8 New Stour & Avon, January 14, 2022
Your letters
Sadly, far right is alive and well here What a wonderful start to the New Year it was to read my copy of the New Stour & Avon magazine dated December 31. The letter, ‘We’re too soft on illegals’, cannot go unchallenged. The far right is on the rise all over the world and here was clear proof that it is alive and well in our area as well. I am almost 71 years old, born and bred in Bournemouth and have never before been ashamed to be British. That has changed in the last few years though. This country is full of wonderful people, of all nationalities, races, religions and colours, but there is also a large minority who are selfish, ignorant and racist. In the final paragraph of her letter the writer attacks immigrants for wanting to ‘keep their customs, dress, religion’. She appears to fear ‘other’ people who don’t look or live like her. I have no religious belief but I’m perfectly happy for those that do to worship in any way they choose, as long as they don’t try to impose it on me. Why shouldn’t I be? Although the letter appears to be about illegal immigrants, in her final paragraph the writer shows that she is talking about
OFF THE WALL...
immigrants in general. In my opinion, that has to be challenged. John Hancock Wimborne I write as I find myself angered and saddened by Christopher Chope’s recent article on a ‘surge of immigrants’ and the defence of his position in a subsequent letter by Mrs Brown. Whilst I fully appreciate that migration is a massive world issue at the moment, it is not going to be resolved by racist rhetoric, generalisations and blanket persecution of people already made desperate by circumstance. We have to start from a place of compassion and stop dehumanising people as ‘illegals’, ‘them’ or ‘surges’. They are first and foremost people: Human beings who should be treated with respect and dignity and given a fair hearing. May I make some points in relation to Mrs Brown’s comments: She says: ‘most of his constituents would agree with him (Mr Chope)’; I know plenty of his constituents who most absolutely do not agree with his position. ‘Billion pounds a year to keep them’’; Unsubstantiated and fails to acknowledge the n
Cartoon by Lyndon Wall justsocaricatures.co.uk
massive contribution migrant workers pay in tax. ‘This is against the wishes of the people of our country’; This is an unsubstantiated generalisation. We cannot ignore the fact that most migration is due to factors that we have contributed towards, including a colonial past of exploitation and subjugation, our contribution towards climate change, the west’s ongoing exploitation of
cheap developing world markets and our contribution towards civil war and unrest through our arms trade. Let’s continue to work to resolve worldwide migration issues, taking responsibility for our role as part of a global response underlined by a fundamental compassion for all people. There but for the grace of God go you or I... Mark Grayson Wimborne
Why is our retirement flat damp and mouldy? Do any readers have friends or relatives who have lived in Moorhills? We moved in July but in September we started experiencing mould and damp. This is a ground floor retirement flat. Shoes and boots have been ruined and
myself and hubby had to move a wardrobe to save it from being ruined. What we would like to know is whether there are any underground streams here as my neighbour was flooded.
An elderly neighbour told us that many years since, a manor house stood here with two wells, so there must be water? Any help would be appreciated. Maggie and Brian Rickards Wimborne
Your email comments are very welcome, however we cannot publish them anonymously and we reserve the right to edit them as deemed necessary
