People Before Profit call out the hypocrisy of the establishment on contributing to the crisis in Afghanistan.
As the news about the plight of Afghan people continues to arrive, it is important to reaffirm the commitment to welcome all refugees who need safe haven. Despite most political parties issuing statements of support of refugees and asylum seekers, the historic hypocrisy of many establishment politicians on issues concerning refugees will put people’s lives in danger.
Particularly nauseating are the narratives that the DUP have tried to spin in recent days. DUP politicians have argued that those Afghan people who have helped the British war effort in Afghanistan should be prioritized when granting asylum. Statements valorising British troops in Afghanistan have been shared from the floor of Westminster. DUP politicians have used old tropes and lies about Christian missionaries being sentenced to death in Afghanistan, betraying the superficial and insincere approach they have to the complicated situation in Afghanistan.
It has become clear that the DUP are unwilling to recognize the role they have played in supporting the invasion of Afghanistan under the false pretenses of bringing democratic values in the country. The DUP have supported the war in Afghanistan which has had a devastating effect on the country and the people of Afghanistan and is directly contributing the refugee crisis we see at the moment. The presence of British troops was not a display of valour and solidarity. It was crude and cruel imperialism.
For seventeen years the UK has played a role in destabilizing and depleting the region. The humanitarian crisis we witness at the moment is a direct result of the reckless and self-serving behaviour of Western powers, including Britain. The establishment cannot be selective about the refugees we welcome, and prioritizing people who have helped the British war effort is an inhumane and insincere approach. The DUP is a political party with a long history of anti-migrant and anti-refugee rhetoric. In the past they have displayed shocking Islamophobic language and they have had a cavalier attitude towards right-wing thugs terrorizing refugees and migrants. The DUP is a party unwilling to face the racism within their own ranks and as such their hypocrisy around welcoming refugees from Afghanistan must be called out.
People Before Profit demand that all refugees, regardless from where they are from, are welcome to the UK if they seek asylum here. The DUP support the plan that only 20,000 refugees are welcomed over a five-year period, which is deeply inadequate as a response. The Tory establishment has a shortage of political honesty and political will, not a shortage of resources to welcome refugees fleeing a war that Britain helped stoke. All refugees must be welcome here!
People Before Profit demand that safe routes are established for people to exercise their legal right to seek asylum. Once refugees have been welcomed into the UK, they must be housed in good living conditions, and they must be given all the rights and support to fully integrate and live dignified and peaceful lives. No person is illegal, and refugees and asylum seekers must be protected from the hypocrisy and moral stagnation of the DUP and much of the political establishment in the North.