Stemming the Flood of Racist Rhetoric

The publication of figures for the number of people seeking asylum in this country was greeted with the usual racist rhetoric by many tabloids and, disappointingly, by the home secretary. The figure was 110 thousand. By most standards, 110 thousand is a big number. But compared to the population of Britain - 59 million - this is just 0.18%. That's right - in 2002 our population grew by just 0.18% due to the "flood" of asylum seekers entering our precious island. It is also worth comparing these figures to the number of people granted the right to settle in the UK (107 thousand in 2001) and the right to work in the UK (109 thousand in 2001). Now, given that in 2001 only 33 thousand asylum seekers were granted asylum or exceptional leave to remain in this country, that's some 184 thousand people who entered this country legally, for economic or personal reasons. A final statistic to bear in mind is that over 30 thousand of these asylum seekers came from just three countries - Iraq, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan.

All of which leads to many interesting questions. Why are there so many protests about asylum seekers, and so few about other means of entry? Why are human rights abuses a reason to go to war, but not a reason to provide sanctuary? The answer is clear - racism.

It is difficult to be racist in public these days. Complain about British people marrying foreigners, and you would be regarded, quite correctly, as racist, unfit for polite society. Opposing work permits is even more difficult - most white people entering the country do so on work permits. To most racists, white Americans, Australians, or South Africans are perfectly acceptable, so opposing their main means of entry doesn't work. Shouting abuse at black footballers might work off some emotion, but does little for the desire to feel intellectually right about prejudice.

Enter the asylum seeker. Asylum seekers are close relatives of that other minority we are allowed to abuse, the welfare scrounger. Socially, anyone on benefits is fair game. They are lazy, good for nothing. The logic of prejudice happily ignores the fact that there aren't enough jobs for everyone, and that asylum seekers are banned from working anyway. No, we can class asylum seekers with the other social leeches, and vent our racist spleen in a socially acceptable way.

Why our society views the least fortunate amongst us as targets for abuse, rather than victims to be pitied and helped, is not clear to me. The idea that anyone chooses to live on the meagre income support hand out from the government is laughable - ample evidence of how far out of touch with reality those who spout such views really are. One recent example will illustrate the gulf in our understanding. I recently caught a short part of Kilroy (don't judge me - it was while I changed tapes on the video!) which featured a pensioner illustrating his poverty by reading out his food budget. It, he claimed, contained no luxuries - he couldn't afford them. The total, for a week, came to £58. Now for many people that is quite a modest shopping bill, but it is far more than the total income of someone on benefits. For those who rely on government hand outs, even in this country, food itself can be a luxury. It is, I suppose, easier to vilify the poor, rather than admit that it is our desire for low taxes and cheap imports that causes their distress. Far easier to blame than to help. To give in to prejudice than to try to understand what life is like for others.

If we vilify those on benefits, it is nothing to the hatred we reserve for asylum seekers. While our society has thankfully evolved to the point where wishing to live in our country for reasons of love is acceptable, we do not extend the same courtesy to those who fear torture, rape, and death. Asylum seekers are not portrayed as the victims of human rights abuses for whom our media and government are so keen to kill, but as the worst kind of benefit dependants - foreign benefit dependants.

These attacks are even more disgraceful when you consider that in 2002 28 thousand people were granted the right to stay in this country - one in three of all cases considered. Let me say that again : One in three asylum seekers is considered genuine. One in three people are judged to have a sufficiently well grounded basis for their fear of death or torture that we allow them to stay. Yet, we have the disgraceful sight of home office ministers boasting that a range of barriers have been placed before these people that did not exist eighteen months ago. 28 thousand people fleeing torture and death, and our government is proud to make reaching safety more difficult.

Our media and government's attacks on asylum seekers are unfounded. Even by our very strict rules, one in three cases is genuine. Making entry more difficult will only lead to more vulnerable people failing to reach safety. The impact of asylum seekers on our country is negligible - they account for only 0.18% of the population, and are amongst the very poorest - and many who are granted asylum go on to contribute to our economy, both through their work and their taxes.

Attacks on asylum seekers are entirely racist in motivation. There can be no other explanation. They are a group of people that deserves our pity and our help more than just about any other. They are also primarily of Asian, African, or Middle Eastern origin. A reaction of hate to such a group cannot be explained any other way. That such racist rhetoric is heard from our media is disgraceful enough, but from our most senior politicians it is disgusting. Racism cannot be tolerated in public office. If Blunkett and Blair continue in their racist policies, they must go.

Graham Robinson. 5th March 2003.

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