We have all watched the terrible conflict unfold in Kosovo. Families have been butchered, villages razed to the ground.

Our problems pale in comparison to such unimaginable suffering.

When we hear of the latest atrocity, all we can do is be thankful that we live in peace and comfort.

But now we have the chance to do something more.

York is to become a new home for refugees seeking asylum in Britain. Those who are trying to escape conflict and rebuild shattered lives will be offered a haven in our city.

There are some who will resent this move. They will argue that York has enough problems without importing more.

Headlines about "bogus" asylum seekers have hardened our attitude towards refugees. Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh tonight reiterated the widely-held opinion that Britain is seen as a "soft touch" by those hoping to settle here.

Certainly there are some people whose sole reason for settling in Britain is to leech off our welfare state - just as there are professional beggars who scrounge on York's streets.

But we must not let the fraudsters colour our views towards the needy homeless or the genuine asylum seekers.

It is not up to the York authorities to decide who does or does not deserve asylum. There is a Government agency to do that.

But it is important that our city plays its part in sharing the burden currently being shouldered by Kent alone.

In doing so, we should accept the asylum seekers with good grace, and make them feel welcome.

York has a good recent reputation for providing refuge for asylum seekers.

Many of the Bosnians who fled their war-torn home have settled here.

And there is still a thriving Polish community, 50 years after families first came here to escape Hitler's forces.

There is no doubt that the arrival of even a handful of asylum seekers will cause a headache for York council.

Housing officials are already struggling to accommodate local families.

But nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Occasionally we have to look up from our insular, self-centred concerns and realise that there are outsiders who deserve our help.

If it turns out that York housed only one family who escaped from the horrors of war, disease or starvation, then we will know we did the right thing.

see NEWS 'Asylum seekers heading for York'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.