lynne Ramsay, Marcus Mumford, Marina Warner, Mary McCartney, Mat Whitecross, Matthew Warchus, M.I.A., Sir Michael & Lady Shakira Caine, Michael Craig-Martin, Michael Elmgreen, Michelle Dockery, Mike Leigh, Mona Hatoum, Neil Gaiman, Nicholas Hoult, Nick Broomfield, Nick Hytner, Nick Hornby, Noel Clarke, Paloma Faith, Patrick Marber, Peter Gabriel, Philip Pullman, Polly Samson, Rachel Weisz, Rachel Whiteread, Rebecca Hall, Rhys Ifans, Sir Richard Eyre, Richard Rogers, Ricky Burdett, Roger Waters, Romola Garai, Richard Wright, Ruth Rogers, Sadie Morgan, Saffron Burrows, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Samantha Morton, Saoirse Ronan, Shami Chakrabarti, Simon Beaufoy, Simon Pegg, Sonia Friedman, Stephen Daldry, Tacita Dean, Tess Morris, Thandie Newton, Thomas Heatherwick, Tom Dixon, Vanessa Redgrave, Vicky Featherstone, Vivienne Westwood, Wayne Hemingway, Will Self, and Yves Berger.
