Stay calm over refugee debate

MR Rout (Argus letters Oct 9) raised a number of questions illustrating shortcomings in our own society to argue against refugees being welcomed to Wales. 
The same argument has been made by other readers in several previous letters. 
I would ask Mr Rout and others some questions in return. Are we as individuals never to help anybody until our lives are perfect? Are we as a society never to help anybody until our society is perfect? In effect, are we never to help anybody less fortunate than ourselves?
He then injects fresh bile into the argument by saying refugees should have “expensive mobile phones” confiscated. Mr Rout needs to think rather than allowing anger to cloud his logic. 
Many of the refugees who have reached Europe do indeed have mobile phones. This is because before the war they were often relatively prosperous – including engineers, teachers. 
In the case of Syria, they have come from an advanced society where, as in Britain, many people have mobile phones. What they are trying to escape from is not poverty but death and persecution. 
Often they still have relatives back home and naturally are extremely anxious to keep in touch with them.
In any case, given the refugees coming to Wales will be coming under the Vulnerable Persons’ Scheme, they are likely to be much poorer people, taken from the camps in Turkey, who have not had the means to reach Europe. 
If I was leaving my home for an uncertain destination and uncertain future I would certainly take my mobile phone with me and I would hope that anybody with a shred of compassion would allow me to keep it.
These remain difficult issues. There are perfectly legitimate arguments to be had over how many we should take, how and where they should be settled, how the costs can be met etc, but, as I have argued in previous letters, this debate needs to be calm and rational. Injecting venom into it helps nobody to move towards the best solutions.