Why the Home Secretary Is Wrong
The people smugglers are not the only contributors to the death of the 16 year old Sudanese boy, Government policy is too and the British public are content.
A Turkish police officer stands next to the body of the young boy. Photograph: Reuters
Next month will mark 5 years since a Syrian boy was found dead on a beach near Bodrum resort, Turkey. Images of 2 year old Alan Kurdi's lifeless body sparked an outcry as the human cost became apparent.
One month prior, the tone of the national debate was marked by the then Prime Minister David Cameron, referring to refugees as a 'swarm of migrants'.
“This horrendous incident serves as a brutal reminder of the abhorrent criminal gangs and people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people”
5 years later and very little has changed. Yet again, another young person is found dead, only this time closer to no.10. Pritti Patel in response to the issue:
I'm left bereft by the Governments response. Time after time our elected officials demonstrate what seems to be cognitive dissonance. The notion that current British immigration policy does not create the environment in which human traffickers thrive is a pretence.
Our current Prime Minister, you may begin to see a pattern, in his response offers a hand to further distort the plight of these vulnerable people: "This is a very bad and stupid and dangerous and criminal thing to do,”
It is far easier for the Government to blame those who are seeking asylum than to admit that is has and continues to fail them.
“This is a very bad and stupid and dangerous and criminal thing to do”
Boris' statement insinuates that individuals have safe alternatives but are acting illegally. Firstly, let's be clear, every individual according to the convention the UK has signed up to has the right to seek asylum here in the UK. Any inference that this is not the case is harmful political rhetoric. The Government continues to hide behind the argument that individuals who cross the channel are doing so illegally so that they do not have to do anything about it.
Secondly, the current asylum system is not working effectively. It is not! Our track record is not as 'great' as we think it is.
Thirdly, it is a political decision not to help draw clear distinctions between the illegality of People trafficking and individuals genuinely seeking asylum.
The Main 5 Bogus Claims About Britain's Migrant 'Invasion'
The sad reality is that there are too many stories of people dying on their journeys to reach safety, especially unaccompanied children. These stories don't make the news cycle. More lives will be lost until we give up the luxury of being surprised. The Government's immigration policy is costing lives and unnecessarily so. It is left to organisations like Safe Passage to hold the Government to its obligation to provide safe passage to unaccompanied children.
The Government continues to hide behind the argument that individuals who cross the channel are doing so illegally so that they do not have to do anything about it. Don't allow them to get away with it!
