Meet Lord Alf Dubs, Once a Kindertransport Child, Now Fighting for Refugees Like Him
Lord Alf Dubs speaks to two child refugees from Syria on April 25, 2016 in London, England. Image by Getty Images
By Josefin Dolsten April 26, 2016
Lord Alf Dubs is not giving up after an amendment he proposed, which would bring 3,000 child refugees from Syria and neighboring countries to the United Kingdom, was rejected by the government.
Dubs was a child refugee himself. The House of Lords member arrived in London as a six-year-old, fleeing a Nazi-invaded Czechoslovakia, with the help of Sir Nicholas Winton, dubbed the “British Schindler” for helping over 600 mostly Jewish Czech children flee to Britain.
“All the other Jews we knew went to concentration camps — the ones who stayed in Prague — and the majority didn’t survive,” Dubs told the BBC.
The House of Commons rejected the amendment to an immigration bill Monday night; some MPs said it was too expensive. The amendment had been put up for consideration in the House of Lords.
Both chambers of the British parliament must approve a bill in order to enact it.
The House of Lords is planning to discuss a new amendment, which would allow for an unspecified number of children refugees to enter the country, rather than the original 3,000.
Dubs said the positive feedback he has received keeps him motivated to continue fighting the battle.
“I’m now getting so many messages from people I don’t even know, saying how much they want this to succeed. It’s really struck a chord: it’s caught the public’s imagination that as a country we can do something for these children,” he told the Guardian.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
