Good news this evening when Alison called to say that Rima's deportation has been cancelled. I was sitting at the Strangers Bar on the bank of the Thames when the call came and had just been talking about Rima's situation with an MP. He commented that asylum seekers are briefed to hook up with churches as they will aid their cause and to destroy their papers so that age and background are more difficult to discern. He also suggested the problem in this country is that for the last twelve years our immigration policy has been too open. Frankly, that hasn't been my experience, but what do I know? I still think we need to be generous and compassionate, pursuing procedures as far as they can be taken before anyone is deported.
I watched the large Tamil demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament. I am sad for their plight, yet know that the LTTE tactics were as shameful as the Sri Lankan government's. It's hard to know what to think or what to pray for. Magnanimity and reconciliation?
Morale at Westminster seems very low. I listened to a government whip exhort my blogging MP friend to fight back and not to be miserable about what is happening. Senior politicians, like some church leaders, don't like bloggers because they give an alternative voice, hence the whip's concern. My impression is that the government now has a bunker mentality and is out of touch with how people are feeling. They simply can't or won't see how bad this situation is. It is like the dying days of empire.
It was said to me this evening, "I don't want everyone to look at me and think that I'm a crook". No wonder MP's are feeling low. My friend's expenses will be published in a Scottish paper over the next few days as he has made them available. Tonight, I''ll sleep in his second home, a very modest former council flat in Pimlico. I don't think he has a moat or duck house to his name.
My central thought as I go to bed is that we need to pray for our MPs more now than ever. Maybe the current crisis will cause a few to consider their spiritual state, and those who have had integrity will need our ongoing support and encouragement.
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