25 | June | 2023 | Not Just a Granny

Archive for June 25th, 2023

Be kind. Be grateful.

Posted in gratitude, tagged refugees on June 25, 2023| 2 Comments »

I met a man yesterday afternoon. A man who studied to be a solicitor. He worked for the UN. He worked to help refugees. He was articulate and intelligent, with way more qualifications than I. We chatted on our 30 minute journey to the station, and bemoaned the terrible reasons why people had to flee their homelands, reluctantly, with fear, and in the knowledge that they might never see their homes, homelands or families left behind, ever again. He has no family here.
He is a taxi driver. He has light brown skin. He is from Iraq. He has experienced horrible racism from British people, both white and coloured. He longs to be working in law again, but is unable to afford the fees required to study and pass the relevant exams etc.
So he drives people around, some of whom openly say “why do all these refugees keep coming here?”
I have no idea how to express my anger at people who live in what is currently a safe country, a wealthy country, a country that, along with many other European countries, which through colonialism, greed; acquisition of minerals, gold, oil and much more, have caused many of the problems in foreign lands from whence these refugees now flee – and still do.
The majority of refugees would rather have stayed in their country of birth, with their families, in their own homes and cultures.
If you can’t be kind, or understanding, then just shut up and don’t show your ignorance, lack of understanding or compassion.
Yes we have problems here, the cost of living is high, more children are living in poverty than is acceptable in a wealthy country, the government is hell-bent on destroying our NHS, we’re taxed into the ground, and have a party in control who are more interested in fleecing their citizens than ensuring their well-being BUT we’re not being persecuted for our religion, or restricted because we are women, hunted down for our sexual choices and killed for not being ‘straight’, or bombed out of our homes. Yet.
If you meet a refugee, try to remember how privileged you are, and be kind, because you have not walked in their shoes.

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