Martin Biermann

A Shared Responsibility

I do not like to be ashamed of my home country, but currently I fear I am. 

I am particularly ashamed when people who have seriously risked their own safety as translators for our armed forces and other representatives in the Middle East are denied asylum despite being in mortal danger. 

So what’s the problem?

Our government persists in boasting about how economically successful we are and seemingly – at worst – the fifth richest nation on earth. 

And then, we are claiming to be too crowded as an island! Somehow, successful places like Hong Kong appear to be conveniently overlooked. 

In other words, I argue that we have both the natural resources and space to take a fair share of refugees. This means – as a minimum – the sort of numbers suggested by the EU proposals. If that leads to a certain amount of discomfort, I for one am willing to bear it. 

To suggest that people seeking to migrate to Britain are doing so merely to take advantage of our state benefits is patent nonsense. Not only is that concept proven to be false statistically, but most people would normally much prefer to stay in locations where they are familiar with language, customs, climate and, indeed, where their friends and relations are. The number of people currently on the move is only because of extreme circumstances and because they are in situations from which most of us would seek to escape. 

I am sick of hearing about our proud history of being a sanctuary for the oppressed. Yes, we know we provided homes for children escaping the Nazis, but that was not without some of the British media expressing disgust. 

We had better get used to the importance of “neighbourliness" because nations much poorer than us have been coping with millions of refugees over recent years and they can no longer be expected to absorb such volumes of displaced people. Such pressures are also almost certain to increase if the predictions of climate experts come about. 

Will we still sit back in our armchairs and say "What a shame, but not our problem"? The time will then come when the problem could become ours by force rather than consent.

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