by Rhys Laverty, The Critic
It is wrong to think that Christianity demands that we open our borders
Last week, clips circulated on X of a large event hosted for asylum seekers in Braintree, Essex. This was allegedly a collaboration between Care4Calais and the Salvation Army, whose logo is visible in the footage.
Many readers will know that Braintree is one of the areas most egregiously affected by the dysfunction of our current asylum system, being adjacent to the facilities at MDP Wethersfield — a former RAF base now home to 800 asylum seekers. The Home Office is set to increase capacity to 1245 (with speculation it could rise to 1700). According to local activists, the migrants are bussed into town every Thursday and given liberty to roam as they collect various free supplies.
These activists, most notably Free Speech Shell, have documented the migrants’ uncanny and disruptive presence, which has included assaults. Footage from last week’s event shows them swearing at concerned locals and boasting about being given free shoes and phones.
Some characterised it as a “party”, though it’s not clear that it was. But it was certainly a large scale, public event, held mostly outside on a sunny day with smiling attendants, at which men (and they were all men) who have broken into Britain were given tickets to come and go as they pleased, walking away with, at the very least, a smart new pair of trainers. As acts of support for illegal migrants go, it was fairly ostentatious.
What felt particularly egregious for some was the highly visible nature of a Christian organisation, the Salvation Army, in the event. There are also reports of them hosting a Christmas meal for the migrants last December.
Moving away from the specifics of what went on in Braintree last week, this raises the broader question of how Christian organisations should respond to the UK’s current wave of illegal migrants.