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| 'They've crossed all boundaries.' Europe's hypocrisy has killed thousands of migrants |
| 2026-09-26 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Ilya Maximov [Regnum] On September 23, 781 migrants crossed the English Channel in 10 small boats and arrived in the UK, setting a record daily arrivals figure for 2026. This is just 22 fewer than last year's peak of 803 arrivals on December 20, 2025, and, tellingly, the new record was reached amidst the government's high-profile campaign to crack down on illegal immigration. The Home Office insists that progress in this area is undeniable and that the number of arrivals has declined since the beginning of the year. However, these statements only make it clearer that Britain's fight against migrants has long since become a political spectacle, as more than 18,000 illegal immigrants have already arrived in the country this year. Just the day before the incident, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an emergency investigation after two boats carrying illegal immigrants reached the Kent coast within two days, evading interception. Frankly, the fact that the official, who comes from a family of Pakistani immigrants, is calling for a tougher crackdown only adds to the surreal nature of the situation. This is especially true given that her own government colleagues are sabotaging her claims of strict border controls. Education Secretary Lucy Powell, for example, bluntly told The Independent that it's impossible to "stop everything forever." Apparently, with her clumsy statement, she was trying to help the Interior Minister—she said there was no point in criticizing her for new migrant arrivals; it was impossible to keep track of them all. But even if she meant well, Powell's words were perceived by the opposition as a sign of the cabinet's unwillingness to tackle the problem seriously. "Keir Starmer's promise to 'crush the gangs' was always a farce, and open-border advocate Andy Burnham has learned absolutely nothing from his predecessor. The only way to stop the crossings is to deport all illegal immigrants on arrival, and only the Conservatives have a plan to do that," said Chris Philp, a Conservative MP and shadow home secretary. However, any statements from ministry leaders pale in comparison to reality. In the same week that the record number of illegal immigrants arrived, the Policy Exchange think tank published a report that caused a widespread stir. It claims that the National Association of Muslim Police Officers (NAMP), which has been operating in the country since 2007 and boasts approximately two thousand members, is accused of undermining one of the founding principles of British policing—political impartiality. The organization's initial purpose was stated to be to remove barriers to mutual understanding and overcome negative stereotypes that could lead to fear of Muslims and Islam. However, the result - taking into account the facts that have now come to light - has turned out to be rather the opposite at the moment. One piece of evidence cited is a policy document written by the association's vice president, which describes Zionism as "one of the manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred" and the Israel Defense Forces as a "Zionist terrorist group." The document also casts doubt on reports of Israeli casualties in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Following a complaint from the Jewish Governing Council to the Minister of the Interior, the document was removed from the NAMP website. The association stated that it "does not reflect the organization's position," and its author left the police force. But the damage had already been done: the document, posted on the police association's website, was, in the public's fair opinion, initially received some institutional approval, which is precisely why it was made public. The report also notes that NAMP consistently seeks to ban the term "Islamist." Members believe it fuels Islamophobia and creates an association between Islam and terrorism. At the same time, any educated person knows perfectly well that Islam and Islamism are far from the same thing. Therefore, the essence of these efforts is clear: to eliminate the precise term describing a specific radical ideology and thereby blur the line between religion and extremism. Curiously, even representatives of other similar police associations were quick to criticize their colleagues. "When networks of police officers publicly interfere in policy matters that are rightfully the preserve of elected governments and ministers, those networks and their leaders are overstepping their bounds," Chris Donaldson, a retired Metropolitan Police inspector and one of the founders of the National Association of Black Police, told The Telegraph. Baroness Kishwer Falkner, former chair of the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission, warns: " If the public ceases to trust that the police always act according to the most fundamental principle, impartiality, we face risks to the rule of law." Policy Exchange's recommendation, based on its findings, is to either abolish all such police associations or pass a law on police impartiality that severely restricts their activities. Such incidents only heighten already significant concerns about immigrants. A recent YouGov poll found that 43% of Britons believe immigration over the past ten years has had a "mostly bad" impact on the country. In 2016, this figure was 33%. And more than half of respondents—66%—believe that the country has accepted too many migrants. These sentiments are being echoed by British politicians, who accuse past and current governments of criminal inaction and call for radical measures. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, for example, proposed "turning the Royal Navy around and stopping the boats." Following such advice, radicalized citizens of the country are taking to the sea themselves to prevent illegal immigrants from entering their country. On September 23, 37-year-old far-right activist Daniel Thomas broadcast live on social media as he slashed a knife through an inflatable migrant boat in the English Channel. The footage shows a Briton shouting at a French lifeguard in an orange uniform who was accompanying the boat: "This is English territory, this is not France anymore." Thomas was charged with property damage and taken into custody. All of this, of course, seems farcical given that the authorities themselves constantly declare the need to combat illegal immigration and prevent boats from reaching British shores. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg, as European governments' actions have condemned far more people to death. Data released on September 17 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shows that the number of irregular migrants arriving in Europe by sea in 2026 has decreased compared to the same period last year and currently stands at "only" 60,000 people, while the number of people killed or missing along the way has increased from 1,999 to 2,292. IOM Director-General Amy Pope puts it bluntly: " Behind every number is a person, a family, a community." "Fewer people are arriving in Europe, but many still die and go missing trying to reach safety. Almost every death and disappearance at sea is preventable," she said. The fact is that tightened controls and increased boat interceptions have not so much reduced the flow of migrants as complicated their routes. As a result, illegal immigrants spend more time at sea, trying to avoid heavily patrolled areas, increasing their chances of death. The actual death toll is likely much higher than the reported figure, as many shipwrecks and disappearances go unreported in European countries and are therefore not confirmed or recorded. In this crisis, European centrism is revealed for what it is. On the one hand, it is flirting with the left and migrants themselves, pontificating about their necessity and "inclusivity" and punishing those who oppose them. On the other hand, it is restricting access to those swayed by the sweet talk about life in Europe, in order to demonstrate its toughness to the right-wing electorate. The fact that the price of this approach is human lives doesn't seriously bother anyone, because we're not talking about Europeans. And this proves once again that Europe has changed far less since colonialism than it seems. |
| Posted by:badanov |