A group of 60 Kindertransport survivors have urged the government to provide more routes to sanctuary for child refugees.
They called on the government to "match the efforts of the Kindertransport by committing to resettle 10,000 child refugees over the next ten years from Europe and conflict regions".
The statement, issued to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the rescue operation, was signed by survivors including Dame Stephanie Shirley, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, and Lord Alf Dubs, among others.
They said: "As former child refugees ourselves, we believe the UK government should give more children at risk the same life-saving opportunity that we had... Children seeking asylum have left their homes, their countries, their friends and families.
“They continue to live in unsanitary and unsafe camps or on the streets because the alternative is war, conflict and persecution. They have no other choice. But we do have a choice."
They added: "We will be forever indebted to the families and communities who at an extraordinary time, did an extraordinary thing, and gave us a home. Now we have an opportunity to show that those values of humanitarian compassion reflect not only our country’s past but also our present and future."
The Kinder are supporting the 'Our Turn' campaign, led by refugee charity Safe Passage and Lord Dubs, who at the age of six arrived alone on the Kindertransport from Prague.
The UN estimates that over half a million children will be in urgent need of resettlement by 2019. Over 20,000 unaccompanied child refugees arrived in Europe in 2017.
Beth Gardiner Smith, CEO of Safe Passage, said: "Through Freedom of Information requests, Safe Passage has discovered the UK has resettled just 20 unaccompanied children from conflict zones in the past two years. The Kindertransport brought 10,000 children to safety in 10 months on the eve of the Second World War. Our history shows us we can and must do better.”
The signatories to the statement are among over 60 former Kinder who will be honoured by 1,000 guests at a commemoration at the Quakers' Friends House on November 15.
The event is being organised by Lord Dubs and Barbara Winton, whose father, Sir Nicolas, organised Kindertransports that saved 669 children from Czechoslovakia.
Speakers and guests at the commemoration will include the Chief Rabbi, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes, Dame Esther Rantzen, Sir David Attenborough and Vanessa Redgrave.
Also attending will be council leaders from across the country supporting the Our Turn campaign, who have pledged over 700 places for child refugees if the government provides the necessary funding.
