As the new arrival series draws to close, David Miliband calls on the EU to commit to resettling more than 500,000 refugees

In an interview for the New Arrivals series, the former foreign minister David Miliband has urged European governments to stop “playing catch-up” with the refugee crisis and to play a leading role in providing homes to vulnerable refugees. His organisation, the International Rescue Committee, has called on the EU to commit to resettling more than 500,000 refugees over the next five years, a five-fold increase in the number resettled so far.

The difference these resettlement programme can make was highlighted by Husn Alsankari, a Syrian refugee who has been resettled in Coventry, who said her first night in the UK was the first time she slept soundly in years. She urged Theresa May to increase the government’s resettlement programme:

“If you can bring all Syrians who are suffering I would give you a thousand thanks, because they suffer lots and lots and lots.”

We also looked to Germany to see how refugees were being provided with support and training to get jobs. These programmes obviously help the refugees by providing work, but also benefit Germany as well, as refugees help fill the country’s labour shortages.



A date for your diary

The Guardian has spent the last 12 months following the lives of refugees around the country. As the New Arrivals series draws to a close, join us for a discussion about refugees and what sort of welcome they receive in Britain on Wednesday 2 May between 7pm - 8:30pm, at the Guardian offices in London.

I will lead a panel discussion featuring an exceptional group of experts: Yvette Cooper, Labour MP and chair of the home affairs select committee, Stephen Hale, the chief executive of Refugee Action, Zabi Enayet, a humanitarian aid worker and refugee from Afghanistan and Adel, a Syrian refugee who now works with the Nottingham Refugee Forum to support resettled Syrian refugees. Tickets are on sale here, don’t miss it.