More garbage from the Daily Mail's blowhard columnist
In the latest ‘yes it’s sad, but..’ column to emerge since the death of Aylan Kurdi, Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn assures us it’s nothing to do with us:
“Which brings us back to the child’s corpse on the beach in Turkey. I repeat, it’s awful. Heartbreaking. But it’s not our fault, and it’s not our responsibility, however compassionate we might feel.”
Littlejohn is keen to prove this lack of responsibility, but proves only his own ignorance.
Of many examples, here are the top 5:
1 . “Sorry, but while I accept that many are genuine asylum cases, most aren’t. What about those bouncing up and down outside Budapest station chanting ‘Germany, Germany’?”
At least half of the people risking their lives sailing across the Mediterranean are seeking asylum, according to Amnesty International.
EU figures show Syrians and Eritreans alone make up 46 per cent of those who reached Italy by boat last year. The numbers are likely to be the same for those now in Hungary.
Unless Littlejohn has information he’s keeping to himself, he’s wrong.
2 . “Just as at Calais, 99 per cent of them are young men, aged between 15 and 25. Where are all the women and girls? If you were truly fleeing tyranny and certain death, wouldn’t you bring your wives, sisters, mothers and daughters with you, instead of abandoning them to their fate?”
It clearly hasn’t occurred to Littlejohn that the people arriving in Europe might be the only surviving members of their families. At least 200,000 have died in the Syrian war, including many women and children.
The reason many of those who reach Europe are male, in other words, is the same reason that they are young – they are the ones who made it out alive.
It’s also possible families languishing in refugee camps in the Middle East have send their young men to secure a safe place for them to move to – and a safe means of travel – for the rest of the family. All these reflections must be beyond Littlejohn, who appears incapable of empathy (or research).
3. “But here’s what puzzles me. They’d been living in Turkey for the past year. So why didn’t he [Alan Kurdi’s father] apply for asylum there?
Syrian government policy under Bashar al-Assad denies citizenship rights to Kurds. Since they have no passports, Turkish law says they are not entitled to move freely in the country under its temporary protection measures for refugees.
They had either to register at a Turkish refugee camp or live outside of it as ‘irregulars’. They chose to apply for asylum in Canada, where they had relatives, but the application was refused.
4. “After all, surely culturally Syria has more in common with Turkey, another Muslim country, than with Tunbridge Wells or Trondheim.”
Not all ‘Muslim countries’ are alike, culturally or otherwise. He means: ‘Let them stay with their own kind where they will be happier’.
5. “We’re also told that he’s a Kurd. So why didn’t he move to Kurdistan? Who knows? And that’s just the point. No one knows anything for sure.”
Kurdistan is not recognised as a country by any international body. It is the historic homeland of Kurdish people, straddling the borders of Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
The Kurdish autonomous zone in northern Iraq, governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government and sometimes referred to as Kurdistan, is currently at war with ISIS terrorists, who are raping and killing Iraqi, Kurdish and Yazidi civilians, most famously in Sinjar.
Of the other countries, two are dictatorships (Iran and Syria), and three are at war, if you include the renewed fighting with Kurdish PKK guerillas in Turkey.
Perhaps this is why the Kurdi family might not have wanted or been able to ‘move to Kurdistan’.
‘No one knows anything for sure’. What’s ‘for sure’ is Richard Littlejohn doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But we knew that already.
***
If you’re sick of reading people like Littlejohn in the Mail, tell the paper to run a piece by a refugee. Sign our petition here.
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
DONATE to support MediaWatch here.
Read more:
Richard Littlejohn calls new mother a ‘gypsy’ who ‘contributes nothing’ to society
Since when did the Tory press care about the lives of refugees?
Sign up for our weekly email by clicking here.
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
65 Responses to “Top 5 ignorant remarks by Richard Littlejohn on the death of Aylan Kurdi”
JoeDM
Littlejohn and many others are absolutely right about this.
The death of the child and his brother was due to the irresponsibility of his parents. They were in a place of safety and they chose to make a very dangerouse sea journey and took no interest in the safety of their children.
There is no good reason why any of these economic migrants should have to come the UK.
mickey667
They were not in a place of safety. Kabani has been caught between ISIS maniacs, defended by the Kurdish YPG who are now being bombed (along with PKK) by our ally Turkey.
The Turkish border is riddled with ISIS and The Turkish state is no safe place for Syrian Kurds. 1000s have been killed *by Turkey* jus these last few weeks. New war beginning again.
Please, do not assume you know what drives these people and project onto them selfish desires and suspicion that permeate our political culture .
As one women said, only if the water is safer than the land would we put our children in. Thousands have dies in the boats, but 100s of thousands have died in the land they;re fleeing
I'm very cross about this.
Apart from some obvious compassion over the death of these 2 children, I’m at a loss to understand why the father hasn’t been arrested. Consider:-
1. His family were originally refugees.
2. They gained refuge in Turkey.
3. While safe in Turkey he commissioned a crime by paying smugglers to take him to Europe.
4. In attempting to carry out the crime of illegally entering Europe his wife and 2 children died.
Littlejohn is spot on with his observations.
Daniel Factor
What about his rant against liberals! who he claims want refuges to run riot preaching jihad. Priceless
Daniel Factor
Why dont you fuck off you ignorant prick? Its prats like you that scum like Richard Littlejohn appeal to