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Over the past decade or so, we’ve seen refugees turned into a major political issue in North America, Europe, and elsewhere. The fate of people seeking safety from war and repression has been pushed to the fore by politicians and media outlets. Both are desperate for attention, and many have been willing to spread fear and hate to get it.
The issue often gets rolled into a general one about immigration and boiled down to an us-vs-them argument. When asked for their opinion, the public sometimes gets questions that are essentially: “what do you think of them?” or “do you want more of them or fewer?”
The answers from the public sometimes reflects the same fear-driven framing.
It’s like the old saying: ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.
Here’s the real question pollsters and reporters should ask the public: do you want your government to send people to places where they will likely be tortured?
That’s a much more relevant question. It’s framed in a way that gets to the heart of the issue: the morality and legality of what your government is doing or planning to do.
In the US talk of “sending people back” and threats of “mass deportations” have been at fever pitch throughout the recent presidential election campaign, worrying refugees in the country. We’ve seen the US send asylum seekers back before, to places like Cameroon, where they were indeed abused.
The EU and its member states work with repressive governments abusing asylum seekers and migrants to prevent them reaching the EU. The EU also helps send them back to Libya, where they face torture.
Just last week, the German government deported a Tajik political activist, knowing full well about Tajikistan’s use of torture against government critics. And European politicians in several countries keep seriously suggesting sending Syrian refugees to Syria, where torture is rampant.
The UK is no better. Just witness the alarming political push by the last government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, where torture is commonplace. So driven to enact this cruelty on people, the UK Home Secretary at the time called it her “dream” and her “obsession.”
But ask normal people in any of these places the right question – do you want your government to send people to places where they will likely be tortured? – and surely, most people will give you the right answer: of course not.
And in fact, when pollsters ask questions closer to something like this – in the US, the EU, and the UK – people respond with compassion. Around the world, the vast majority of people support the idea that people fleeing war or persecution should be able to seek safety in another country.
So, next time you hear attention-seeking politicians and media rattling on about asylum seekers, remember what the real question is. Then, maybe ask those around you: do you want your government to send people to places where they will likely be tortured?
