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May 20, 2019 - Sargon of Akkad - Carl Benjamin
14:17
The Results of Media Fearmongering in #Taunton
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Hi, I'm an immigrant and I'm not going to talk about Brigza.
I have three questions.
And if my queue, I'm sorry if my questions don't reflect your personal opinion, but it kind of will reflect the party's, I'd say, advertised opinion.
I'm 29.
I came to the UK 10 years ago for education.
So I paid the international fee for education.
I'm not eligible for public funds.
And after 10 years, I'm still not a citizen.
I've been working immediately after graduating in a shortage job that the UK doesn't have enough people to do.
I pay tax.
I'm trying to be a good person.
So I have three questions for you.
The first, why do you think somebody like me can be problematic for the country?
I'm an immigrant.
Let me address these one at a time.
You aren't problematic for the country, obviously.
I mean, that's the problem.
Can I finish the three questions?
Well, I'll probably forget them.
That's the problem.
Okay, try to remember.
Bear with me.
I've got 10 years.
The very short questions.
The second question is, I understand that maybe you're making when you talk about immigrants, and it's a very big umbrella.
Bear in mind about 90% of the immigrants I know are similar to my circumstances.
Why do you ignore, not you personally, the numbers that indicate that most immigrants are just like me and generalize that statement about immigrants?
Third question, then final question.
When we talk about immigrants who are in need, immigrants who are fleeing prosecution, immigrants who are coming here with the hope of a good life, although in my case, I had a good life.
I just wanted a better life, a better life as a woman, a better life as a human being in a more developed country.
Why do we even more prosecute people who are in need, not in legislation-wise, but when talking about them, when portraying to them to the majority of people who never seen an immigrant before?
Why do we not stick to the British values?
I came to understand, I came to learn in my time in the UK to be nice, not to open the doors.
I respect a country's need to protect themselves, to protect their wealth, to protect their culture.
But why do we not use the British values that I learned in Britain and be kind to these people, at least by not portraying them that way?
I think we should.
I completely agree with you that we should be kind to people.
I mean, like, I try and make this point over and over again.
It is not...
Sorry, do you want...
I think it's that.
Yeah, the problem is not the individual immigrant.
That's the thing.
It's not the individual, like yourself, who comes over and is hardworking and conscientious and dutiful and does what you're supposed to do.
And you do exactly the right kind of thing.
You obviously like this country.
Feel free to turn on and correct me if I'm wrong, of course.
But you obviously like this country.
You think it's a good idea?
You think it's a good place?
This country, and that's why the reason why I came here.
Let me just finish my point.
The problem is not the individual immigrant.
The problem is not a person who comes here looking for a better life.
Of course, that's fine.
The problem is the number of people that we allow to come here to look for a better life.
And it's like the lady was saying about the disability problems and all of the austerity cuts and things like that.
I don't think it is.
But if you want to sit around, if you want to sit around and talk to us, we're happy to hear your opinion on it.
You know, oh, that's weird, isn't it?
It's weird how they're always busy.
Yes, sorry about that.
So yeah, the problem isn't the individual immigrant.
The problem is just the number that come in every year.
It's a net migration of 300,000 per year.
But don't you think the narrative, the way that you're addressing this problem, if to say you have 10 immigrants, yeah, and you're saying we don't need 10 immigrants, we need five immigrants.
And you start talking about these five immigrants.
Do you not think that you're making life worse for these human beings?
Do you not think that these things aren't numbers?
They are people.
Do you not think that when you're walking around, if you make just one person try to hide their identity, try to blend because they're scared about their safety or they're scared about being seen as a burden while they're not?
I don't agree you're a burden or anything like that.
I don't think you do.
I don't think that's a good idea.
I think you listen to my position on it then.
Can I?
Because I'm descended from immigrants myself.
Can I just clarify a point?
I do not think that you think I'm a burden, but do you not agree with me that the narrative that when I'm sorry saying that, but well, I'm not sorry for saying that because this is my opinion.
I'm trying to be polite, yeah?
There's something I reinforce, being here reinforced me in that.
Do you not think that UKIP, when we say UKIP, the first thing that comes to my mind, oh, the racist bunch, right?
Let's be, let's be.
If that's the papers you read.
Well, I'm dyslexic.
I don't read papers.
narrative you follow then I don't look I seriously don't But I know many people.
And you know what?
If I don't believe in dialogue, if I don't believe that this is the right thing to do, I wouldn't have been here talking to you.
I respect that you're sitting here open for different people to talk to you.
But what I'm trying to tell you, that sometimes because you don't see these people in front of you, sometimes because you're just dealing with maybe statistics or numbers, you do not realize how hard it is for people who left a country to make a better life in a different country to hear that they could be a burden.
I don't think that you're representing my opinion.
And you keep cutting me off.
I'd love to be able to respond now.
Because I am the descendant of immigrants.
Do you understand?
My grandfather came to this country in much the same way you did.
In fact, he came over because of the war effort back in the 40s.
So I'm not unsympathetic to this regard.
But you have to understand that there is another side to the argument.
And that is sort of like 5,000 people in Luton wearing thobes and burkers chanting death to the west to hell with free speech.
Like these are, hey, I'm not talking to you.
These are a real consequence of mass immigration.
And it's not the individual themselves.
It's because of the raw number of people that have come.
And they've not been encouraged to integrate and they've been encouraged to stay separate.
It's not like the average immigrant.
