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.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

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.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount