“The tragedies we’ve seen in the last 24 hours highlight the
failure of Europe’s migration and refugee policy. We should be ashamed to see children
dying on our doorstep. The people who lost their lives in the truck in Austria,
including four children, were reported to be Syrians – they had fled
unimaginable horror in their home country only to die a lonely death just where
they should have been safe. Desperate people are making dangerous journeys to
reach sanctuary in Europe, and we are failing our fellow human beings if we let
them die trying.” - Justin Forsyth, Save the Children.
The tragedy is compounded in that when we deny others their common humanity, we deny our own.
ReplyDeleteEven this blog has in some ways dehumanised people by adopting or repeating the terminology of "other", the "or the "outsider"...migrants...refugees...asylum seekers...forgetting that they are people, exactly the same as ourselves, our family and our neighbours.
ReplyDeleteAn accident of place of birth and events outside their control means they become branded as "illegal" or "invaders" for no more than seeking a better life for themselves and family.
The blog tries not to differentiate between someone fleeing war or fleeing poverty but when re-posting media reports it can also falls into this trap of an hierarchy of victimhood, that some are more deserving of safety and security than the next person.