Awar veteran who has lived through two of the biggest refugee crises of the past 80 years has summed up the difference in attitudes to them after a visit to the “Jungle” camp in Calais, France. Harry Leslie Smith, 92, has lived through the Great Depression, the Second World War and post-war austerity. He served in the Royal Air Force and is now an activist for the poor and for the preservation of social democracy.The camp — dubbed the Jungle by the people there because of the poor living conditions — has become a temporary home to 3,000-4,000 men, and about 350 women and children. A squalid area with little or no sanitation, it is the final stop for many refugees from the Middle East and Africa as they try to seek refuge in the UK.Writing in the New Statesman, Mr Smith observed how the fencing at the port in Calais and nearby Channel Tunnel terminal seemed to be a reflection of British politicians’ “opinion of immigration, refugees, the consequences of war and the responsibility for peace”, comparing the fence to the barriers separating East and West Germany during the Cold War. He wrote:    “The world has changed since I was young. It has not grown harder: just more foolish and selfish. I have seen camps like the Jungle before – at the end of the war. But back then, there was a desire among ordinary citizens and their leaders to alleviate the plight of refugees. Today, it is different. The common will to do good, or at least maintain a decent society for all, has vanished. Our politicians — and we, the ordinary people — are ignoring our moral, political and human responsibility to be our brothers’ keepers. In the end, the only thing that separates us from those who live in the Jungle is luck — and any gambler will tell you that this can change at the turn of a card.”Since the Paris terror attacks in November, there has been a significant slump in public support for the resettlement of refugees in Britain. US politicians have also come under fire for what many perceive to be a minimal response to the crisis.  ‘Trumpism’ is a term coined in relation to the often fear-mongering remarks by Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who most recently called for a “ban on all Muslims” entering the United States.

The Independent