Trump Mentality- an article about the refugee crisis by Mark Wardle- Year 11

After Donald Trump proposed building a high wall all along the U.S.-Mexico border, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, not to be out-trumped, basically said, I see your wall and raise you one, stating that it was “legitimate” to consider building a wall along the 5,525-mile U.S.-Canada border as well.

Well I see both their walls – and raise them a dome.

That’s right. Let us all follow the example set in the Simpsons Movie and cut off anything deemed inconvenient that we don’t want to know about and put it under a giant dome; all the while building giant walls around our borders, and for good measure, let’s cut off all trade with foreign countries and put up an enormous sign in the channel saying “Brits Only”. Just to burn any bridges left in Europe.

I know, Walker’s proposal is crazy. But, alas, the fears that he and Trump are playing on with this wall theme are not crazy: some very big tectonic plates are moving, and people feel it under their feet. The world is being re-divided into regions of “order” and “disorder,” and for the first time in a long time, we don’t have an answer for all the people flocking to get out of the world of disorder and into the world of order.

But if either man were running for office in Europe today, his position on walls everywhere would be getting a big hearing, as masses of refugees from the African and Middle Eastern worlds of disorder try to walk, swim, sail, drive, bus and rail their way into Europe’s world of order.

And it appears humanitarian spirit is in short supply on European soil. Migrants from these suffering areas arrive not to open, empathetic arms but to xenophobic abuse and almost criminal negligence at the hand of both the British public and government – Trump would be proud. But it’s not only Britain in disarray, all of the EU seems to be flapping about, passing blame and responsibility; acting independently rather than coming together to form a solid solution.

However one unfortunate truth is: though your heart may ache for the Syrian refugees flocking to Europe and Germany’s generosity in absorbing so many is amazing, with so many countries melting down, just absorbing more and more refugees is not sustainable.

But, one phrase I’ve heard more than any other in recent weeks is that “Britain is full” and people are insistent we’re doing everything we can to aid those in need; this is just untrue. We would rather lie to ourselves, sweep it under the carpet, build a dome around us so we can have peace of mind. And it is from inside our dome that we gladly look on and judge others, those fleeing from their homes for fear of death. But our conscience is clear, because we’re doing “everything we can”.

It is this ignorance that allows us to carry on with everyday life, spurred on by David Cameron’s description of a ‘swarm’ of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to ‘come to Britain’ – the reality is rather different.

So far this year Germany has received 259,000 asylum applications this year – almost eight times more than the UK’s 33,000. Hungary has received almost three times more and Sweden more than twice as many. It means Germany could almost fill Wembley Stadium three times with its number of asylum seekers – the UK couldn’t fill Tottenham’s White Hart Lane. Germany has also granted asylum to more than 15 TIMES more migrants from Syria than the UK – which has accepted 2,200 refugees so far this year.

There are even reports that  more than 2,600 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean. Yet we still remain adamant that we have done and continue to do all we can, keeping our chins up and maintaining the Keep Calm and Carry On attitude native to Britain.

What do we have to do for people to take notice? As if dying children, over-run cities and burning ancient ruins isn’t enough. And by what right do we get safety and comfort when they do not? Why should liars, cheats and conmen that cheat the system, get a place in our country and then call out anyone else that tries to gain entry? I’m not saying we should go all Scrooge and “decrease the surplus population”, nor am I suggesting an X Factor style audition sequence to live in Britain (although perhaps then people would pay attention) but I refuse to be given a condescending head tilt and be called a naive optimist any longer.

Surely there is room in our hearts, and there is definitely room in our country, to have some compassion for those in need, those with nothing. I find it a sad statement on our political and ethical awareness that 90% of a nation would rather stay in watching television and perhaps it will take a new series called “Kim and Khloe take Syria” before people take action. All that can be said with certainty right now is: Britain is most definitely not full and ignorance is bliss. And so the world of disorder keeps spilling into the world of order; and there’s no end in sight.