i haven't read the papers but I have seen the mob of reporters who have set up camp on the escarpment overlooking the Channel Tunnel all watching and waiting for their scoop of the day.
I have also spent God knows how many hours this past month speaking with, searching and processing the migrants who have come off the shuttles. Last night I did a 12hr shift and tonight I'm back in for another 12 shift. I'm then back for another 3 shifts after that doing the same thing. I go out in clean laundered uniform and come home stinking of a mix of wood smoke, stale BO and smelly feet encased in wet trainers. The smell sticks to you like glue and even after a good scrub in a hot shower it's still there. My uniform is going through a constant cycle of being worn, washed, dried, worn, washed, dried.
I have seen their hunger, I have seen their injuries ,their rotting feet, their fear and desperation, I have seen their relief and their gratefulness. I have heard their stories, I have heard of their journeys and of the mistreatment at the hands of other human beings... and this is the thing. These men, women and children are HUMAN BEINGS who live on the same planet Earth that we do and I ask myself, and I ask everyone else, what right do we have say they shouldn't be able to come here to live their lives?
I can honestly say that I would far rather be dealing with these people than many the scum who riddle our society and that I have had to deal with in my years of service. The same scum who I have seen in and out of custody, the same scum who wreak havoc on our local communities every day.
I can also tell you, that I have not yet witnessed anything but these people being treated with kindness and dignity by my fellow colleagues who I have been working with.
You are all entitled to your thoughts and views but maybe what I have told you here might make you think of things in a different light.
Ride safe, everyone.