South Yorkshire anti-racism campaigner calls for 'more empathy' to be shown to Afghan refugees
Ebru Garnett, who's based in Sheffield, has dedicated much of her life to helping those who've fled from war-torn countries.
Last updated 9th Dec 2021
We're told efforts to help Afghan refugees in the UK-who managed to escape the Taliban regime earlier this year-simply 'haven't been good enough'.
Ebru Garnett-who's an anti-racism campaigner based in Sheffield-reckons the temporary accommodation provided to newcomers has been 'too isolating'-with many being placed in hotels.
We asked her if she's been 'satisfied' by the UK's response-as part of our investigation into how the Afghanistan crisis has affected people in South Yorkshire:
"We welcome, and I say welcome in the loosest of terms, less than 1% of the world's refugees and globally we have the sixth richest economy.
"It's just not acceptable-we're not doing our 'fair share' to help out.
Ebru's also calling on more of us to 'show empathy' towards all refugees:
"Refugees are just people. They've got the same dreams and hopes as we all do. They're not a threat, they're not the enemy. Just because they don't have a passport doesn't mean they're a criminal.
"Can you imagine what these people have been through to get here? They must be traumatised."
The Home Office says the Government's helped 15 thousand people to safety since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan back in August, as part of the UK’s biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history.