There are few contemporary issues that match immigration for turning people gammon-coloured in the face and spluttering in their speech. Sometimes it emerges from odious politicians like Trump and Nigel Farage; sometime it emerges in the form of violent gangs who set fire to pathetic little canal-side pup-tents and roar that immigrants should go back ‘to their own fucking country’.
And in a more sanitised form it emerges in debates like that conducted on the B(ritish) BC’s Question Time last Thursday. One or two worthwhile points emerged: that most immigrants to Britain were in fact legal, and if given a chance would settle in Britain and contributed to the work force and pay their taxes. Both Tim Farron MP and economist Mariana Mazzucato cited the extent to which immigrants added tens of billions to the British economy.
But by and large Fiona Bruce conducted the debate about the problem of the small boats from Calais to Dover and how to stop this dangerous practice in which ‘criminal gangs’ preyed on vulnerable people.
Let me try a parallel. Every week in the wee small hours, a man (or woman) comes to my door and hammers on it, begging to be allowed in. I find them a pain, disturbing my beauty sleep,and I keep trying to think of ways to make it stop. I think about buying a guard dog, I consider a siren alert any time my front-door bell is pressed, I wrack my brains to come up with a way to eliminate the presence of these people at my door.
I think you’re ahead of me – why are these people knocking on my door? They’re desperate for shelter. Why are their lives so grim that they take the chance of ending up in jail for disturbance of the peace? It’s only when we seek to address the huge injustice that has driven these people to this point that the issue is capable of being solved.
The small-boats thinking is indeed small-minded, not to say buck-stupid. Why treat the symptom? Wouldn’t it make more sense to locate the disease these people are staggering under and then, whether individually, as a state or as an international community, right the wrong that has landed in these poor people’s lives like a malignant growth? The enemy is not the victim of injustice, it’s the perpetrator of injustice.
Start a bit further back, lads.
Jude, as you do most of the time, you’re hitting the nail on the head and are 100% correct.
Who wouldn’t risk life and limb to try and improve their life fleeing in many cases war, famine , climate change or political persecution- plenty of Gaels had to throughout history. The flag of the United Nations should be the only flag that woman and man kind need but it’s further and further away from this Utopia that the planet seems to be heading. Hiding under the duvet seems to be best option some days !
The politicians who don’t want the immigrants should just come out and say they don’t want any more Muslims. Back in the day, white supremacists (ha!) were opposed to people from the Caribbean coming to good old Blighty because, well, they were a different colour. They cooked food other than egg and chips and knew how to have fun. But mostly they were hard working and peaceful. Some decent people have heard nothing but horror stories of crazed Islamists running around killing people and they are spooked. Deal with the problem at source.