With all the media attention on the Calais hold up crisis currently happening, the discussion/debate/argument about immigration is wide open again. An interesting article a friend of mine just shared via Huffington Post, well worth a read. It's good to get some actual facts about immigration because a lot of what we're led to believe by the media is completely exaggerated and tailored to create a more shocking news story. It is completely reasonable for people to be concerned by migration if they or their family are being effected by seemingly exhausted public services, or unable to find good quality work that pays a living wage. People feel at threat by what they see as a severe immigration crisis in their home country, well truthfully there is a severe migration crisis, but it's not just here in the UK - it's global, and it isn't a straightforward situation, there is a large background to why this is even happening.
I don't know what the answer is, all I know is that as a nation we have to take some responsibility for what is happening in these countries and the cause for why people are so desperate to leave. We should not get angry, we should widen our knowledge on the situation and focus our efforts on influencing global change to restore war torn and impoverished countries. As a starting point, we're better to learn the facts at least and as always, not regard what we read in the newspaper as gospel.
I enjoyed Robin Lustig's final note on his Huffington Post article:
"Do I have the answer to the global migration crisis? No, but here are some suggestions that might help: set up proper, EU-run processing centres at the main entry points: southern Italy, Greece, Hungary. Genuine refugees should be offered asylum according to an agreed quota calculated according to population and GDP. Those deemed non-eligible for asylum would be offered a choice: wait in a camp until your number comes up, and then go where you're sent -- or go home.
The tragedy is that so many people are so desperate that they're prepared to die in an attempt to find a safe place to live. And our response is so blinkered that all we can think of is building higher fences."
There seems to be no easy, humane solution whereby all parties are satisfied. Let's see what our leaders come up with.
