Fogged, Yet Healing
Asylum seekers, of course, are so welcome in our happy little islands that they are among the test animals for the ID card scheme, which bids fair to rival them in popularity. Hence, although the number of asylum claims has fallen by more than two-thirds since 2000, that gifted entertainer Phil Woolas, who is Minister for Dawn Raids and Deportations at the moment, is trying to heal the country by "allowing us to have a mature debate on immigration". It is in this judicious and sober spirit that he has accused lawyers of "undermining the legal system" and claimed that charities which work on behalf of asylum seekers "actually cause more harm than they do good".
As one would expect, the "primary purpose" of Woolastic immigration policy is a matter of public relations, not social engineering; namely "to reassure the public that the government [is] in control". Since the public is aware that "we don't know the exact numbers", it is self-evident to Woolas that "the system is played by migration lawyers and NGOs to the nth degree", and that most of the asylum seekers Woolas doesn't know about are fleeing the poverty fomented by our economic policy rather than the persecution encouraged by our foreign policy.
Woolas mentioned one asylum seeker who won the right to remain in the country after six appeals: "That person has no right to be in this country," fulminated Woolas, whose profound legal expertise derives from his years as a PR man for a trade union and a producer for BBC television. His explanation for the disgraceful adulteration of our Britishness: "I'm sure that there is an industry out there [with] a vested interest." In all fairness, it must be said that as conspiracy theories go, this one is mercifully lacking in detail.
Still, Woolas admitted that he can occasionally be swayed: "One lady showed me the scars on her thighs from where the soldiers had raped her, so I know." Nevertheless, Woolas "cannot take a decision on that lady's behalf if I am fogged by cases that are misusing the law". Presumably, the red mist of wrath which descends before Woolas' eyes at the thought of a non-ministerial resource misusing the law prevented his correctly diagnosing the lady's scars as self-inflicted.
As one would expect, the "primary purpose" of Woolastic immigration policy is a matter of public relations, not social engineering; namely "to reassure the public that the government [is] in control". Since the public is aware that "we don't know the exact numbers", it is self-evident to Woolas that "the system is played by migration lawyers and NGOs to the nth degree", and that most of the asylum seekers Woolas doesn't know about are fleeing the poverty fomented by our economic policy rather than the persecution encouraged by our foreign policy.
Woolas mentioned one asylum seeker who won the right to remain in the country after six appeals: "That person has no right to be in this country," fulminated Woolas, whose profound legal expertise derives from his years as a PR man for a trade union and a producer for BBC television. His explanation for the disgraceful adulteration of our Britishness: "I'm sure that there is an industry out there [with] a vested interest." In all fairness, it must be said that as conspiracy theories go, this one is mercifully lacking in detail.
Still, Woolas admitted that he can occasionally be swayed: "One lady showed me the scars on her thighs from where the soldiers had raped her, so I know." Nevertheless, Woolas "cannot take a decision on that lady's behalf if I am fogged by cases that are misusing the law". Presumably, the red mist of wrath which descends before Woolas' eyes at the thought of a non-ministerial resource misusing the law prevented his correctly diagnosing the lady's scars as self-inflicted.
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