PROVE WE’VE MOVED ON

IN MD Cawley’s letter of April 22 about Stockport helping Syrian refugees, the writer suggests building a housing estate in Bramhall for them and then wants me to circulate with tea and biscuits.

I think my proposals to utilise mills, warehouses, empty offices and so on are more realistic and affordable than new houses in Bramhall.

As for welcoming them all personally with tea and biscuits, I would have been delighted and honoured to do that, but sadly many of the Syrians to tried to get here this week under their own steam died crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

It is most unfortunate that some 60 to 70 per cent of British people do not want to help refugees fleeing the war zones of the Middle East and North Africa.

Britain has taken 4,500 Syrian refugees and only a few of them are in Stockport. Germany has taken around 100,000.

One again I invite the people of Stockport, with help from Westminster, to accept 16,500 Syrian refugees.

There are practical hurdles but think of this; Stockport is only what it is today because of our past textile industry.

That wealth and prosperity was built on slavery.

Britain was by a mile the leading exponent of that vile trade in human misery.

Over several centuries, many millions of Africans were shipped in chains to be used on the cotton plantations of America.

One third of them never even survived their perilous journey.

Until the 1830s most British people didn’t see anything wrong in this treatment of another race of people.

Do you not see echoes of today’s Britain? I certainly do. Prove me wrong. Prove that today’s Britain has moved on and take in these Syrian refugees. John Tyres Marple