Sir, – Your coverage of the first-hand experiences of life in a Greek refugee camp highlights that children are in need of urgent assistance ("Inside a refugee camp: Everywhere I look I see children's lives being disrupted", June 22nd).
Individual Irish people have been extremely generous, travelling to these camps to provide much-needed support and education facilities for young children.
It is now time for the Irish Government to follow their example and step up efforts to ensure that no childhood is spent in an environment of hopelessness and fear.
Over half of the world’s 21.3 million refugees are under the age of 18, and Europe’s response to this situation is deteriorating rather than improving. The EU-Turkey deal is unjust and unworkable.
The Irish Government has an opportunity to listen to the experiences of people like Mustafa, and to act as a leading voice, calling for real action to support those in need.
There are legal avenues that can be used to offer many unaccompanied children in the camps a permanent home, an education and a chance of a future.
The Government must clarify the application procedure for the resettlement programme, and act to ensure that Ireland can meet targets – by the end of 2017 – to provide safety to 4,000 men, women and children fleeing war. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN KILLORAN,
Chief Executive,
Immigrant Council
of Ireland,
Dublin 2.