DiffidentWales a world leader for decency and compassion
COLUMNIST
IF nothing else, devolution has set Wales apart from the rest of the UK as a flag-bearer for decency.
Free prescriptions, free bus travel for pensioners, free admission to museums, as well as the smoking ban, the 5p carrier bag charge, the appointment of a children’s commissioner and latterly an older people’s commissioner too – and much else beside.
Within the boundaries of its meagre powers, the Assembly has done much to improve the quality of life for the people of Wales – and much of that work has been copied elsewhere in the UK.
The latest move in showing that Britain is not entirely a wasteland of despair, a land where kindness to others is a forgotten thing, is a committee of AMs calling for Wales to become a world-first “nation of sanctuary” for refugees and asylumseekers.
What an entirely noble and honourable ambition.
The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee has been looking at the global refugee crisis – appallingly, one in every 113 humans in 2016 was either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum.
It’s led the committee to come to the conclusion that a small nation like Wales can lead the way in helping to make the world a better place too.
“As we heard, those who survive the conflict, boat crossings, people-traffickers and countless miles of travelling to reach the UK, including unaccompanied children, are likely to have experienced severely traumatic events which leave lasting psychological scars,” says committee chairman John Griffiths.
“We were told that a phrase often used by refugees and asylum-seekers is ‘I used to be someone’. It is critical that there is the right support available to them when they reach Wales so that they can participate fully in Welsh life and have fulfilling lives in their new communities.”
The committee has come up with a range of recommendations for the Welsh Government to make things better for people seeking refuge – including a guardianship service for the many vulnerable displaced children who find themselves alone.
The Assembly is often talked of in clichéd terms – being full of hot air – but the work of this committee has already influenced Welsh Government policy on this matter and has made the situation for refugees here a little more bearable.
We might deride the Assembly for being a talking shop. We may, rightly, challenge the Welsh Government’s record on public service provision.
But we must also realise the good that devolution has done in the near-decade since the National Assembly was established.
We Welsh aren’t great at being proud of our achievements beyond the sporting arena, but we should be. In this era of uncertainty and intolerance, we’re a global leader in decency.
The trouble is, we don’t know it.