I AM writing in response to some of the questions raised by Will Richards and Mike Charles (Letters, July 17).

Refugees are not economic migrants, they are victims of conflict and natural disasters.

We have to acknowledge that we are complicit due to our backing the war in Iraq, lack of a cohesive plan for Afghanistan, unwillingness to strive for peace in the Middle East, the sale of weapons as a major industry, and the English language, which we also export.

The overwhelming numbers are a serious concern: our health services and education services are overstretched.

This is due to underfunding and unnecessary changes in the face of what those working in these spheres have stated.

It also has to be accepted that the NHS is dependent on excellent immigrant doctors and nurses.

My daughter is a GP in a practice where senior staff are retiring, young and new staff cannot cope with the workload and recruitment yields no applicants.

The recent arrival of a Ghanaian doctor, his energy and good spirits has saved the day.

Charity may begin at home, but is your correspondent willing to pay more tax to fund the NHS?

Did he vote for a party that introduced the bedroom tax? Cut vital benefits to poor families? Introduced short-sighted measures regarding our young people?

Finally, as a family, we took in an Afghani asylum seeker who is now a British citizen and who refused to apply for family allowance.

We are talking about proud but desperate individuals.

Veronica Edwards

Malvern