21st November 2021

There’s been much in the news about increasing numbers of migrants crossing the Channel from France - 1000 in a single day earlier this month. And yet, a century ago my own paternal grandfather, fleeing murderous pogroms in Lithuania, was thankfully welcomed into the UK. An important point here, therefore, is that the migrants crossing from France, unlike my grandfather, were already in a safe country (France) so the question is: why? For anyone who’s read Pensioners in Paradis (see right), it’s obvious. Unlike Britain, France is a country which relies on bureaucracy. It’s essential today for all French residents to have ID (to show the police), a carte de sejour and a carte vitale (to secure health services), but they are very difficult to obtain. It took us ages. Without such essentials, everything’s closed to you. Also, during Covid lockdown, you couldn’t leave the house in France without a completed police form stating where you were going and why.  In contrast, here in Britain there’s no ID, no health card, nor right-to-live-here documentation. So, is it any wonder that migrants who are already in a safe country risk life and limb to cross the Channel from France?