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Compassionate words for people seeking refuge in Britain | Letters

Ruth Windle says Sajid Javid should consider the inflammatory nature of his language, Thomas Hodgson calls for better communication with French authorities, Liz Byrne lends perspective and Lucy Gabriel takes issue with Trump and his wall

So according to the home secretary, Sajid Javid, 94 refugees trying to cross the Channel is a “major incident” (Rise in migrants trying to cross Channel declared a ‘major incident’, 29 December). Tell that to the people of Lampedusa, who have received 400,000 refugees (both alive and dead) on their shores in the past two decades – and whose municipal officials have resisted calling them “migrants” and named them “refugees” (which they are until proved otherwise).

The home secretary would do well to consider the inflammatory nature of his language, playing as it does right into the anti-immigrant narrative with its aspersions of illegality. The Guardian might also consider the laxity of its language – 17 uses of the word “migrants” in one article (Crisis at sea: Who are the people taking this risky route and why?, 29 December) when referring to the refugees arriving in Kent whose status has yet to be determined.
Ruth Windle
Frome, Somerset

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2EYQqKy

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