Sir – Recently, BBC TV showed a documentary which should have its influence on the planners of New Barton. It’s a matter of figures. Refugees from the various hells of Libya paid for their escape by boat, taking them to the tiny island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean.
The hospitable Lampedusans greeted the uprooted with friendship and set up camps for them. The refugees responded with warmth and good behaviour. All was harmony. So more refugees arrived. And more. Their reception became less friendly. The islanders grew alarmed. Soon there were more refugees than islanders on Lampedusa. The locals were overwhelmed and had to fight back.
Poor peaceful little island! Those who live in Old Headington, a conservation village, feel acutely for the Lampedusans. Scores of refugees are coming to the proposed New Barton. It’s all a matter of numbers.
Brian Aldiss, Oxford
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