We really need to decide what we want to do about
refugees/immigrants, rather than making cheap points about every incident that
occurs. This applies to political activists and the major media (not that there
is a clear distinction between the two).
The first question concerns whether we wish to control the
process or whether we are content to just let it happen. Whatever, the history, or the particular
claims, that individuals might present with, it seems to me that we would want
to control the process, both in regards to numbers and individual
characteristics. This cannot be done if
we simply wait until the persons concerned turn up on our shores, or appear in
distress in our coastal waters (or even somewhere in our exclusive economic
zone).
