{"id":2240,"date":"2021-12-01T23:32:19","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T22:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/12\/01\/27-people-drowned-and-i-laughed-kent-online\/"},"modified":"2021-12-01T23:32:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T22:32:19","slug":"27-people-drowned-and-i-laughed-kent-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/12\/01\/27-people-drowned-and-i-laughed-kent-online\/","title":{"rendered":"&#039;27 people drowned and I laughed&#039; &#8211; Kent Online"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cfbc967f0983488262956e73eca9483a\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3859091246952232\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- blok -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3859091246952232\" data-ad-slot=\"1334354390\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p><b>More news, no ads <i class=\"fa fa fa-long-arrow-right\"><\/i><\/b><br \/><strong>More on KentOnline<\/strong><br \/>News you can trust<br \/><strong>11&deg;C<\/strong> | <span class=\"Temp\">2&deg;C<\/span><br \/><a href=\"\/news\/weather\/\">5 day<span class=\"hidden-sm HideWeather\"> forecast<\/span><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a><br \/> <a href=\"\/\" class=\"first\"><i class=\"fa fa-home icon-2x\"><\/i> Home<\/a> <i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>&nbsp; <a href=\"\/kent\/\">Kent<\/a> <i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>&nbsp; <a href=\"\/kent\/news\/\">News<\/a> <i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i>&nbsp; Article<br \/><strong class=\"hidden-xs\">Published:<\/strong> 05:00, 01 December 2021<br \/>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<strong>Updated:<\/strong> 14:41, 01 December 2021<br \/><b> More news, no ads <i class=\"fa fa fa-long-arrow-right\"><\/i><\/b><br \/><b>The deaths of 27 men, women and children willing to risk everything was the worst Channel tragedy yet, but not everyone saw it that way. <\/b><br \/><b><i>Ed McConnell<\/i><\/b><b> waded into Facebook&rsquo;s murkiest waters and found a small group pumped full of hate and completely unwilling to engage. <\/b><br \/>On a chilly November afternoon Baran&rsquo;s fianc\u00e9 waited with cautious excitement.<br \/>Within hours the couple would be reunited, bringing to an end a desperate journey which began more than 3,000 miles away in the Kurdish town of Soran, northern Iraq, and marking the start of a new life in Britain.<br \/>Baran, whose full name was Maryam Nuri, dreamed of starting a salon in Portsmouth where partner Karzan Assad works as a barber.<br \/>As the 24-year-old and around 30 others were crammed into a flimsy dinghy on the French coast Karzan began intently following her progress on Snapchat&rsquo;s maps feature.<br \/>But four hours later she phoned to say the boat was taking on water and they were waiting to be rescued. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kentonline.co.uk\/kent\/news\/husband-who-lost-wifes-gps-signal-during-crossing-fears-wor-258115\/\">It would be the couple&rsquo;s last conversation.<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some 70 miles away in Chatham, England, Steve was scrolling through Facebook.<br \/>News was breaking of a tragedy which many had been dreading for some time.<br \/>Six miles off the coast of Calais a crumpled inflatable was sinking to the sea bed. Baran&rsquo;s lifeless body was one of 27 floating in the icy water.<br \/>A KentOnline article about the shipwreck popped up on Steve&rsquo;s timeline. He laughed.<br \/>But Steve, who calls me a \u00ab\u00a0jumped up little ****\u00a0\u00bb and tells me to \u00ab\u00a0jog on\u00a0\u00bb when I question him, wasn&rsquo;t alone.<br \/>He was one of 96 who chose to react to the news with a laughing emoji, one of several ways Facebook allows users to engage with posts.<br \/>While publishers can switch the comments off after an article is published they have no control over the emojis that appear above them.<br \/>Steve&rsquo;s not the only one who tells me to \u00ab\u00a0jog on\u00a0\u00bb, Chantal does too but only after informing me she laughed \u00ab\u00a0because our country looks after illegals before our own people!!!\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>Ashford mechanic Ronni Pickering \u2013 who presumably has chosen a fake name inspired by the red-faced viral internet star \u2013 engages for longer.<br \/>His willingness to talk about his views on migration was somewhat overshadowed by the bile he spouted.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0No problem&#8230; it&rsquo;s a total joke mate,\u00a0\u00bb he begins, adding: \u00ab\u00a0Thousands of murders (sic) rapists terrorists coming into our country daily. The government are traitors!!\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>But when I confess I am struggling to see how the deaths of 27 people are remotely funny things begin to sour.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0It&rsquo;s great news (they drowned)! You support the ***** probably. **** of (sic). I hope every boat ******* sinks.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>I question what&rsquo;s got him to this point.<br \/>Those coming are \u00ab\u00a0rapists murders (sic) nonces terrorists and they are robbing our country left right and centre cos they come from **** all and got no morals. Don\u2019t like them never will there (sic) scum,\u00a0\u00bb he says.<br \/>It&rsquo;s an appalling explosion of hate and not backed up by any statistics whatsoever.<br \/>I ask him to show me any evidence for his claims. He can&rsquo;t but still tells me to \u00ab\u00a0go away and do my homework\u00a0\u00bb.<br \/>So I do. For all his talk of murderers and rapists I found not a single news report linking a serious offence to someone who had used the route and very few about any asylum seekers committing offences.<br \/>More than 200,000 refugees live in the UK compared to the 3.1 million living in Turkey, which has the most in the world.