I've been invited to "like" the following Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Collective-for-Refugee-Relief/1685067585059703
There is a LOT of paranoia flowing about re: immigrants trying to swamp "Great" Britain. This is creating xenophobia, which ALL creative artists should work to eradicate. The truth of the matter is VERY far removed from the scare scenario that scruple-less politicians are encouraging in order to forward there own murky agendae.
In fact, the number of immigrants camped at Calais, TRYING to get into Britain is only between 1 and 2.5% of the number who arrive in Italy and Greece, and THAT's only a drop in the bucket when compared with the global situation.
Let's keep things in perspective. According to The Guardian's article "10 truths about Europe’s migrant crisis",
"There are countries with social infrastructure at breaking point because of the refugee crisis – but they aren’t in Europe. The most obvious example is Lebanon, which houses 1.2 million Syrian refugees within a total population of roughly 4.5 million. To put that in context, a country that is more than 100 times smaller than the EU has already taken in more than 50 times as many refugees as the EU will even consider resettling in the future. Lebanon has a refugee crisis. Europe – and, in particular, Britain – does not."
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/10/10-truths-about-europes-refugee-crisis
Please consider contributing something (e.g. signed copies of your book or ms, a custom-tailored short story for the buyer) to this refugee relief appeal.
I got so carried away that I neglected to write that I am deeply ashamed of the fact that I didn't bother to re-learn more than very rudimentary Cantonese during the THIRTEEN years that I lived in Hong Kong. (This shame has contributed to the fact that I now speak 5 1/2 languages. Unfortunately, Cantonese isn't one of them.)
p.s. My British-system secondary school in Hong Kong taught mandatory classes in French and Latin. It didn't even offer Cantonese or Mandarin as optional courses!
@ Adrian:
I grew up in Hong Kong. I lived there (with 2 breaks of a year each) from the age of 3 to the age of 18. In all that time I neglected to re-learn Cantonese, my first language (learned in Macau, where I spent my first 2 years, then completely replaced by English during one year in the West). Cantonese was the mother tongue of 92% of the population. And yet ENGLISH was the only "official" language at LEAST until the 1970s.
Their was a council, but its function was only advisory. ALL Hong Kong's laws came from Westminster. Then, SHORTLY before turning Hong Kong over to China, Britain graciously introduced some form of supposedly "real" democracy. When China announced that this Democracy was not going to be continued once THEY were in control, Britain piously and righteously protested in HORROR!
The Chinese Gov't very rightly accused Britain of gross HYPOCRISY.
This is only one small example of how disgracefully Britain (which - incidentally first acquired Hong Kong as the booty of one of the most immoral wars in History: a war to force the Chinese authorities to allow Britain to sell opium to Chinese addicts) has treated the rest of the World. To make a fuss about immigrants now is another case of gross hypocrisy.
p.s. Adrian: I'm not an expert on Celtic names. Nor on Angle, Saxon, Pict, Welsh, or Dane names. Could you please inform me just when the Srodas first appeared in the British Isles?
@ Adrian:
Before repeating the old excuses and scare stories about Britain becoming flooded by immigrants, you should take the trouble to read the Guardian article to which I offered that link.
And I suggest this one as well: "Migration crisis quiz: can you separate fact from fiction?":
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/10/europes-migration-crisis-the-facts-and-figures-quiz
I'd also like to point out that "Great" Britain wouldn't BE Great if it weren't for the fact that for CENTURIES it was robbing and pillaging "3rd World" countries, using their populations cheap labour to build The Empire. And now, when a VERY FEW of the grandchildren of those we enslaved wish to come to Britain in order to escape corrupt, cruel leaders that WE continue to help to maintain power (e.g. selling them arms to be turned on their own populace), many of us throw up their arms in shock and indignation.
Even if they ARE coming for economic reasons, WHO ARE WE to deny them a tiny slice of the pie that THEY helped to bake???