Why are we surprised that yet more migrants have drowned? It is a product of our animosity towards them
Throughout the past week, we have seen the political blame-shifting that the UK government has become accustomed to using as a panic-button since their election in 2019. In response to the most fatal loss of life of anyone crossing the Channel , Boris Johnson saw it fit to use Twitter to ask that France do more to take back migrants who reach the UK. The result has been a small-scale diplomatic row between the two countries, for both of whom the issue of migration has long been a contentious issue. France's hostility to so-called "others" has been reflected through domestic laws such as banning the burqa in 2014 , whilst immigration as a topic has snowballed in UK political discourse since the seismic events of Brexit in 2016. Perhaps I wouldn't make a good journalist, discussing this a week after the news cycle. Nevertheless, now that the political spiel has died down, it is of heightened importance to reflect on and humanise the 27 victims of a tragedy that shou...