http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
In the 1970's (when I confess I was too scared to be openly gay) I was told time and time again that 'gays no nothing about love, only sick sex'.Nearly five decades later I am still hearing about much the same thing being said behind closed doors...from gay boys and girls, men and women who find themselves in much the same hellish situation as I did all those years ago. Why behind closed doors? Because western societies have pro LGBT legislation and no one wants to be called out for bucking the trend or, worse, taken to court.
There have been a number of high profile cases here in the UK and across Europe involving gay people fleeing their countries of origin because of persecution, including execution, against gay men and women there. Take the case of Bisi Alimi, for example, forced to flee Nigeria after receiving death threats and granted asylum in the UK two years later. Why such cases take so long to be settled appals me. We should not hesitate to give asylum to gay people in such situations…or anyone else genuinely fearing persecution in their own country for their views or sexuality.
At the same time, it is my view that fleeing even the world’s worst trouble spots is not a good reason enough to offer unconditional asylum….or where do we stop? Economic migrants especially should return to their own countries once conditions there are seen to be clearly improving. As for the EU's policy regarding Freedom of Movement with inadequate (if any) border checks...that is a terrorist's ticket to ride for which, in my opinion, Angela Merkel and her EU colleagues have much to answer for.
We invariably hear the world referred to as 'civilised' So can we expect more love, peace, respect for each other's differences and less hate, jealousy and greed? Oh, but I wish! Tragically...fat chance, I guess.
Now, I don't have a problem with immigration as such, but we accept too many immigrants and asylum seekers here in the UK who are clearly set on ‘playing the system’ so… all the more reason for the system to be changed…radically and soon…if only to be made fairer and more appropriate for everyone concerned. As things stand, it strikes me that many genuine people are being turned away while the fraudsters (including a significant number with terrorist sympathies) manage to get into the country.
For my own part, I regret the way the UK seems to have all but turned its back on Commonwealth countries regarding trade as well as immigration in favour of an EU in whose governing bodies and courts fewer and fewer people I talk to have any faith whatsoever. The coalition government here has put a cap on EU immigration; this is necessary and should have been applied sooner since we are, after all, only an island. But where a cap is most needed (e.g. on arrivals from some Middle Eastern countries) it does not appear to apply.
As it is, the UK is regarded as a soft touch, if not a laughing stock, by would-be and successful immigrants alike across the world. Worse, a (very) significant minority of successful immigrants persist in complaining that their cultural or religious needs are not sufficiently met here and/or that the West is decadent and deserves their contempt. Mostly, these are economic migrants who thrive here and see no reason why they should be in the least respectful to our existing laws and customs.
Oh, but I guess there is no really pleasing some people. If I were to go and live in another country because it offered me a better life than my own, I hope I would be grateful and respect its ways, not expect it to comply with mine.
There is so much hypocrisy too. In my area of London, for example, there has been a significant influx of Somalis in recent years. In my experience, many if not most Somalis are homophobic (if no more or less so than others from various ethnic minority backgrounds). Yet, there is an area of Hampstead Heath near where I live that has been a cruising ground for gay men, especially late at night and in the early hours, for many years. These days, I am assured by gay guys (of all ethnic origins) who go there that the majority of men seeking sex are…yes, Somalis! While I'm sure not all Somalis are such hypocrites - every corner of the world has its share - it just goes to show…
Me, I accept and have every sympathy with the fact that that, sadly, many gay people are unable, for various socio-cultural-religious reasons, to be openly gay. At the same time, I have only contempt for those same people who persist in pandering to cultural expectations by expressing homophobic views in public.
This poem is a villanelle.
ASYLUM or FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX
Home, where the heart is,
history in the making,
building better countries
Life, with new neighbours,
old enmities forsaking;
home, where the heart is
On all, the onus of peace,
new dawns breaking,
building better countries
Our origins, surely, precious
embers for the raking;
home, where the heart is
Invited to feel good, at ease,
same dreams for the taking,
building better countries
Love, where we choose,
(differences equably debating);
Home, where the heart is
building better countries
Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2018
[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'Asylum' in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005; alternative title added 2010.]
