Letter of the Week: A warmer welcome – The New Statesman

There was an interesting series of articles about refugees in the issue of 3 December. Resistance to the wrong sort of migrants goes back a way. The UKs 1905 Aliens Act tried to keep out Jewish people such as my ancestors fleeing persecution in Tsarist Russia, and there was resistance to accepting Jews from Nazi Germany until it was too late, though the Kindertransport was an exception. Zionists in Palestine agreed to accept wealthy Jews under the 1933 Haavara trade agreement with the Third Reich because they could share the economic spoils.

We could consider what resistance to helping others in need is really about. We have come some distance, but there is further to go. No one becomes a refugee by choice. Those who make it this far have more initiative and enterprise than all their armchair critics, with much to offer the UK. Managing asylum requires a fair, efficient and effective process. A policy of trying to deter migration by restrictive and legalistic means has as much chance of success as a maternity unit that turns away mothers about to give birth.Noel Hamel, New Malden, Greater London

What a shame that Jerome Roos introduced capitalism into his excellent essay (How the weather shapes history, 26 November). Throughout history, regimes have burned fossil fuels irrespective of ideology. The difference today is that we have never been more capable of mitigating climate change. By implying that capitalism is the bogeyman behind rising global temperatures, Roos encourages, however passively, the extremist views that hinder action.Sir Andrew Cook, Castagnola, Switzerland

I am not totally against anthropomorphic descriptions, but your headline The virus strikes back goes too far. Mutations are random and it is not helpful to see the virus as a sentient being with evil intent.Mary Davies, Lymington, Hampshire

A question for Phil Whitaker, on the interview with Jordan Peterson (Encounter, 3 December). Shouldnt an all-meat diet lead to scurvy? When wouldnt it? Dave McElroy, Reading, Berkshire

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Letter of the Week: A warmer welcome - The New Statesman