Solidarity Steve

Gandhi famously said “A true measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members,” with this quote in mind, how low must the measure be of our society? From the single mother on benefits, or the disabled man down the street, to the refugee looking to build a new life, we have come up short.

Not only have we come up short, our society actively demonises, criminalises and attacks its most vulnerable members, while at the same time the most privileged live the opulent life of kings, at our expense! This tool of scapegoating the most vulnerable members of our society by the most powerful and privileged, is a disgrace and a farce.

We cannot and should not allow it to continue any longer.

Most recently we are seeing it rather bluntly wielded against those brave and poor souls attempting to cross the channel to build a new life for themselves in the UK. Where they now face being deported to a society which our own government doesn’t deem safe, and we even hear cries of turn the gunboats on them. On LBC a presenter and caller were agreeing to sabotage the boats on the beaches, like they were some invading enemy force.

They have been called rats, plagues and all sorts but what they are, is people. People like you, like me, and people for the most part all want the same things, they want to live comfortable, stable lives surrounded with the people they love and treasure.

People want to be productive, they want to contribute to society because when they do everybody benefits, but more importantly people have the right to live, and the right to live stable, comfortable, safe lives.

We are denying this right to thousands of individuals, some of whom are fleeing from wars we started, fleeing from communities we destroyed, and fleeing traumatic experiences that we ourselves instigated.

We have a responsibility, this isn’t a refugee crisis, it is a humanity crisis and it’s time we took action.

Within weeks of the Ukraine war starting the UK government was scrambling to bring Ukrainian refugees to the country, setting up a processing centre in France and having a drive to house them. Something that we did not afford to our Afghanistan supporters, or victims and while this highlights a level of hypocrisy, it also highlights that the issue is one of political will, rather than anything else.

Our government simple doesn’t want to help nor afford people their humanity, unless it is politically convenient to do so.

Putting aside the utter callousness of the current political regime in this country, it doesn’t even make economic sense.

The Rwanda scheme alone is costing £120 million + operational costs which could soar in to the billions. Then on top of that you have the extra cost of policing the waters and all the other associated costs with keeping Little Britain a sinking fortress island.

What if we took all that money the Tories are wasting trying to appeal to a small minded section of our society and invested it in people? Invested it in refugees, immigrants, and all in need supporting them and helping them achieve safe, comfortable and happy lives – free from fear and persecution.

This would be a huge benefit to our economy because not only would we get the return from the investment directly, we would get the added benefit of the illegal immigrants and refugees becoming productive citizens.

Refugees, illegal and legal migrants are diverse people with diverse cultures, experiences and skills, of which can be used to enrich our country. You only need to look on JustEat to see what they have done for the dining experiences in this country, you only need to go in to a local school or a hospital to see how they are supporting our society every single day.

Instead we are taking potential productive citizens and if they’re lucky enough to get here, live in fear of being deported or forced to live off the grid, or even worse denying them any opportunity in the first place.

We are an ageing population, our society will crumble without migration, so why make it harder for those to come here that would be grateful that we have provided them with a safe place.

If we take the claim that the measures taken are to deter traffickers, well it clearly doesn’t work – so why not make it easier to come here legally and support the people that do come here when they arrive. Instead of propping up a system which isn’t fit for purpose, is dehumanising and a huge waste of money – we could be creating a system which actually stops traffickers, protects people and solves the problem.

Why not have a human centred approach that is coming from a place of support, rather than one of malice? Give humanity a chance.

I don’t want to hear any of the charity starts at home, or we have to look after ourselves first bullshit, because we can and should be doing both. If you are doing one and it works, it definitely strengthens the argument for doing the other.

We don’t have to be pitted against one another in a Hunger Games style race to the bottom!

The government never have to fully cost how they’re going to afford a corporate bail out, weapons for war, or the 30+ billion they wasted on track and trace – we only ever get the argument when it comes to helping the people, and you have to ask yourself – why?

There is no economic, social or moral argument for how we are treating the most vulnerable in our society, there is only a scapegoating political one. It’s a trick to make us focus on the other, to shift blame so that those in power can continue the illusion and we are paying for it every single day.

We have far more in common than the poor souls crossing the channel than we do with our political leaders and those in positions of power and privilege, and if we continue to allow them to treat refugees like this it won’t be long before they’re doing the same to us.

As Neal Ascherson succulently put it; “The way the government treats refugees is how they would treat the rest of us if they thought they could get away with it.”

If we let them continue, it’s only a matter of time until they do start treating us the same. We must demand better, and we must stand with refugees, migrants legal and illegal and fight for a better society for all, at home and abroad.