In the 1970's (when I confess I was too scared to be openly gay) I was told time and time again that 'gays no nothing about love, only sick sex'.Nearly five decades later I am still hearing about much the same thing being said behind closed doors...from gay boys and girls, men and women who find themselves in much the same hellish situation as I did all those years ago. Why behind closed doors? Because western societies have pro LGBT legislation and no one wants to be called out for bucking the trend or, worse, taken to court.
There have been a number of high profile cases here in the UK and across Europe involving gay people fleeing their countries of origin because of persecution, including execution, against gay men and women there. Take the case of Bisi Alimi, for example, forced to flee Nigeria after receiving death threats and granted asylum in the UK two years later. Why such cases take so long to be settled appals me. We should not hesitate to give asylum to gay people in such situations…or anyone else genuinely fearing persecution in their own country for their views or sexuality.
Bisi Alimi (photo from the Internet)
We invariably hear the world referred to as 'civilised' So can we expect more love, peace, respect for each other's differences and less hate, jealousy and greed? Oh, but I wish! Tragically...fat chance, I guess.
Now, I don't have a problem with immigration as such, but we accept too many immigrants and asylum seekers here in the UK who are clearly set on ‘playing the system’ so… all the more reason for the system to be changed…radically and soon…if only to be made fairer and more appropriate for everyone concerned. As things stand, it strikes me that many genuine people are being turned away while the fraudsters (including a significant number with terrorist sympathies) manage to get into the country.
For my own part, I regret the way the UK seems to have all but turned its back on Commonwealth countries regarding trade as well as immigration in favour of an EU in whose governing bodies and courts fewer and fewer people I talk to have any faith whatsoever. The coalition government here has put a cap on EU immigration; this is necessary and should have been applied sooner since we are, after all, only an island. But where a cap is most needed (e.g. on arrivals from some Middle Eastern countries) it does not appear to apply.
As it is, the UK is regarded as a soft touch, if not a laughing stock, by would-be and successful immigrants alike across the world. Worse, a (very) significant minority of successful immigrants persist in complaining that their cultural or religious needs are not sufficiently met here and/or that the West is decadent and deserves their contempt. Mostly, these are economic migrants who thrive here and see no reason why they should be in the least respectful to our existing laws and customs.
Oh, but I guess there is no really pleasing some people. If I were to go and live in another country because it offered me a better life than my own, I hope I would be grateful and respect its ways, not expect it to comply with mine.
There is so much hypocrisy too. In my area of London, for example, there has been a significant influx of Somalis in recent years. In my experience, many if not most Somalis are homophobic (if no more or less so than others from various ethnic minority backgrounds). Yet, there is an area of Hampstead Heath near where I live that has been a cruising ground for gay men, especially late at night and in the early hours, for many years. These days, I am assured by gay guys (of all ethnic origins) who go there that the majority of men seeking sex are…yes, Somalis! While I'm sure not all Somalis are such hypocrites - every corner of the world has its share - it just goes to show…
Me, I accept and have every sympathy with the fact that that, sadly, many gay people are unable, for various socio-cultural-religious reasons, to be openly gay. At the same time, I have only contempt for those same people who persist in pandering to cultural expectations by expressing homophobic views in public.
This poem is a villanelle.
ASYLUM or FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX
Home, where the heart is,
history in the making,
building better countries
Life, with new neighbours,
old enmities forsaking;
home, where the heart is
On all, the onus of peace,
new dawns breaking,
building better countries
Our origins, surely, precious
embers for the raking;
home, where the heart is
Invited to feel good, at ease,
same dreams for the taking,
building better countries
Love, where we choose,
(differences equably debating);
Home, where the heart is
building better countries
Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2018
[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'Asylum' in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005; alternative title added 2010.]
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