I watched Saving Private Ryan last night. In case you’ve not seen it, it depicts the search for one man (Private James Ryan), dropped behind enemy lines, after his three bothers were all killed in action on the same day. It’s a brutal depiction of men at war, juxtaposed with a message of hope, set against a backdrop of untold sacrifice. It’s also based on a true story… that of one Frederick “Fritz” Niland from New York and his three brothers.
In June 1944 around 400,000 brave men stormed the beaches of Normandy to free Europe from nazi tyranny. Half of those would be killed, injured, captured or continue to be listed as missing in action. I can’t help but wonder what those young men would feel now if they could witness the sheer volume of illegal migrants arriving on our shores. What would they think of the pathetic efforts of the French police to stop the boats leaving those same beaches they gave their lives to liberate. What would they think of UK councils tearing down the very flag they defended with their lives, just in case it might offend an illegal migrant or two.
This morning I was dismayed to see that there are still around 4,000 military veterans listed as homeless in the UK, sleeping in cars, derelict buildings or hostels. That is a national tragedy and should be source of shame to those in power. If we can find £5.7m a day to put over 30,000 illegal migrants up in hotel accommodation, clothe them, give them three meals a day, free health, free dental care (the list is bloody endless) then why on earth can’t we find money to get 4,000 veterans off the streets? Is someone able to explain that to me like I’m 5 years old, because I just don’t get it.
And yet, if you travel through any number of perfectly safe countries, throw away your passport, leave the beaches of northern France in a dinghy, and fake a “Mayday” call once you’ve crossed into UK waters, our Border Force will come and pick you up, and take you the rest of the way to Dover. There you’ll be able to claim asylum. You’ll be given clean, dry clothes, something to eat and drink, and you’ll be given somewhere warm and comfortable to live for 12 months or so. Not an old car. Not a draughty and dangerous derelict old building. You’ll be given a 3-4 star hotel to live in and three square meals a day for 12 months or so whilst your asylum claim is processed. Once it’s approved (and it’s more likely than not it will be), you’ll be entitled to even more benefits.
All of which got me thinking, if the government is too cold hearted so resolve the veterans homeless crisis proactively (which it clearly could quite easily for the price of a few week’s worth of new migrant arrivals), what about this…
What would happen if a bunch of those same veterans travelled to the French beaches, bought themselves a dinghy, threw away their passports and set sail for England. When they get picked up by the Border Force they proceed to claim asylum, supported by the same kind of backstory all those 48,000 illegal migrants that have come here in the last 12 moths use. Claim to be in danger. Claim to be fleering persecution. Claim to have fled with nothing, no identity papers, no passport, nothing (claim all they had time to collect was a Samsung mobile phone, a charger). Claim to be from Somalia, or Syria, or Morocco, or somewhere. Surely then we would have to give them the same treatment as all the other arrivals? To do anything else wouldn’t be meeting our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights or the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999.
Of course, I’m sure the people processing the asylum claims might suspect those claims were a bit dodgy, but aren’t most of the rest of them? And what are they going to say? “Sorry, Sir, you’re clearly not in danger?”. “Sorry, Sir, you’re clearly just an economic migrant looking for a better life.” How could they? It would bring some temporary respite to the veterans homeless situation almost immediately. It might not be a vote winner. Which shouldn’t matter one iota (it’s my opinion, and almost certainly a fact, that this government is toast). However, it would undoubtedly be supported by the public.
Those 4,000 homeless military veterans were prepared to put their lives on the line to protect this country. They still would today, I suspect, regardless of how it’s treating them and any growing sense of unfairness in the way we continue to rollout the red carpet to illegal migrants. We should be doing everything we can to protect our veterans. We’re just not, and we’re not doing so through political choice. That’s unforgivable. Private Fritz Niland, his brothers, and those who set out to save him would be turning in their graves.