Hope haven’t missed a thread on the appalling public reaction to this humanitarian problem. In particular, as the papers point out today, these 200+ crossing the channel are about the roll of a small primary school, over two months. What crisis?
And then, they are people whose livlihoods have been destroyed in their own countries by destructive military action, in which our arms trade has played no small part. Who do we think we are to behave like this?
What evidence is there that these refugees intend to ‘live on benefits’, beyond a brief resettlement period? or that those coming ashore on the Kent coast are any threat to anyone? I have seen none.
These crossings are of course very dangerous but public opinion countenances many more dangerous activities. And if loss of life was a prime concern, why remove patrol boats from areas where the problem is far greater?
International movement of peoples in response to major economic and political upheaval is a massive problem. Not to be solved by this sort of populist anger.
