The UK Prime Minister has already come under fire for using “dehumanising” language about the thousands of people at the makeshift camp at Calais, many of whom are fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria and Afghanistan and trying to reach Britain through the Eurotunnel from the French port.
Cameron said the chaos at Calais was “very testing” because there was a “swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life”.
His comments were immediately denounced by refugee agencies.
“Talking about a swarm conjures up images of insects,” said Zoe Gardner of Asylum Aid. “Language like that is not helpful at all as it is designed to scare people. It’s a cowardly approach to play on people’s fears when we do have the capability to help those fleeing persecution and war.”
Refugee Council head of advocacy Dr Lisa Doyle said: “It’s extremely disappointing to hear the prime minister using such irresponsible, dehumanising language to describe the desperate men, women and children fleeing for their lives across the Mediterranean Sea. This sort of rhetoric is extremely inflammatory and comes at a time when the Government should be focused on working with its European counterparts to respond calmly and compassionately to this dreadful humanitarian crisis.
Cameron’s comments were made following 3,500 attempts to breach Eurotunnel security in the past week alone. One man was crushed by a lorry during the chaos on Tuesday night – the ninth migrant to have been killed over the last month at the port.
Around 18,000 people have been arrested by French police since the start of this year. The authorities say there are just too many people to deal with. (Source: The Nation, 31/07/15)
Comment:
Stalin and Adolf Hitler would be proud of David Cameron’s latest comments which reveal his underlying hatred, prejudice and supremacist view of Britain’s position in the world. In describing the desperate refugees as a “swarm”, he has made an unadulterated comparison to scavenging pests that require eradication.
His words are no mistake, they’re carefully chosen to instigate communal division and exacerbate the simmering Islamophobia that is gripping Britain and Europe at large. His party’s narrative of constantly linking immigration, integration and British values is a necessary smokescreen to further the European agenda of criminalising the view that the real causes of so called ‘radicalisation’ actually stem from the persecution and injustice toward the wider Muslim Ummah, and the absolute support and double standards towards oppressive dictatorial regimes in the Muslim world by western democratic nations.
How dare he treat any human being let alone our Muslim brothers and sisters with such hatred and distain. The unilateral and coalitions’ destruction of their lands and infrastructure, displacing of millions, making countless widows and orphans, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands. Then pillaging the refugees’ lands of natural and mineral wealth and even cultural antiquities… not to mention rewriting historical fact to suit the narrative of the war machine of the west!
These poor refugees are only chasing their stolen rizq. May Allah سبحانه وتعالى protect them from harm and ease their way to a peaceful future.
Maleeha Hasan