Letters: November 5, 2016

Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Migrants, not refugees

I AM grateful to Mark and Martin Webb for their kind comments regarding my contribution to the letters page and for their observations on my letter of October 29.

I am taken to task for referring to those living in the Calais camp as ‘migrants’ but surely that is exactly what they are.

A refugee is defined as ‘a person who has fled their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.’

However, having gained sanctuary in a safe haven, and by any measure France is a safe haven compared to the countries they have left, many people find it odd that a refugee should decline to apply for asylum in a peaceful country.

A ‘migrant’ is defined as ‘a person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions.’

Clearly, having chosen not to apply for asylum in France, even though they may have been in the Calais camp for many months, it is surely the case that a change in status has taken place, from being a refugee escaping persecution to a migrant seeking better living conditions.

I accept that France’s attitude to the burka may be different to the UK, but that hardly warrants the suggestion that France is not an open and tolerant society.

The UK has laws and regulations which some find repressive and others find tedious.

Does that make us less welcoming, open and tolerant society? If it does, why do so many want to come?

I applaud the work of the various charities working with the French authorities in Calais, however, it is a stretch to attribute the seeming good heath and designer clothing of the incoming migrants to the compassion of kind people such as the Swindon-Calais Group, who undoubtedly have played a huge part in helping the displaced community.

Couldn’t it be the case that the young men who have arrived on our shores ahead of the children we expected represent those who are best able to afford to pay the price to the evil traffickers in human misery?

I am sorry Mark and Martin think my views are more in keeping with the type of newspapers they abhor.

Let me assure them, I do think for myself on such weighty issues and, moreover, would affirm my belief that the UK’s participation in the conflicts of Iraq, Libya and Syria have contributed to the humanitarian crisis we witness throughout Europe and the Middle East.

DES MORGAN

Caraway Drive

Swindon

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Impact of open borders

IN REPLY to Martin Webb (Nov 2) there is a down side to having the open borders that he so strongly advocates.

As the population grows then the GDP per person reduces.

This means that the country can no longer afford to run the services that we have all taken for granted in the past.

There are signs that this is already happening.

Libraries in Swindon are closing down. The council cannot afford to sweep the roads or cut the grass. The majority of NHS trusts are now running in deficit.

Flooding is becoming more common as councils cannot afford to dredge the rivers and keep the drains clear.

Another sign of trouble is when the country sinks into a trade deficit. Britain has the highest trade deficit in the world as a percentage of GDP. This means that, on average, wages in Britain are too high.

The consequences of excessively high wages is that the Government has to borrow money each week to pay the workers’ wages.

Britain has been doing this for some time and has run up a National Debt of £1.7 trillion.

The average wage in sub-Saharan Africa is £15 a week. This is not enough to live on and many people die from hunger.

Martin Webb wants open borders and a rising population. If we follow him down this road then GDP per person will continue to fall.

Average wages will keep falling until the wages in Britain eventually sink down to the sub-Saharan level of £15 a week.

STEVE HALDEN

Beaufort Green

Swindon

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A&Es must be saved

JEREMY Hunt (idol of the Junior Doctors Fan Club) has gone quiet lately.

Here’s why: NHS bosses say that one in three A&E Departments in England could close (Source: Daily Telegraph).

It’s part of Jeremy Hunt’s plan for yet further big austerity cuts (Jeremy of course is a multi-millionaire), closures and changes to our NHS without our say.

It matters not where one lives, we all require emergency care nearby.

If someone, for example, in your family, goes into early labour or a child has an asthma attack in the night, or whatever, driving 10 extra miles before you see a doctor might be the difference between life or death.

Presently, it’s difficult to tell which A&Es could close, and how one could be affected.

That is why it is so important to ask our MPs to ensure that emergency care in Swindon gets a hearing, so that we don’t lose the A&Es, walk-in centres, and maternity services.

J ADAMS

Bloomsbury

Swindon

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Council doesn’t care

HAVING assured us of their good intent for our best convenience by closing Kingsdown Crossroads during the school half term holidays, only to then re-open early without bothering to do anything other than knock over or turn sideways the road closed notices, we now know why.

Without warning Kingsdown Crossroads closed again on November 3, with all the traffic chaos and bus diversions that that implies.

Does Swindon Borough Council care for anyone?

TG FLINDERS

Upper Stratton

Swindon