Tonight I had the great privilege to break the Ramadan fast with eight beautiful Syrian women who have been living now at Kara Tepe since they arrived on Lesvos on March 20. They are all part of one family, a group of strong independent women traveling alone in the hope that they will get to Germany where there are brothers and sons. Fathers and husbands remain In Syria. They are two mothers, an aunt and four gorgeous young daughters who must be in their early 20's plus a youngest sister, Shima, who is 10. Her drawings decorate the inside of the refugee housing unit that has been their shelter for the last three months.  

We talked about the choices facing them now. They are eligible for relocation and one of the countries they had hoped to go to was England because it has it all, good schools, (one of these young women is a doctor who wants to study one more year to become a fully qualified gynecologist, and two were studying civil engineering before war forced them to flee), and a strong job market. They also speak good English so another barrier lifted. 

With Brexit that option is off the table.  

I know that some will be delighted now. Job well done they will say to themselves and pat themselves on the back. To them I say you lose. We all do when we turn our backs and shut our doors and forget that at our core we are all so very much so the same in search of love and life and the chance to live freely and safely and fully and that these beautiful women who in a place where there is not a lot can create such a beautiful feast would bring so much to you and your people and your country. We are all grieving now for the precedent you have set, for the lines you have drawn - so too these women who saw in your country the greatness that it was and the opportunity it presented to them to thrive, to learn and to contribute. No more.  

June 2016