The fact is that
Donald Trump the President of the United States of America and Theresa May the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have
loads in common. They are both anti-immigrants, anti-refugees and their hearts
are full of hatred for 'non-natives'. They are also both nationalists. For both
of them it is either America or British and nothing or no one else. I doubt if both
of them are aware that other worlds exist outside the United States or the
United Kingdom. However, I must point out that the only difference between May
and Trump is that while Trump is very vocal, May is like a green snake in a
green grass.
It may interest you
to know that the first to initiate these drastic immigration policies was not
Trump but May. It is therefore safe to conclude that May taught Trump and the
latter learnt more and trumped the former.
For instance, during
her tenure as Secretary of State for Home Office, Theresa May was vigorously
opposed to hosting Syrian refugees in the United Kingdom. And for those Syrian
refugees lucky to make it to the UK, she fought vigorously to prevent their
children in the jungle in Calais from joining them here in the UK. This is in
clear disregard for Article 8 of the ECHR, which guarantees the right to both
private and family life.
It was also under
her tenure as Secretary of States for Home Office that refugees who
clandestinely arrived in the UK to seek asylum or claimed asylum very late were
subjected to 10-year ban before they would be allowed to naturalize. The
punishment is for arriving here clandestinely to seek asylum or seeking asylum
in not 'a reasonable time'. Before that, the rule was 5 years of Limited Leave
to Remain followed by 1 year of Indefinite Leave to Remain after which they are
able to naturalize so far they meet other criteria including not having
criminal records. The meaning of this 5+1 year rule is that whatever happened
or however they arrived prior to the 5+1 year rule would be overlooked during
their naturalization application. In fact, Article 31 of the Geneva Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees supported this bearing in mind that for most
asylum seekers and refugees the only way they could seek asylum is by breaking
local immigration laws.
But the saddest part
is that most of these refugees were not even informed or made aware of this
retrospective change in goal post and ended up applying for naturalization
under the old rule of 5+1 year rule and having their application rejected, and
in the process lost their £1236 non-refundable application fee. This is
equivalent to a month wage for most of these refugees. Imagine stealing from
those you are morally responsible to protect! Think of stealing from Syrian
refugees you see on television on daily basis. But think of this very
carefully. What type of application on earth will cost £1236 non-refundable fee
to process? And the fact that this concerns people who are vulnerable, helpless
and therefore in need of our help and protection makes it a moral and
conscientious question.
The lesson here is
that Theresa May has no regard for international laws, agreements and treaties
which are binding on the United Kingdom. The same is also the case with Donald
Trump. Bear in mind that Articles 31 and 34 of the Geneva Convention Relating
to the Status of Refugees urged signatory states not to penalize refugees for
arriving in their territory clandestinely and to facilitate their integration
and naturalization. What did Trump do? He prevented them from coming to the
United States to seek asylum and for those already granted refugee status he
barred them from arriving back in the States. And what about May? She subjected
them to a 10-year ban before naturalization in addition to stealing their £1236
non-refundable application fee!
And do I need to
remind you that the first foreign leader to visit President Donald Trump was Theresa
May? This is despite his rhetoric against Muslims, Mexicans, blacks, women,
refugees, asylum seekers etc. Birds of a feather!
So when next you
think of vilifying Trump, think of May too. They have so much in common. They
are birds of a feather!
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