Peasmarsh Parish Council recently published its draft neighbourhood development plan, which is open for public consultation until December 12. I visited the web page to read the document and to provide feedback. I was somewhat taken aback by the homepage, which shows the iconic image of Lord Kitchener, telling us that ‘Your Country Needs You’, with the word ‘Country’ crossed out and substituted with ‘Village’. It is a light-hearted use of a popular meme, encouraging residents to participate in the democratic process, but it provoked in me a train of thought about whether the use of this image is still appropriate in this day and age.
Lord Kitchener was a controversial figure. On the one hand, at the start of the first world war, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain has ever seen and was one of the few to foresee a long war. He was instrumental in Britain winning the war, even though he did not survive it.
On the other hand, he was responsible for instigating the ‘inhuman slaughter’ – in Churchill’s words – of thousands of wounded enemies following the battle of Omdurman in 1898. He also pursued a scorched earth policy during the second Boer war in 1900, which saw homesteads razed, wells poisoned, and concentration camps created, killing more than 26,000 women and children.
This then brought to mind the recent news that Manston Immigration Centre, designed to hold no more than 1,600 people for no more than 24 hours, has been crammed with 4,000 people, in terrible conditions for many weeks, including outbreaks of diphtheria. One of the detainees, a young girl, managed to throw a note over the fence, saying: “We are in a difficult life now … Some of us very sick”, adding that some pregnant women are held there and “they don’t do anything for them. We really need your help.”
I do worry that Kitchener’s darker side appears to be repeating itself in our age, with the Conservative government relentlessly putting the lives of refugees at risk, firstly by denying them safe passage to this country, secondly, by incarcerating them in conditions described by the PCS Union as ‘horrendous, inhumane and dangerous’, whilst delaying their asylum claims and thirdly, by normalising hate language, which then leads to physical and verbal abuse. Home Secretary Suella Braverman describes these fellow human beings seeking sanctuary here – people who have lost everything other than the clothes on their backs – as ‘an invasion’. Home Office minister Chris Philp criticises the ‘cheek’ of complaints about the conditions from people arriving ‘illegally’ in the country.
I much prefer the thoughts of Alex Fraser, British Red Cross director of refugee services, who says: “The UK government needs to urgently look at ways of reducing the backlog of asylum decisions and providing more safe routes so people who have been forced to leave their homes do not have to make dangerous journeys and gamble with their lives.”
“Our country has a proud history of helping people fleeing war and persecution. It doesn’t matter how you got here, everyone deserves to be treated with compassion and humanity once you’re on our shores.”
As for the Peasmarsh neighbourhood development plan, I think it is an excellent document, well researched and evidenced, clearly written and presented and well supported by maps, figures and images. Much to my relief, Lord Kitchener does not feature in it.
Image Credits: Peasmarsh Neighbourhood Development Plan .
Thank you for this well thought out piece. I am often saddened and disappointed by our political leaders using inappropriate language to create division and tension in our society. Using ‘invasion’ to describe the plight of refugees is one of them. As most of these ‘illegal’ asylum seekers are granted leave to remain (over 80%) it would seem that they are demonised as criminals and economic migrants for political reasons. If we set up legal ways for people to apply a lot of suffering and cost could be saved.
Such a thought-provoking article, Dominic. Thanks. I think, in a way, Kitchener owes his enduring presence to the power of that famous piece of graphic design. I absolutely agree though, it’s a reference that feels uncomfortably out of step with the 21st Century. Though, then again, perhaps sadly it’s more relevant than we know?? The outlawed dumdum bullets of the like which inflicted horrific wounds at Omdurman are still used by modern armies wielding disproportionate force to suppress resistance today. And Sudan is still in turmoil, the people of South Sudan making up more than 2m of the world’s vast refugee population, according to the UNHCR. One might add that military expeditions that might have felt not unfamiliar to Lord Kitchener are heavily implicated in the displacement of nearly 7m Syrians and nearly 3m Afghans. Interestingly, Churchill agreed with the contemporary critiques of Kitchener’s brutality, but he tempered his criticism bcs Kitchener was an icon, and as an aspiring politician, WSC didn’t want to fall out of step with populist opinion. Politicians still know how to cultivate favour with their base, of course… Which brings us neatly to Suella Braverman, the daughter of immigrants who bashes immigrants…
It’s a curious world we live in, and sometimes, the more it seems to change, the more it stays the same!
Dominic and Guy have written elegantly and persuasively about the issues of immigration and, on the grounds of humanity, I very much agree with the points made.
I worry, though, that goodwill isn’t enough. The immigration figures up to June this year are equivalent to the entire populations of several sizeable towns. These figures aren’t going down; with wars and climatic disturbances it seems more likely they will rise progressively.
Every immigrant needs to be housed, their children need education, they require healthcare, they will move around on the UK transport network and all of these services are overstretched.
My point is that, if we are to provide a good and proper welcome to immigrant populations, we have to plan and execute major change. Starting with the timely determination of right to stay and going right through to enabling to be part of a caring and functioning society.
I’m not convinced this part of the issue being addressed, but, until it is, are we sentencing people to awful circumstances and uncertainties?