Only business
Ever since New Labour surrendered the formulation of its immigration policy to the malevolent vagaries of a succession of right-wing tabloid editors, that policy has been distinguished by a petty, disturbing vindictiveness. Almost as if a delight was being taken in pouring further misfortune on the unfortunate.
There’s the dawn raid, adding that extra frisson of terror to the lives of men, women and children whose only crime is to want to come and live here, and who, more often than not, have seen plenty of terror already.
There’s detention centres like Yarl’s Wood, whose foul conditions are roundly condemned by anybody with an ounce of human feeling.
And then there’s the latest twist of the knife - the naming and shaming of businesses and their owners who have employed illegal immigrants. As if a five grand fine wasn’t enough of a kicking for some for these small businesses, the government want to bring potential ruin to them as well.
We now have a handy little list of businesses for Daily Express readers and other assorted racists to boycott, pillory and spit at. I’d be interested to see the takings of some of these businesses in say six months.
It probably goes without saying that a system with a little less aspiration to being a cross between the Sweeney and a meat processing plant and a little more to basic compassion would mean risking the vestiges of New Labour’s popularity. The way things are going, the type of flat-faced little Englander who gets a semi on over this kind of thing are going to be the only constituency this supposedly left-wing government has left.
All these supplementary miseries are completely unnecessary to the running of an asylum system but someone somewhere is designing these little additional details. And he probably toddles off to his wife and kids and considers it a good day at the office. You get the feeling that these people love their job.
This is, of course, all about ’sending a message’. Terrify asylum seekers by kicking their doors in at 5am and word will get out and maybe others will take the hint. Ditto interning them without charge and dignity.
The ‘naming and shaming’ has a nice mafia ‘do not fuck with us’ angle, like sending Luca Brasi’s body armour back accompanied by the fish. Nice little curry house you’ve got here, be a shame to ruin it by letting some poor sod earn a few quid.
Posted on June 19th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
| See also • New Labour: SLATTT Part 4 • Asylum seekers: shocking news • Your democratic duty |
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* pat pat *
Not everybody is as sensible as you, sweetie, sadly.
Grrr. I’m a raging ball of sweetness.
Hey, being assholes worked for the Netherlands. Just treat people like shit and suddenly they don’t want to come to your country anymore. Especially once it becomes known you inform the security services of the countries you’re deporting failed asylum seekers to about them.
I suggest you substitute the phrase “asylum seekers” for “illegal immigrants” or “illegal workers”, because that’s what this story is actually about.
http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com
Suggest all you want, mate. You’ve got a big heart. We, of course, are massively worse off because some Somalian is earning less then minimum wage delivering takeaways, aren’t we?
Anyway, I prefer the term ‘asyligrants’ - that way we can mash the two groups together and deny them both a little common humanity. It sounds a bit like an invading alien race than must be eliminated.
Yes, that “naming and shaming” struck me, too, as an attempt to get the vigilante vote. So you’re running a takeaway out in the sticks, getting enough grief already, and then your tormentors find they have some sort of endorsement off the government and an excuse to ratchet up the violence.
Hmmm, guess I ought to blog this point. It is scary. A return to the stocks and public punishment … or worse.
Madam Miaow’s latest blog post… Deportation Resistance: Glasgow community defends neighbours
The stupid crap here is, of course, that employing illegal immigrants is against the law. So why not, y’know….prosecute them? Wouldn’t that have even more tougheosity?
All these supplementary miseries are completely unnecessary to the running of an asylum system but someone somewhere is designing these little additional details. And he probably toddles off to his wife and kids and considers it a good day at the office. You get the feeling that these people *love* their job.
Nah, they just go home, listen to James Blunt and think of themselves as good people.