2 hours ago
3
A brilliant interview as always from Zoe Williams (‘We thought the Rwanda scheme was the worst of it’: Enver Solomon on leading – and leaving – the Refugee Council, 24 November). I only wish this wonderful man had the fortitude to continue in this role, but I can understand why he would feel the need to move on after five years working within the confines of the political arena of “modern” Britain.
It exhausts and depresses me just reading about the lack of compassion and basic humanity shown by recent governments. I lost faith in and left the Labour party after decades as a believer that “things could only get better”. Now, as a 75-year-old retiree, I am beginning to realise that politicians cannot make things better, but the Enver Solomons of this world can. He restores my faith in the fact that the country is not all bad when we have such amazing people carrying out such extraordinary roles.
I am fortunate enough to have seven beautiful grandchildren, four of whom are the offspring of my son and a wonderful Punjabi girl who we welcomed into our family 17 years ago. I cannot possibly comprehend the thought that they could feel at all threatened. What sort of country am I living in?
I naively thought that this horrific attitude to anyone who is seen as having a different culture was a product of an ignorant dying breed. I now know that’s not true when a government I had so much faith in includes a speech about an “island of strangers” and now talks of vulnerable refugees and immigrants as if they are nothing.
It’s only by reading about people such as Solomon – and I have faith that there are many more – that I don’t spend my time in despair about where Britain is heading.
Linda Payne
Leatherhead, Surrey
Enver Solomon’s mother’s South African background, which I share as a former exile, reflects our current first world’s not-so-hidden aims. The primary task of apartheid South Africa was, though, the use of its infamous pass laws system, enabling a world of privilege to keep out, but also use, a poor population to bolster its lifestyle and maintain wealth. This is now the case for the global first world too.
In an excellent Guardian article several weeks ago about how Spain is progressively going about managing this dilemma in a far more humane way than apartheid South Africa did, it pays seasonal and other essential workers reasonably on the condition that they return to their country of origin when their tasks are completed, with the proviso that they can return.
While nowhere near what I would wish for in sharing the world’s wealth and resources equitably, it at least offers some direction apart from the punitive politicising of refugees who understandably wish to better their lives and that of their families. The poverty of most refugees’ lives back home is beyond the imagination of most of us in our privileged societies that are still reaping rewards from our countries’ exploitative pasts.
Peter Speyer
London
