'Forcing migrants in Wales to wear wristbands akin to what Nazis did to Jews'
According to British media reports, refugees who have taken up residence in Cardiff are entitled to three meals a day from a government contractor, Clearsprings Ready Homes.
By JPOST.COM STAFFA Holocaust survivor wears a yellow star during a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Welsh agency contracted to provide food for asylum seekers came under heavy criticism for forcing them to wear red wristbands as a condition for receiving services.According to British media reports, refugees who have taken up residence in Cardiff are entitled to three meals a day from a government contractor, Clearsprings Ready Homes.Yet the contractor caused a stir when it was learned that it began denying food to asylum seekers who were not adorned with a brightly colored ban on their wrist.The requirement provoked outrage among advocates for migrants, with some comparing the measure to Nazi Germany’s edict that forced Jews to wear yellow badges in the shape of the Star of David in the period preceding the Holocaust.Migrants said that wearing the wristbands made them vulnerable to xenophobic abuse from local Welsh, some of whom would yell, “Go back to your country.”"We raised the matter many times with the Welsh Government," Hannah Wharf, an official with the Welsh Refugee Council, a pro-migrant NGO, is quoted by Sky News as saying."It harks back to the Nazi regime with people being forced to wear a Star of David and stand out. It's absolutely appalling; it is treating people like lesser beings. It is treating them like animals lining up to feed."