The publisher has strengthened its campaign efforts for Ukraine, urging the government to lead international aid efforts and encouraging readers to donate to rescue efforts on the ground
This additional campaign supplements the publisher’s call for the UK government to give Ukrainians sanctuary without visas. It has also created a campaign urging readers to make donations, with money being given to beneficiaries such as the Red Cross both in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries where refugees are sheltering.
On Monday, the news brand relaunched its ‘Refugees Welcome’ campaign, calling for the UK government to set up a resettlement scheme to give Ukrainians fleeing the invasion sanctuary in Britain
The Independent first launched ‘Refugees Welcome’ in 2015, in a bid to get the UK and the rest of Europe to do more to help the hundreds of thousands fleeing the Syrian civil war, when huge numbers were dying on dangerous sea crossings trying to reach the EU.
Nearly 400,000 people signed a petition calling for action and David Cameron announced days later that 20,000 Syrian refugees would be resettled in the UK by 2020. That process would eventually be completed in 2021.
The Independent continued to track the government’s promises on refugees and restarted the campaign in 2021 following the Taliban seizing power in Afghanistan. The news brand pushed for the UK to settle refugees in excess of the numbers seen from Syria and garnered support from across the political spectrum.
The Independent is now asking the government to follow the example of Ireland and Portugal, and accept Ukrainian refugees without visas.
Read more here.
