With the conflict in Syria nearing its fifth year, 300,000 Syrians have been killed and over 9 million left homeless, resulting in millions of children, women and men fleeing the violence and persecution, hoping for safety outside of Syria.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed that there are now 3.9 million Syrian refugees in total, accounting for 16.9% of the entire Syrian population, with over half being children. These are people who have lost loved ones, experienced extreme violence, have severe medical conditions, and are unable to return to the places where they grew up and the lives that they had before. They are seeking safety.

As the crisis nears its fifth year, Syria’s neighbouring countries are struggling to cope. Turkey has taken in 1.7 million refugees, Lebanon has taken in 1.1 million refugees - almost a quarter of its entire population - and Jordan has taken in 600,000.

In Europe, Germany has taken in over 100,000 refugees, Sweden has taken at least 40,000 and Austria has taken in around 11,000. In comparison, the British government's effort has been described as ‘woefully inadequate’ by leading aid agencies, giving refugee to only 187 Syrian refugees.

In partnership with local synagogues, mosques, churches and schools, Middlesex Students' Union (MDXSU) has launched a joint campaign with Citizens UK to convince Barnet Council to agree to the re-settlement of fifty Syrian refugees through the government backed Gateway Protection Programme.

Working with members of the local community we are working to guarantee training, job opportunities, housing and education for those resettled in Barnet. All that Barnet Council need to do is say yes!

MDXSU's contribution to this campaign will be led by Sayed Alkadiri, our new Vice President Business and Law and a member of the leadership of the NUS (National Union of Students) Black Students Campaign committee. In a message to Middlesex students and to the local community, Sayed said,

Historically, Student Unions' have always been the at the centre for fighting for justice, whether it was during the apartheid years, the war in Vietnam or the current fight against poverty pay. MDXSU (having been shy from playing this role in the past) is determined to be at the centre of the fight for justice for Syrian refugees.

This is an issue that’s close to my heart, having written about the suffering of the Syrian people for the last four years, but I believe Students' Unions historically have led the way in standing in solidarity with oppressed people around the world, and on this issue we need to pressure the Prime Minister, who described the crisis as the “greatest refugee crisis of our time", to back up his words with concrete action.

I’m very proud of Barnet; the borough I have studied and lived in all my life. Barnet prides itself on being diverse and of being a host to a number of communities that live in great cohesion with one another. It’s a borough that historically has been proud to be a sanctuary for so many people fleeing persecution, and hence the community here in Barnet empathise deeply with the suffering of the refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. Our diversity here in Barnet will always remain our strength and I really look forward to working with this amazing community to help the Syrian refugees rebuild their lives.

If you are interested in joining this campaign, please email Sayed on s.alkadiri@mdx.ac.uk