Welcome Strangers
From overseas they came
To care for our elderly,
Pick our vegetables,
Stack our shelves,
Deliver our goods
And nurse our sick.
Villified, demonized,
Bullied, denigrated
And driven out.
Low paid, unwanted,
Abused, despised,
Be in no doubt.
In this game
We have no shame.
Without too much lament
We demanded
That hostile environment!
Opher – 16.4.2020
The populist Brexiteers demonised Muslims and Eastern Europeans, exaggerating problems and magnifying concerns.
It seems that Britain was being swamped with Muslims – all intent on introducing Sharia law and taking over the country.
They were all gang-raping young white girls.
The Eastern Europeans were bringing in their gangsters. The streets were full of foreign voices.
Populist politicians used this to turn to their advantage. Rapists, drug dealers, criminals and people taking our jobs.
That was the story.
Except now we know those immigrants were really Key Workers that we all depend on – vegetable and fruit pickers, nurses, doctors, carers, shelf stackers, drivers and cleaners.
In order to get elected the politicians stirred up fear and hatred. In order to get Brexit through they stirred up hysteria against immigrants. And the Media, to sell copy, magnified it and whipped it up into a storm!
They were demonised and driven away!!
Now we have Covid 19 and we find that these people were the very ones we needed!!
