Migrants at Calais and Racism

When I see the disturbing scenes at Calais of hundreds of migrants from Africa, Afghanistan  and the Levant trying to avoid the police to jump on trains heading for Britain, I think of racism. If all of these desperate people were white skinned they would stand much more of a chance of being accommodated in both Britain and France. The migrants have been forced to live in appalling conditions in "jungle city". This is much to the chagrin of local residents. Everyone wants to escape this situation resolved and none more so than the refugees and residents of Calais.

Most of the migrants are genuine refugees from violence , torture, false imprisonment and starvation. They are desperate to find a new home. Some of them will be miscreants who are using violence to gain access to lorries and the channel tunnel system but the miscreants are few in number and they can be dealt with by the justice system.

The British and French governments are reluctant to take positive action to accommodate these poor people because of public opinion. I am ashamed to say that not many people in Britain or France have got much sympathy for the plight of these people - and it is probably because  they are seen as being from a different "race" by some of our compatriots. Some politicians are also stirring up political trouble with their populist opinions and simplistic solutions to a complex problem.

The leader of UKIP is being disingenuous when he makes public statements that all France has to do is give the 3,000 migrants at Calais French passports and then they can all come to Britain legally - so let's leave the EU to prevent this happening: Balderdash. The French government cannot and will not grant any of these migrants French citizenship. There are already thousands and thousands of immigrants in France who have not been given passports; they are the "sans papiers" and they work in the under cover economy. These migrants have been staying in France illegally for years and they are going nowhere else.

The French government is coming in for much criticism from the  British tabloid press and right wing MPs. The same people who object to the EU from doing anything which impinges on British freedom of action are telling the French what to do. Hypocrisy  - hardly a British value is it? Maybe the French find this objectionable.

Of course, the British Home Secretary recognises the need for co-operation with the French government which has been generous enough to allow British border posts and fences on the French side of the channel or La Manche. If the border posts had to be moved back to Dover and Folkestone then the migrants would establish "jungle city" in Britain and in short order. We are lucky that the French are prepared to secure our border for us. We are also lucky that the French police are prepared to go along with this.

Many of the migrants have travelled a long time and across dangerous terrain and countries to get here. Many would have risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean sea in flimsy boats to land in Europe. The people at Calais are resourceful risk takers and have not given up on their objective. Many of these migrants would be hard working people who  have no need to sponge off the state as they can survive on their own resources. They would probably be happy to work hard for Britain if we let them in.

Successive British governments have done nothing to make provision for traffic to be managed when the channel tunnel is closed for whatever reason.  If there is just a storm in the channel then the tunnel cannot cope with the diverted traffic from the ferries. Lorries, therefore, are parked on the M20 motorway. This is a ludicrous solution. With migrants blocking the tunnel on a nightly basis the M20 stacking system in Kent has now reached crisis point. Complacency is no longer an option.

The French and British governments must find a solution which helps everyone including the migrants, lorry drivers, the residents of Kent and Calais and the police from both nations.

The French and British governments have a moral duty to resolve this crisis as they have brought war to Africa, The Levant and Afghanistan and this is the major reason why the migrants are coming. We really have no right to treat any of these unfortunate people so badly. The answer can be found if we use a sense of compassion on both sides of the channel rather than xenophobia. The voters of France and Britain should give their governments more room for manoeuvre.