And I'm sorry about the narrative, whatever narrative you have in your head around this, but this isn't the narrative that I have around this.
You know, I agree with you.
After 10 years, it's a disgrace that you haven't been made a citizen.
It doesn't matter.
Well, no, no, I can't do you unless you're using sorry.
I can't do that.
It doesn't matter.
It's not.
It doesn't matter how long it has been.
Since day one, I wanted, I love this country.
I wanted to make a life in this country.
What is the line?
What is the threshold you say?
You know what?
After that line, I'm going to treat you like you belong here.
Well, I don't treat you any differently.
No, I'm not.
I'm not.
I'm not.
I'm not sure if I can do it.
But you seem to be reacting to a narrative that I'm not creating.
I respect that, and that's why the first thing I said when I stood here, that this might not be your personal opinion, but at least this is what most people, and maybe you agree or disagree with that, feel when they hear the word UKIP.
It's certainly an idea that immigrants have.
It's certainly few things that people who claim or claim to represent your party sometimes reflect to the public.
So, again, I am not attacking you personally.
I am dealing with you as a face of the party.
You sitting behind the banner.
That's fair.
That's completely fair.
But all I can do is explain my position, what I think on it.
So I can't.
Can I ask you?
Can I ask you?
Well, hang on.
And I think that we are what we repeatedly do.
You know, the things that we are, we demonstrate through our virtue rather than just believing something someone else has said somewhere else.
And I don't agree with, like, you know, you know, immigrants being bad people or anything like that.
That's never something I've ever said.
You know, and it's just about the numbers that are coming in.
Like, like I said, I am the descendant of immigrants.
I'm all for immigration when it's controlled and it's sensible.
And it's not people who have a general kind of loathing of the country that they're going to.
I think that's wrong.
I think it's wrong to come to a country and say, actually, this country is a bad thing.
You're obviously not in that camp, obviously.
Like you say, you were.
In many circumstances, I've been grouped under that group, regardless how I feel.
Hang on, man, hang on.
Come on.
Thank you, sir.
But could you?
I know.
Okay, we can have a conversation about that shortly afterwards.
Do you mind if I carry on having the dialogue?
Thank you.
Sorry, can you remind me what you said before he interrupted?
Well, I'm sorry that you get grouped in with people who hate this country.
I'm sorry that that happens, but I don't think I'm the one doing it.
And I don't know who you are thinking of who does that, you know.
And I think, honestly, most of this is...
I can't think about one particular person who used to be the face of your party.
You think Nigel Fraser does that, do you?
I mean, that's fine.
Look, I am not interested in pointing fingers.
I'm not interested in accusing people.
I'm not interested in that.
I'm not interested in accusing people for having the wrong ideas.
I think what you're doing here by talking to different people is great.
And I think if you think some people in your party are broadcasting the wrong idea, I think, well, I am not in a position to advise, but I would advise your party to try to sort of make it clear what they stand for because many people will not go and try to ask people personally.
They will just look at whoever representing you, whoever tweets on your Twitter accounts, whoever is on TV speaking.
And I am trying to just, you know, believe that the many people who came out with some less than kind things to say are not representative in our individual cases.
But if you're not aware, many people think this is the party you represent.
So thank you very much for doing that.
And I'm sorry if it was too long or if I interrupted you.
Well, that's fine.
Hang on a second.
I really appreciate the fact that you came down to speak, even though you're talking to Johnny now.
I really appreciate the fact that you came down to speak.
And I really think that your opinion does need to be represented as well.
Like I said, this is why I'm providing this kind of platform.
You know, I want everyone to have their thank you, and I want everyone to have these opinions formed.
But this is really the problem when you have a sort of, I guess, what I would describe as an opposition media.
They make things up.
They think things that are not representative.
Maybe it's not, I mean, most of my, what I said, it was people speaking directly, people who represent UKIP, speaking directly to the media.
It wasn't the media saying that a person said that.
All I'm saying is, if this is, I would like to think that a party has a certain ideology, has a certain set of values that they stand for.
And if you think that doesn't represent you, I would appreciate if your party makes it clearer.
Well, I think I am trying to make it clear.
I want to make sure that people understand that UKIP, as far as I can tell, and I think a lot of the problem is that UKIP is honestly made up of a lot of working-class people who don't necessarily articulate themselves in the most accurate way that they can.
But I really do think that UKIP does represent a kind of British liberal value, the sort of value towards fairness and tolerance and acceptance.
But it has to be based on the idea that this is a good country with good people in it.
And unfortunately, if you look at the Labour, no, no, I agree.
But if you look at the Labour Party, they don't agree.
You know, they don't think this is a good country.
They think a lot of the people in this country are bad people.
And that is a premise that I just cannot get on board with and start from that point onwards.
And when people come here to make this country a better place, that's great.
But when people come here and just seem to kind of hate the country, I can't accept that.
And I'm not saying, obviously, you're not one of those people.
The slogan we use is service-guaranteed citizenship.
And it sounds like you've earned your citizenship to me.
I would never consider you.
I highly recommend you reading through the immigration policies because before making comments about the immigration system in the country, and by no means I'm saying that this immigration system is wrong or has to be changed.
All I want is for people when they make statements, they make informed statements, statements that are based on realistic cases rather than based on how people feel.
But again, I haven't made any statements to the contrary to that.
I agree with you.
I think that's a great point.
Again, I'm not accusing you.
I'm speaking on stuff that I've seen in the media from your party.
Okay, well, thank you for your input.
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