This is the post I really wanted to make about immigration

[nanila]

I'm a migrant. I came to the UK in search of new opportunities, a new job and a better life. I came on an aeroplane. I had a visa. And I was lucky enough to find all of those things.

A refugee is not a migrant. A refugee is someone who is so desperate they'll pay their life savings to put their toddler on a leaky boat in the sea on the slim chance they'll find safety somewhere else. Even the thought of having to do that to my children makes me physically ill. No one does that who is not at the absolute end of hope. No one.

It makes me ill that the British government's position is that it has been doing enough to help these people. Yes. By doing such helpful things as cancelling funding for the boat rescue service that could have prevented them from drowning. Very helpful. Because you don't have to offer asylum to corpses.

Comments

[cosmolinguist]

I've been having to monitor my intake of news/Twitter/etc. extremely carefully, to keep myself from being overwhelmed and useless. I'm trying to limit myself to practical stuff: I signed the petition (which does actually seem to be doing some good! I was worried it'd just be ignored), I'm knitting hats and scarves and blankets to be taken to Calais... Knitting's a good anxiety-reliever for me anyway, and I've got plenty of that to burn off right now.