<br \/>Last year, the UK received 36,000 asylum applications, the fifth highest number in Europe. Germany had 122,015 applicants and France 93,475. The UK&rsquo;s intake was 17th in Europe per head of population.<br \/>These numbers don&rsquo;t match a vision of a country \u00ab\u00a0under attack\u00a0\u00bb from \u00ab\u00a0invaders\u00a0\u00bb or even economic migrants.<br \/>And nor do the numbers \u2013 well over 70% of people risking their lives in the Channel are granted asylum, meaning their claims are genuine.<br \/>Chatham dad Steve tells me: \u00ab\u00a0The should stay at home and stop ******* coming over here. Or do it through the right procedures the scum bags.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>I ask him if the fact 27 people, including women and children, had died had bothered him.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0Not at all mate not my family and not my children,\u00a0\u00bb he says, adding another laughing emoji for good measure.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0So would you laugh at anyone dying who you weren&rsquo;t related to?\u00a0\u00bb I ask.<br \/>Steve is not happy about this question.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0Nope just them *****,\u00a0\u00bb he says.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0They are supposed to seek refuge in the first country they get to not travel through them to come to ours. Because of all the ***** my daughter can&rsquo;t get doctors appointments because there is too many of them here now causing a strain on our NHS. There is veteran&rsquo;s on the streets when there being put up in hotels (sic).\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>He tells me to \u00ab\u00a0sort myself out\u00a0\u00bb.<br \/>But Steve is wrong, asylum seekers do not have to seek refuge in the first country they arrive in.<br \/>It&rsquo;s a common misconception fed by political rhetoric about passing through \u00ab\u00a0safe countries\u00a0\u00bb but there is no rule requiring asylum seekers to do this.<br \/>Somewhat ironically, given how many of the people I message have been vocal supporters of Brexit in the past, Britain did have more tools at its disposal when it was a member of the EU.<br \/>The Dublin Regulations required asylum seekers to register a claim in the first EU country they reached and for the decision of that country to be final.<br \/>As for his point about using the right processes, it&rsquo;s the most reasonable thing he says, but the fact of the matter is they barely exist.<br \/>As Baron Kerr told the House of Lords last week schemes like the Syrian and Dubs are no longer in place.<br \/>Some 3,187 Iranians came in the past 18 months, the largest single group, yet only one got in through the official route.<br \/>Kurds, like Baran and many of those who drowned, are among the largest groups to make the crossing. They are also the largest ethnic group without a state on the planet and have fled persecution for decades, often settling in Europe.<br \/>Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s too late to tell Steve that because he&rsquo;s told me to jog on again.<br \/>&lsquo;Ronni Pickering&rsquo; has also blocked me by this point. It&rsquo;s a common theme. Everyone I message who at first was willing to engage would only do so on their terms.<br \/>I asked for facts to back up their claims and was met with abuse, silence or more misinformation.<br \/>I presented facts and was told they were wrong or simply to \u00ab\u00a0**** off\u00a0\u00bb.<br \/>One man tells me all they do is \u00ab\u00a0take jobs\u00a0\u00bb and says \u00ab\u00a0most of them that come here are in jail for murder or rape.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>When I tell him asylum seekers can&rsquo;t work and ask for more information on his paradoxical second claim he ignores me before eventually saying \u00ab\u00a0**** &#8217;em.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>Debating the topic of immigration, and in particular the current system, is hugely important but any hope a reasoned conversation could be had with people who found drowned children funny was in hindsight misguided.<br \/>Even if their arguments were sound no amount of evidence is going to justify laughing at an atrocity.<br \/>But there is hope among the hatred. For the 96 who clicked the laughing emoji more than 400 responded with outrage.<br \/>Comments previously used to be immediately closed on articles such as last week&rsquo;s but now they&rsquo;re left open for people to challenge each other&rsquo;s views, something which happens more often than not and outweighs the blind bigotry.<br \/>Reasoning with these people was never going to work, maybe one day education will win but until then perhaps the best approach, to redirect one man&rsquo;s insult, is \u00ab\u00a0**** &#8217;em\u00a0\u00bb.<br \/>What&rsquo;s for dinner? Plan meals, try new foods and explore cuisines with tested recipes from the country&rsquo;s top chefs.<br \/>Trying to find the right nursery, school, college, university or training provider in Kent or Medway? Our Education Directory has everything you could possibly need!<br \/><a style=\" color: #f4f4f4;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ipso.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)<\/a><br \/>&copy; KM Group&nbsp;2021<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kentonline.co.uk\/kent\/news\/27-people-drowned-and-i-laughed-258352\/\">source<\/a><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More news, no ads More on KentOnlineNews you can trust11&deg;C | 2&deg;C5 day forecast Home &nbsp; Kent &nbsp; News &nbsp; ArticlePublished: 05:00, 01 December 2021&nbsp;|&nbsp;Updated: 14:41, 01 December 2021 More news, no ads The deaths of 27 men, women and children willing to risk everything was the worst Channel tragedy yet, but not everyone saw [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow1sXXCw:productID":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}