I write this in the context of the murder of the wonderful Jo Cox MP, the 'Convoy to Calais' and the EU Referendum.

Utterly appalled by the xenophobia whipped up by the Brexit campaign, I am pleading with your readers to vote for international co-operation and a humane and co-ordinated response to migration. I make no distinction between refugees and 'economic' migrants because the reasons people are forced on the move are myriad. We, as citizens of the world, have a responsibility to rise to the challenge of large movements of people, not to scapegoat migrants.

Ethnically Cornish, I share grandchildren with British Asians (one a G.P.) who, as babies, were forced to flee with their families from Pakistan to India during the ethnic cleansing of Partition. My ancestors travelled the world to work the mines when times were desperate in Cornwall. My paternal grandfather, William Colenso, boiler-maker at Falmouth Docks, and treasurer of Falmouth Labour Party, organised funding and homes amongst the working people of Falmouth for 20 Basque children fleeing the bombing of Guernica in the Spanish Civil War. Times were hard in Falmouth in the 1930s but humanity won through. Falmouth should be so proud of their generosity and international solidarity.

Our current austerity is not due to immigration but to greedy bankers and a lack of courage to bring them to justice. Our problems with housing, education, the NHS are due to underfunding not immigration. There are alarming parallels between our current situation and the rise of Fascist Spain and Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Leaving Europe, hoping for some kind of perverse utopia based on isolation and false nostalgia is a very dangerous diversion and there would be no going back. The EU is far from perfect but the breaking down of borders is so much better than building walls.

For our future generations I beg you to vote now for internationalism and then, to demand a more just and diverse society. I am in agreement with my grandfather - socialism would be the answer.

Susan Colenso

Falmouth