With the first Syrian refugees arriving in the UK this week, Muntada Aid, a leading UK-based NGO, is calling on the Government to increase the numbers of refugees it has pledged to accept, whilst also increasing the amount of aid it gives to Syrian refugees in refugee camps as priority as the cold winter fast approaches.   A recent survey conducted by YouGov, on behalf of Muntada Aid reveals that nearly 60% of people across the country believe that aid needs to be given to refugees in the camps as a priority, and 1 in 5 people support Muntada Aid’s call that Britain needs to accept more refugees.   Sayid Ali, from Muntada Aid said; “In September we visited Budapest and Roszke in Hungary where we saw first hand how desperate the situation is for refugees who are fleeing civil war. The situation hasn’t improved since then – infact it’s got worse. People are still starving. With nowhere to live and with winter fast approaching, we are expecting this winter to be one of despair and death for thousands of refugees in Europe. European countries need to get their act together to avert a worsening disaster.   “Whilst we welcome the acceptance by the UK Government of 1000 Syrian refugees before Christmas, we feel that it has taken too long for them to arrive and that the number of refugees being accepted is no where what it should be. This refugee crisis started months ago – sadly it took the death of a small boy on a beach in Turkey for the world to wake up. Initially, there was a lot of opposition to people helping refugees – even now our survey revealed that 50% of people still think that refugees are actually economic migrants.”   Muntada Aid will be heading back to Turkey next week to visit its Psychological Centre that is opened in Istanbul to look after children and their mothers who were traumatised by the civil war in Syria. In addition to counseling, children are learning to look to the future through play and their mothers are learning Turkish and new skills to help them rebuild their lives in Istanbul.   Sara Damergi, presenter from  A Place in the Sun will be joining Muntada Aid on the visit. She said; “After the recent tragic terrorist attacks it has become even more important we open our hearts and minds to these refugees. They have become victims to more restrictions and negative attitudes, after this week revealed Isis had used the crisis to smuggle members into Europe.   “Yes we need more security and background checks but we need to keep in mind the suffering and horror the majority of these people have endured.   “As someone with half a Lebanese heritage (the country with the most refugees and very little resources/not enough help) ,this is a topic very close to my heart.   “These are very important and sensitive times. Isolating and restricting innocent and vulnerable people will only serve to play into the hands of Isis and create anger and isolation amongst the most vulnerable which of course leads to more radicalization. These people need somewhere to run to, let's give them the chance at life.”   Kabir Miah, from Muntada Aid, who managed an aid trip in October to help the refugees in Hungary said; “We are continually working with partner organisations in Europe to help as many refugees as we can. We are giving out food, warm clothing and other essential items.  Following the recent events in Paris, we support what the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker has said – the current strategy to help the fleeing EU refugees must stay, we must not punish the refugees who are fleeing civil war".     ENDS All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 1,595 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 21st - 22nd October 2015.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).