“Xenophobic declarations of war”: that’s how Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue, head of the office for immigration policy within the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, recently defined the five-year plan of the government and the response of the Conservative opposition to immigration and political asylum. In the bishop’s view, the two main parties in the UK are currently launching what are tantamount to “declarations of war” on these issues, which will foment “prejudice and hostility”, because they use a rhetoric that can even be described as “xenophobic”. “It is alarming says Bishop O’Donoghue that the British history of accepting immigrants and asylum seekers is being obscured by the constant attacks of the two main political parties”. The politicians and the mass media, continued the bishop, “ought to be aware that xenophobic remarks and statements on immigration and asylum may foment the racist attitudes of a small section of the electorate, with terrible consequences on relations between the communities. It is therefore essential to maintain a serene political atmosphere, especially during the race towards the general elections (and beyond) when there will be increasingly strong competition to earn popular support”. The bishop especially appeals for a distinction to be drawn between immigrants and asylum seekers. The latter are “victims of unjust social, political and economic structures, of torture, persecution and the abuse of human rights”. “As Christians concludes Bishop O’Donoghue we feel solidarity with all those who are forced to leave their own country due to iniquitous social, political and economic conditions”.
