A strange and ancient verse in the book of Deuteronomy, 26.5, has long puzzled scholars. It says, “a wandering Aramean was my father” and is at the centre of vexed and energetic Rabbinic argumentation. One obvious meaning, however, is that the Hebrew people were themselves a migrant people – as the Bible clearly indicates. Migration is, of course, part of the human story to be found in the history of the British Isles as well as the Middle East, and everywhere where there are communities of people who suffer conflict, or natural disaster.

But the displacement of millions of people in recent times is unprecedented, and the sheer numbers of those risking their lives to cross the Channel even on cold mid-winter days tell a story of desperation that is experienced all over the world. Many people fear that as the world fragments into conflict and climate change places pressure on resources, migration may spiral out of control.

Today a new Fund is being launched in the name of the great 20th-century wartime leader, Bishop George Bell, specifically to support persecuted Christian pastors who are refugees. George Bell famously helped Lutheran pastors who opposed Hitler and had to flee for their lives. He, together with other British humanitarians such as Sir Nicholas Winton, recognised a need and acted upon it. There are still times today when Government inaction means that private individuals have to act in the wake of a crying need.

In response to the refugee crisis, former prime minister Gordon Brown said: “We’ve got to act for moral reasons but also it’s in our own self-interest to do so.” This reminded me of Archbishop William Temple’s dictum that the art of government is the art of so ordering life that self-interest prompts what justice demands. Both are right – allowing the situation to get worse is irresponsible.

Another point to note is the fear in stable societies that we might be unsettled by the consequences of allowing large numbers from other cultural traditions to settle among us. I recognise the worry which, to some degree, we all share. Clearly those who join us must recognise that they need to embrace the values, traditions and history of the host nation, just as the hosts will allow the customs of the migrants to have a place among us.

We are enriched by the presence of those who have joined us in recent decades. I hope the UK will give a firm moral lead as nations respond to the crisis facing the world today.

To take one example, Afghanistan is now recognised by the Open Doors charity’s “watch list” as the worst place in the world to be a Christian. In spite of the pleas of organisations working with persecuted Christians, who face the death penalty for apostasy under the country’s strict interpretation of shariah law, the Government has not taken any steps at all to allow Christians to claim asylum in the UK. We have been awaiting a long-promised announcement from ministers on how they plan to include persecuted religious minorities in resettlement schemes.

Barnabas Fund Freedom of Information requests to the UK Home Office found that in the Syrian resettlement scheme, Christians were consistently underrepresented in spite of the fact that they clearly faced violence and persecution. A tiny percentage – just 0.2 per cent – of the Syrian refugees accepted by the UK in 2017 were Christian. Underlying such shameful statistics was the Home Office’s apparent admission in its own equality assessment that the effect of its policy was to “disproportionately advantage” Muslims.

Several hundred Afghan Christians, including pastors and converts, are currently in hiding in neighbouring countries. They are waiting to see whether they have a place on the UK Government’s resettlement scheme.

The George Bell Memorial Fund will help them flee danger, despotism and violence, and travel to safety – whether they land on British shores or elsewhere. Sometimes it takes brave humanitarians like George Bell to stand up against even our own Government and bring the persecuted to safety.

George Carey is a former Archbishop of Canterbury. The second part of his memoirs, ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’ (Isaac Publishing) is out now