DESPITE the humanitarian tragedy of at least 27 people drowning in the Channel while attempting a perilous journey to Britain, the British government still shamefully chooses to continue using the issue as a political football and appease the racist right. This was not just a tragedy, the loss of life was entirely avoidable.

Many misleading news reports in the mass media suggest that Britain is some sort of so-called “soft touch.” The reality is that it is very difficult to arrive in Britain legally. This is why people are forced to make life-threatening journeys across seas. Some perspective is necessary on the displacement of people worldwide.

Firstly regarding the causes of the displacement of people internationally, in other words what leads to people fleeing their homelands and become refugees. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) since 2008 the majority of displacement in the world is caused by disasters due to climate change, which is another illustration of the importance and urgency of the issue. Climate change is a big push factor.