Much has been said about immigration lately. Both sides of the political spectrum have been quite vocal and many sensible and terrible arguments have been made. However, no one has said what most of us are thinking: CALM DOWN.
As a Scandinavian immigrant, I can’t help but roll my eyes at the fuss made over a few thousand immigrants and refugees – call them whatever you like – entering a country with a population of more than 64 million. It has to be said: there is something extremely petty about a world power refusing to accept more than a handful of people in need, especially when its economy is increasingly reliant on it being a multicultural melting pot.
The United Kingdom’s contribution — in terms of accepting refugees — to the Syrian crisis is embarrassingly small, especially considering the much larger effort on the part of countries like Sweden and Germany.
And this is where the question of values needs to be addressed. Is the UK population really so insular and arrogant that the lives of people in need are irrelevant because they happened to be born in a different country? Or did we, back in May, choose a party whose values does not reflect or own?
On the surface everything looks respectable. But just below the surface there are a lot of misconceptions and questionable opinions boiling — I guess that’s pretty British, isn’t it? More than anything, the words immigration and refugees ruffle so many feathers that in ordinary life people go out of their way not to mention them much; meanwhile, everyone is dying to have something meaningful to say.
For the most part, it ends with a few muttered complaints about immigrants in the pub, then everyone grabs a curry on the way home.
Whenever there is a debate (or something like it), the general defence of anti-immigration opinions is that the people in question are not refugees, but economic migrants. Which, first of all, in many cases is incorrect, as these are people fleeing prosecution based in their religious and political beliefs, as well as being suppressed by dictatorial regimes. The attitude seems to be “if you’re just here to get a better life, then get out,” a notion so absurd and ridiculously self-centred that voicing it should prompt anyone listening to burst out laughing.
In any case, it seems odd to demonise people for wanting the best life for themselves and their children, and having the determination to act on that. And if they really were emigrating purely to abuse the welfare benefits then surely they would be heading straight to the socialistic Scandinavian countries, rather than a neo-liberal nation like the UK?
There’s too much “us against them” to be credible: fine upstanding, hardworking British-born pure breds against abusive, lazy, halfwit foreigners. Really? With few exceptions has any nation in the world created so much pain and suffering on a global scale? With this in mind, a bit of humility would be no bad thing.
The point is not that there should be unregulated open borders; neither should we kill any debate on the subject. But let’s be clear: racism and discrimination are far from eradicated in this country, and panicking about a few thousand refugees is just adding fuel to the fire.
If you’re afraid that a refugee with PTSD and limited knowledge of the English language will steal your job – work harder. If you’re scared that they have different values – convince them that your values are worthwhile.
Dear Britons, please calm down. People on the continent are laughing at you. These refugees are human beings in need of a new place to call home, for reasons that the entire Western world needs to take responsibility for. This is our time to grow up and share the responsibility for what our governments have done.
Taking responsibility for the consequences of our own actions – isn’t that meant to be at the core of British values?
