There is no borders in Space between us

Today, I came home and I gave my little boy a hug and played chase with him. Nothing unusual with this. Depending on the day of the week, he may have been with his grandparents, my wife, who works part time, or at the childrens nursery he attends. Today it was a day with his one Granddad. What was different, was the extra long hold of him, the extra kiss on his forehead and the feeling, that I truly am a lucky man, and he himself is also truly lucky. Why? The image of the three year old Syrian refugee laying dead on a beach having been washed up, has hit me on a personal level.

Like many parents who will have seen this photo, I saw my own boy laying down

We are all made of atoms and for a quirk of fate I was born in a first world country and should never have to live in fear because of war near my home, or because I believe in an alternative version of the same religion, or my ethnicity is traced back to a rival tribe. That quirk of fate has meant my son was not born into that world. A World, we in the west, in our protective bubble, simply will never understand or experience. Imagine, for just a moment how it must felt, to spend your life savings, getting on a boat for a dangerous journey just to ask for help what you hope are loving human beings? The risk is huge, yet it is still safer than staying in their homeland for these poor people.

Yet, there are those, who believe they are only coming here for handouts and benefits. Logically, this is a load of rubbish. Morally, this is disturbing. Why would someone spend thousands of pounds just to get a few measly benefits? Why would someone risk the lives of their families just for a few measly benefits?

Yep, it doesn’t make sense to me neither.

Or, maybe, they are so desperate, so fearful of their lives, they simply want to go somewhere where they are safe. Just safe. Nothing else. Just safe. The basic human instinct is survival and this is all these poor people are doing. Surviving, even if the risks are huge.

Even if they do make it over to a country in the EU, they become pawns in a bigger political game where the countries of the EU, play a game of “I’m alright jack” and “its not my problem”. The actions of the UK government have left me embarrassed to call myself British. I look at Germany and the help they are providing and I feel pride that I live on the same continent as them. I see the #refugeeswelcome and I feel pride that there are hundreds of thousands more Brits who feel the same way.

This isn’t about borders, and immigration controls and statistics. Its about helping our fellow human. Its about not allowing another poor child, parent and families to die as they flee wars and oppression.

I am reminded of a quote from an astronaut on the ISS when discussing working with someone from a country with political differences and he said ‘There is no borders in space between us.’

Maybe, all our problems can be traced back to the moment we moved from a nomadic society to one of ownership of land and borders.

So, if you’re a parent, give you son or daughter an extra special hug and be thankful.