Refugees and me

Make no mistake

When we demonise people escaping extreme hardship

Just because they turn up on our shores

We make an appalling statement about ourselves

Absolute poverty

As perilous and life-threatening

As physical danger

Evokes just as desperate measures

Sadly, the world is awash with people

Fleeing lives fraught with the danger of not surviving the day

It is our collective demonisation

Our irrational xenophobia

That has given our governments

The imprimatur to unleash unspeakable cruelty

On these innocent people

If we regard them with heartlessness

While we are enjoying the fruits of this bountiful land

We are allowing greed and entitlement

To dominate our outlook, our attitudes

Can we be different

I don’t know

I can only speak for myself

I cannot take a heartless view of people fleeing persecution or starvation

Just as I cannot be heartless towards the people around me To me they are one and the same