More regarding migrants

 Nigel Farage's description of migrants as  "a threat oi our national security [and] our women and children," and his plans to deport "absolutely everyone" arriving by small boats, has received a tepid response from Britain’s political establishment and media.  

The Conservatives merely complain that the  plans are stolen from the.  Labour concentrates on their impracticality.  

No-one expresses outrage that this is absolutely the wrong tone to take and the wrong thing to do.

 Last month Pope Leo reminded us that:“In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost [migrants'] courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see and gives them the strength to defy death on the various contemporary migration routes”.

 And, not only that: " [C]ommunities that welcome migrants and refugees can also be “a living witness to hope” as they show “the promise of a present and a future where the dignity of all as children of God is recognised”.

 So where are our leaders with the courage to make the point? 

The Conservatives are beyond the pale..

Sir Keir Starmer should be in a strong position as a former Human Rights lawyer but seems to prefer to keep quiet.  (He should be emboldened by a Radio 4 programme being broadcast this week which refers to the free services he gave in the MacLibel trial, which mean that we have evidence his heart is in the right place.)

 

Sir Ed Davey hasn't done too badly with : "Nigel Farage  pretending to be patriotic  while pledging to rip up Britain’s proud record of leading the world on human rights," (but possibly a bit of hyperbole there.)

 Laura Smith, a representative of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, with :" We are hearing proposals  that would tear through centuries of British legal tradition - from Magna Carta to the Human rights Act - with barely any resistance from those who should be defending those values." seems more concerned with Britain’s reputation than the plight of the poor creatures shivering in squalid conditions in such as the Marston Detention Centre. 

 Absolutely no one is saying, loudly and clearly: "This is wrong! Farage's proposals are not how we should treat people.  They are fellow human beings - men and women like us  ("Humanity is single" as lawyer Sir Geoffrey Knight explained on the BBC.) We share one planet. We treat each-other as we could wish to be treated ourselves.  Those fleeing danger deserve our compassion.  Those seeking a better life should be applauded, as we would applaud such endeavours in ourselves and our children.".

 Unless our leaders shout this out proudly we are on the road to a repeat of the Brexit error of nine years ago.  Then the case for reason and optimism was lost becasue for decades our leaders had failed to speak out enthusiastically  in favour of the European Union. Rather they had blamed it, usually without much justification, for any minor inconvenience for which they'd rather shift the blame from themselves.  

We are in grave  danger of making a similar mistake again, leaving the field open for the purveyors of lies, distortions and chauvinistic bombast.

 So politicians, influencers, religious leaders, humanists, philosophers and academics, men and women  who hold values of decency and compassion and know how to change a tyre,  speak out now , before it's too late.