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Do We Owe to Refugees?

      David Owen

      polity

      Copyright © David Owen 2020

      The right of David Owen to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      First published in 2020 by Polity Press

      Polity Press

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      All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      ISBN-13: 978–1-5095–3975-8

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Owen, David, 1964- author.

      Title: What do we owe to refugees? / David Owen.

      Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity Press, 2020. | Series: Political theory today | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Who are refugees? Who, if anyone, is responsible for protecting them? What forms should this protection take? In this engaging and concise book, David Owen provides a clear account of the responsibilities of refugee protection and the forms of international co-operation that will be required to discharge them”-- Provided by publisher.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019025264 | ISBN 9781509539734 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509539741 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509539758 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Refugees. | Emigration and immigration--International cooperation. | Emigration and immigration--Government policy.

      Classification: LCC HV640 .O89 2020 | DDC 325/.21--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019025264

      The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

      Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

      For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

      To Miranda

       With the hope that your generation will do better

      I have accumulated many debts over the years; the main ones are to Liza Schuster, who introduced me to the issue, to Matt Gibney, from whom I have learnt most (perhaps not enough), and to Joseph Carens and Rainer Bauböck, who have each critically supported my thinking about this topic. Others whose thinking and comments have helped me along the way include Alex Aleinikoff, Sarah Fine, David Miller, Kelly Oliver, Clara Sandelind, James Souter, Christine Straehle, Kerri Woods and Leah Zamore. Particular thanks are due to Chris Armstrong, Chris Bertram, Peter Niesen, Anne Phillips and Tracy Strong, for responses to the whole manuscript.

      Outside academic life I owe a debt to two friends – Jon Courtenay Grimwood and Simon Nicholson – who read the manuscript of this book as fellow writers, with an ear to its accessibility to the lay reader. My wife, Caroline Wintersgill, has offered her always steadfast love and support (even while trying to finish her PhD); and our children, Miranda and Arthur, sustain me in more ways than they know. Because I admire her passionate concern for justice, I dedicate this book to Miranda.

      Let me begin with two stories.

      The fate of the passengers on the St Louis was now a major story in newspapers across Europe and the Americas. Appeals to the US government were made to no avail. The United States operated a quota system for immigration that was based on the size of existing US population groups; and the combined German Austrian quota of 27,370 for 1939 not only was filled, but left a long waiting list. Moreover, there was no political will to admit higher numbers:

      With no other choice available, on 6 June the St Louis set sail to return to Europe. The worst fear of the passengers was a return to Germany, but the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (alongside other Jewish organisations) was able to use its funds to arrange visas to four other European states: Great Britain (288), France (224), Belgium (214) and the Netherlands (181). The passengers admitted to Great Britain were the lucky ones, as only one was killed during the war in an air raid; of those trapped on the continent, 87 manged to leave Europe again before the German invasion in 1940,

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