A single solution may resolve two crises

IF any of us were to ask ourselves how we might cope if something around 15,000 desperate refugees arrived on our shores in less than two days, and answer the question honestly, we would have to reach pretty sobering conclusions.

It’s reasonable to suggest that we would try to behave in a humane way, that some sort of refuge and shelter would be offered to those whose situation is far, far worse than anything endured by any of us even at the most difficult moments following our 2008 economic collapse. But how successful would we be at realising those ambitions? What would week five in any such programme look like?

It is realistic to imagine that such numbers, even though just a tiny fraction of the estimated 50m displaced people in today’s world, would swamp any services we might be able to provide, that our good intentions would be overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers in need of shelter. Something approaching chaos would probably ensue.