Why Britain is changing its mind on refugees
Sometime on Friday, the British government will make an announcement that may approve the intake of more refugees, according to .
Pressure has been mounting on Britain to soften its stance on immigration after the lying dead on a Turkish beach brought public outcry over the refugee crisis to new heights.
The father of the 3-year-old boy, Aylan Kurdi, recounted their story in an interview with on Thursday, describing how his family had paid smugglers more than $2,000 to be taken across the Aegean Sea to Greece.
Not long after getting into a 15-foot boat, however, five-foot waves engulfed the vessel, flipping it over and sending them all into the water. His wife, Rehan, and elder son, Galip, also drowned.
鈥淚 started pushing them up to the surface so they could breathe,鈥� said Abdullah Kurdi, who told the Times his family had been fleeing the Syrian town of Kobane, not far from the Turkish border. 鈥淚 had to shift from one to another. I think we were in the water for three hours trying to survive.鈥�
The images have spurred reflection from British leaders who are now vowing to take action. 鈥淎s a father, I felt deeply moved,鈥� Prime Minister David Cameron . 鈥淏ritain is a moral nation and we will fulfill our moral responsibilities.鈥�
By Wednesday afternoon, an online petition to accept more asylum seekers to the UK had also received more than well passing the 100,000 mark required by parliament to consider a debate.
鈥淭he UK is not offering proportional asylum in comparison with European counterparts,鈥� states the petition. 鈥淲e must help.鈥�
鈥淎s ordinary Britons and politicians of all parties came forward to demand the government adopt a more humane response to the migrant crisis, Downing Street indicated that some kind of climb-down was imminent,鈥� reported .
"No final decisions have been made," 聽BBC鈥檚 political editor Laura Kuenssberg.
But 鈥渋t is clear that Downing Street has concluded the political pressure does require them to give an additional response," she wrote. 鈥淚 expect in the coming days the prime minister will promise more action.鈥�
While Prime Minister Cameron has said Britain will continue taking 鈥渢housands of refugees,鈥� he emphasized the need for a 鈥渃omprehensive solution鈥� to help find long-term stability in the migrants鈥� home countries.
鈥淲e have taken 5,000 people from the Syrian conflict, we will go on taking people and keep it under review,鈥� he told . 鈥淏ut 鈥� there isn鈥檛 a solution to this problem that鈥檚 simply about taking people.鈥�
Leaders across Europe, whose governments join the UK in facing climbing tensions over their response to the recent migrant crisis, also addressed the viral photographs.
鈥淭he European nations that have turned the Mediterranean into a grave for immigrants share the sin for each immigrant鈥檚 death,鈥� said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to 聽on Thursday. 鈥淚t is not only immigrants who are drowning in the Mediterranean, it is also our humanity.鈥�
